When I was asked by previous Barnstable High School athletic director Steve Francis nearly a decade ago if I would be interested in creating the Barnstable High School Athletic Hall of Fame, for some inexplicable reason I jumped at the chance.
I suppose my lifelong fascination, appreciation and some might say, obsession, with history compelled me to take on what became a Herculean but worthy task.
Barnstable High School boys’ ice hockey head coach Scott Nickerson, one of the first inducted into the BHS Athletic Hall of Fame and one of the school’s greatest all-time athletes, confirmed today he is stepping down.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
And one of the first handful of names we talked about for induction was Scott Nickerson.
I had never met the man prior to the evening he was inducted into the hall on November 24, 2006, but my eyes had seen his name in any number of the countless news clippings I had poured over, or old scorebooks I had held a magnifying glass up to. I certainly had no doubt in my mind about his worthiness, but to be truthful, it was the people he grew up with and played hockey and baseball with who pushed so heavily, and almost unnecessarily.
To induct such a rock-solid, still gifted, bright and honorable gentleman into the hall of fame as part of its re-established inaugural class took one-tenth as much forethought and debate as many other inductees. Not to lessen the meaningfulness of those other rare few who have been inducted by any means. The reality is simple: Scott Nickerson defines every possible aspect and trait one looks for in a coach, an athlete, a friend or in an attempt to honor those from the past whose lives and achievements reflect the very best.
And as far as Red Raiders go, there are not many who’ve been better. It’s just a fact. No bravado or fanfare. The truth cannot be changed.
That’s why I became so sullen and unexpectedly sad yesterday afternoon. Driving down Route 130 toward Route 6A, heading to watch the Falmouth High girls decimate Winchester High in the Division 2 girls’ ice hockey quarterfinals, Nickerson confirmed for me via phone that indeed his time had come to step aside.
It also dawned upon me that I could not think of a better person more deserving of being named the first-ever Capecod.com High School Boys’ Ice Hockey Coach of the Year.
While it’s about a week away from the announcement of Capecod.com’s 2014-15 All-Cape & Islands teams in all winter sports, it only seemed appropriate to announce, separately, and in this venue, naming Capecod.com’s top helmsman in boys’ ice hockey.
That’s because the name Scott J. Nickerson is synonymous with boys’ high school hockey on Cape Cod and it has been for over 30 years. Referees all know him. Retired coaches all know him. Former Red Raiders who are now grown and have homes and wives and babies know him. There’s hardly a person alive in Barnstable who knows high school sports who does not know him and hold his personage in the most esteemed light. I know I certainly do.
Scott Nickerson
BHS Athletic Hall of Fame
Class of 2006
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Articulate, tough-as-nails, but equally empathetic with and knowledgeable about what it takes to be a young student-athlete trying to find his way in life, Nickerson achieved something this year I was not sure was possible: he made me fall in love with ice hockey again.
Not with some flashy gimmick or by patting me on the back in a perfunctory way and placating my journalistic inquisitiveness with meaningless drivel, but by being sincere, open and candid about his feelings, how his team was doing and where he hoped this year’s team would go. Not once did I ever experience him act like he was better than anyone around him. Every word from his mouth indicated just how deeply he bleeds Red Raider red.
Few coaches on the Cape share his perspective for their particular programs or for their particular sport, to be frank.
Nickerson had one great hope for this season – to be invited to the Super Eight. That goal dissipated quickly into the ether of such dreams two weeks ago, but not once did Nickerson blame anyone or whine about it or indicate in any way that it was any one individual’s fault.
But time has a way of weathering all people differently and at some point earlier this season the man decided his time had come. I overheard him in the hallway one night after a game just as the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Skating Rink was getting ready to close down. He was chatting with an old friend about being on the ice each day with the team and how it had begun to worry him a little bit. He actually conceded that the cartilage and muscles and tendons weren’t quite as electrified as they once had been in the late 1970s, flying around the old Kennedy Rink in Hyannis, making a name for himself.
No, he did not put it quite in those words. He was infinitely more humble about it, but when you’ve met one of life’s former gladiators face to face and been in the presence of someone whose life defines an organization such as his does, it is not always easy depicting it in the plain yet poignant language he does. The man sincerely deserves that sort of respect.
All totaled, in an official capacity, Scott Nickerson gave 20 years of his life to Barnstable Red Raider Ice Hockey. In four seasons playing for BHS Hall of Fame hockey coach Peter Melchiono, Nickerson forged an undeniable hall of fame high school career (1978-1982), one that was highlighted by a state championship title. For another eight seasons, Nickerson served as the assistant varsity coach for his mentor, Coach Melchiono (1988-1995) and experienced a state title once again. And from 2006 until now, he has been the boys’ varsity head coach on the Red Raider ice. His record as head coach was, in the end, 115-63-19, with seven league championships.
But times change. The way we live changes all the time. We live in an age which some might say makes Nickerson somewhat of an anachronism. He likely would not debate that statement.
If I’ve ever learned the right and most critical character trait an athlete or a coach needs to succeed and be deemed a “winner,” then it is humility. I was lucky to be taught that at a very young age. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve been unfortunate enough to see or work with some truly narcissistic people in sports, athletes and coaches alike. Scott Nickerson is devoid of that kind of supercilious ego.
Scott Nickerson is the antithesis of everything that is wrong in sports and society today. He stands for what’s right. He stands for the right way to play and compete. He stands for things some people are just incapable of grasping, even if those things were things that could be taught.
You can’t buy a better person to coach the Red Raider hockey program than Scott Nickerson because the qualities he possesses are not for sale. He will be difficult if not impossible to replace, because people like him are irreplaceable.
But every man deserves a sunset.
It’s just too bad his Red Raider sunset had to come just when I thought – quite selfishly — I was starting to know what kind of man he truly is.
— Sean Walsh’s column One On One appears on Capecod.com weekly. Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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