Tribute to Coach "Nogo"

Tonight will be the last regular season home basketball game Tom Negoshian will coach at North Farmington High School since he is retiring from coaching. I will be there. While I did not actually play varsity basketball for "Nogo", he coached my brother Jeff in the late 70's and he was (along with head coach Dave Catherman) my first football coach at Warner Middle School in the fall of 1983, and we were undefeated that season going 6-0. It was a great introduction to football and one of the most fun years I had playing. Knowing Nogo for most of my life I can say that he is one of those rare guys that really gets it. He coaches hard but fair, is passionate but also hilarious as most of the best coaches are, and he is a great teacher. He remembers every guy who ever played for him which is a testament to how much he cares about the relationships he builds with the players he develops - a trait that Bo always had. I have to say that as things change and life goes on, I always found a certain comfort in knowing that I could go back to North Farmington and watch Nogo doing his thing, roaming back and forth in front of the bench, yelling (sometimes screaming) at refs, coaching up players, and putting fundamentally sound Raiders out on the hardwood. He absolutely deserves a spot alongside other North Farmington legends with fields and roads named for them such as Holland, Temby, Jones and the others. Rick Jones is also retiring this year which is a whole other story, and this year will signal the end of an era with the retirement of both of these great men, but tonight Nogo deserves his own moment in the spotlight for helping make North Farmington the great place it's been over the years. Thanks Coach! Go North!