Carroll Conley, Sr.
Carroll Conley, Sr.
Eastern Area Agency on Aging George Hale Silver Frame Award for Fitness Enthusiast/Adventurer
Nominated by Carroll Conley, Jr.
After a stellar career as a teacher/coach, Carroll Conley Sr. dedicated the remainder of his professional career to young people as the director of Baptist park (a summer camp ministry) fro 1980-1991. He supposedly retired, but for the last eighteen years he has never stopped investing in the lives of young people through athletics; whether it be as a head varsity coach or as assistant, he has never been able to say no to young athletes that we willing to learn.
Carroll Conley’s love for the game of basketball is significant, but it is surpassed by his love for young people. There were few things in his life that gave him greater enjoyment then going to the gym and working out with some boy or girl on the fundamentals of the game. Mind you, he does not just tell these pupils how to play the game. At seventy-six, he still gets out there and demonstrates the finer points of proper footwork, shooting mechanics, or defensive posture.
He’s old school- fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals, and oh yeah, repetition, repetition, repetition. Through he is patient and willing to work at any age or skill level, there is o question about who is in change of these sessions: the coach.
This fall marked Coach Conley’s sixty-first year working with young people in athletics. He started as a sophomore in Washburn, Maine when he was asked to coach to junior high team. His participation this year seemed uncertain when he has to unexpectedly undergo triple bypass and cardio artery surgery in early October. It was his intention to be a volunteer assistant coach again for Phil Robinson, the girl’s varsity basketball coach at Bangor Christian Schools. Coach Conley felt especially compelled to help coach Robinson because what looked to be a very promising season for B.C. had been sabotaged by the desertion of some overly critical, unreasonable parents. Coach Conley knew his knowledge and instruction would be need with such a young inexperienced squad that remained.
So, just weeks after major heart surgery, Conley showed up to the first day of tryouts. “Coach Cole and I tried to send him home, but he kept saying, ‘I’m alright; I’m alright’ We couldn’t get rid of him if we wanted to,” said Robinson. So, for the season Conley as at his port for practices, games, and scouting throughout the Patriot campaign.
The patriot girls lost a number of close games early in the season, but Conley and the coaching staff saw the potential in the girls and believed if they could qualify for the tourney, they were capable of doing some damage, That’s just what they did, upsetting a team in the first round and almost knocking off the number two team in the next round.
How long will Carroll Conley continue to bestow his sage roundball instruction to youngsters in Maine? My guess would be as long as he is able and there’s someone who is willing to learn.
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Dr. Moshe Myerowitz
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