×
×
homepage logo
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE

Dave Faucher reflects on coaching basketball at Daniel Webster College

By Staff | Oct 15, 2014

NASHUA – Dave Faucher has come to terms with the idea that he won’t be on any bench, in any gym, coaching basketball this winter.

With practice set to begin, Faucher won’t be with the Daniel Webster College men’s basketball team. He walked out of a heated meeting with athletic director Chris Gilmore 10 days ago. Although a couple of his players reportedly tried to intercede, cooler heads did not prevail, and Faucher’s tenure at DWC ended after six seasons.

The school has moved on, with a new coach expected be announced this week.

Faucher, meanwhile, will likely be on a golf course in the Hanover-Lebanon area.

“It’s not about what happens to you,” Faucher said the other day. “It’s about how you react to what happens to you. I have to move on.”

It wasn’t what the 65-year old, former longtime Dartmouth College coach had planned on. He had a fierce loyalty to his players, especially the Nashua nucleus of guards Ryan Gauthier and Kevin Perez, and forward Ray Farmer.

Gomez had left school to work full time but Faucher was hopeful he could come back to school – and basketball – in January.

“Having kids that were locally successful was great,’’ Faucher said. “Ryan was so great in high school (at Nashua North). Everyone knows Ryan because he’s a gym rat. Kevin has so much potential, Ray was such a hard worker and they all love the game. They were in the gym more than anyone I saw. It’s something I’ll always remember.

“If they learn to have the same passion in life that they have for basketball, they’ll be successful.”

Faucher was asked for his favorite memory. Too difficult to do, he said.

“In the business of coaching you can’t take one highlight and say this is what you wanted,” he said. “I’m a teacher. I teach the game. That’s what I’ll miss.”

It was quite an adjustment for Faucher to coach at the Division III level after nearly two decades of working in Division I.

“I won’t miss, for example, getting back way after 11:30 from Southern Vermont,” he said. “But you have to take everything. It’s all one. There were certainly more positives I take, because of the kids, than the negatives from what I experienced there.

“I’m a better person going out than I was coming in. It’s all because of the kids. They were the game.”

Faucher said his players “did nothing wrong” and were not the reason for his dispute with Gilmore. He hopes his successor will value their input and that the school will as well.

Meanwhile, the silver lining in his sudden departure from DWC is the fact that he’ll be able to spend more time with his wife and family. The couple lives in Lebanon, and Faucher actually will save money from not working, subtracting the expense of commuting and renting a local apartment,which he had been doing for the convenience.

“I’ve been married 39 years and my wife didn’t like coming home to an empty house,” he said. “Just to see how much happier she is lately is worth it.

“So for right now, I’m going to try to spend the winter not coaching. But I can’t control what’s going to happen next. I have to experience what (not coaching) is going to be like.”

Rivier honorees

Rivier University has named its student athletes of the month for September. On the women’s side, it’s volleyball player Molly McCormack, while on the men’s it’s Bedford soccer player Dan Connelly.

McCormack, a Ballston Lake, N.Y. native, is the only player to play in all 59 sets in September for the Raiders. At last look she was leading the team with 158 kills and a 2.68 kill/set average and also was tops on the team with 29 service aces.

She was also second with 161 digs and a 2.73 dig-per-set average, and was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in the fourth time this season.

Connelly, a senior, has been an offensive catalyst for the Raiders, playing an integral part in the team’s ability to compete despite not scoring consistently.

At last look he had registered six shots on goal on seven total shots for a 1-11 Raider team that has lost 10 straight, scoring just four goals in that span.

Checking in

Rivier’s women’s soccer team is 6-7 overall, but struggling in the GNAC as well, just 1-6 at last look.

Raider field hockey is 5-10, but were victorious 5-0 over city rival Daniel Webster last week with sophomore Nicole Hauer getting two goals and an assist.

The Raider seniors Veronica Jones, Christa Murphy and Mackenzie Flagg played their final home game on Sunday, a 3-1 win over Wells.

The Daniel Webster women’s volleyball team is getting on track.

This past Saturday the Eagles (3-12, 1-1 NECC) recorded their first conference win, a surprising 3-0 sweep of Newbury. Freshman Courtney Warrington had 10 digs and 10 kills to lead the way.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

Interests
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *