Al Belanger Recognized for Dedication to Guiding Area Youth
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| A plaque that will be hung to recognize coaching legend Al Belanger is unveiled on Sunday afternoon. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Scores of well-wishers turned out Sunday afternoon at Berkshire Hills Country Club to honor the "Godfather of Berkshire County Soccer Coaches."
Al Belanger, who spent 29 years coaching high school soccer and baseball – first at St. Joseph Central School, where he started the soccer program, and then Pittsfield High – was recognized for his passion, class and integrity and some of the untold hundreds of people he impacted spoke at a ceremony in his honor.
“Everything I did in baseball – I coached college, I coached high school – goes back to Al Belanger’s teachings,” Peter Clark told the crowd. “He did the little things that made the difference. … The guy was amazing. He knew the game inside and out and taught me so well.
“I’d like to thank you, Al, for being the most intense coach I ever had. But also the most caring with the most integrity. He had integrity with everything he did in life. When he cared, he cared about the team, he made sure individuals were ready to play and, at the end of the day, he wanted to make sure you were ready to be successful as adults.
“We are so fortunate in Berkshire County to have a man like this in our life.”
Former players, fellow coaches and one-time adversaries took turns sharing their thoughts about Belanger, who, at the end of the event, was presented with a plaque that will be hung at Pittsfield High School this winter to recognize his contribution to youth sports in the area.
“I’m a newcomer to Berkshire County. I’ve only been here about 65 years,” joked Larry Moore in honoring his friend Belanger, a native of the area.
“When I graduated from Springfield College and did my little bit in the service, I came back to Berkshire County and became the soccer coach at Wahconah. Right away, I learned there was one hurdle or one bar you had to reach – and that was the bar set by Al Belanger.”
Belanger made his mark on local playing fields as an athlete and was a decorated veteran when he started his coaching career at St. Joseph.
After his retirement from the sidelines, he was instrumental in founding the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame, which, since 2004, has awarded more than $250,000 in scholarships to local high school seniors from all of the county’s soccer teams.
Among the speakers on Sunday were brothers Peter and Joe Larkin, who both played for Belanger.
Joe noted that Belanger’s excellence as a coach and physical education teacher also benefited another member of the Larkin family.
“He was a role model,” Joe Larkin said. “He’s my role model. He does things he doesn’t even know.
“He taught my sister-in-law, after school one day – back before there were a lot of women playing sports in the early ‘70s, she wanted to be a cheerleader. And he taught her how to do a cartwheel. Because if you couldn’t do a cartwheel, you couldn’t be a cheerleader.
“There are thousands of stories like that.”
Peter Larkin, who went on from St. Joseph to be an all-America nominee at St. Bonaventure College in the early ‘70s, talked about the impact Belanger had on everyone he coached.
“Al Belanger epitomizes the greatness of coaching in so many different ways,” Peter Larkin said. “My brother Bill would say Al Belanger personified the Jesuit mission to create young men, ‘in the service of others.’ Coach Al created young men and women in the service of others. And, when you think about it, what’s the point of being a human being, but to love one another and this creation we call life.
“Coach Al Belanger was the ultimate ‘one for the others,’ in our Pittsfield and Berkshire County community. We are forever grateful to have been one of the young persons he coached and taught.”
Sen. Paul Mark attended the event to present Belanger with a proclamation from the Massachusetts Senate recognizing his service to the community.
“We have it really good here in the Berkshires,” Mark said.”Our community thrives and excels because people like Al are willing to give back, willing to mentor others, willing to teach and put so much effort into making this community a better place.”
After a half hour listening to his friends and family sing his praises, Belanger took his turn at the mic.
“For those of you who know me, I’m usually long-winded, but this will not be,” Belanger said. “I’m overwhelmed by seeing all of you today. I’d like to thank the committee for putting this together. … I see people here from Florida, New York, New Jersey, all over. And I’d like to thank all of you for taking the time to attend this event. I’m truly honored. I’ve been fortunate to come from a good family, including my beautiful wife of 61 years, three amazing children, who are here, too, and five awesome grandchildren.
“I’m also fortunate to have a career that I love and that allowed me to meet and coach some of the best people around. To this day, I’m always happy when former students come up to me and reintroduce themselves as, in many cases, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them.
“I’m especially proud that the proceeds from this event will go to the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame Scholarship fund.”
