Calling Francis X. Sweeney the “founding father of Waterford High sports” is an understatement.
Sweeney is the only person linked from today to the birth of WHS athletics in the late ’50s. When Waterford High graduated its first class in 1960, Sweeney was athletic director, physical education teacher, and coach of multiple sports. The 80-year-old now is a lifeguard for senior citizens’ swimming at the WHS pool in the early morning before school starts and is director of Waterford Town Beach and Swimming Program.
In both cases, as the WHS athletic head honcho half a century ago and as he refers to himself as “the oldest lifeguard in captivity,” Sweeney served primarily for the benefit of others.
”Fran Sweeney is the founder of what Waterford High School athletics is today,” said David Sousa, Waterford High athletic director. “He either started [a sport], coached it, or recruited someone to facilitate the position. He did all this for little or no pay but for the love of sports and the knowledge that athletics is an integral part of a well-rounded education.”
Now the rest of the state will learn what Waterford already knows about Sweeney’s 60 years of contributions. The Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance will recognize Sweeney as one of its John Wentworth Good Sport recipients at its 67th annual Gold Key Dinner on April 27 at 4:30 p.m. at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. This is the second straight year a Waterford sports figure has received an honor. Jim O’Neill, former WHS athletic director and manager of multiple state champion New London American Legion baseball teams, received a Gold Key last year.
Some would make a case that Sweeney is a candidate for the Gold Key Award, the Alliance’s highest honor. He certainly wore many hats: athletic director, basketball coach, soccer coach, tennis coach, cross-country coach, golf coach, track and field coach, and ski club adviser. He even coached squash at Connecticut College.
The World War II vet from Bangor, Maine, however, never sought recognition or monetary rewards from his coaching and never professed to have expertise in all sports.
“I had never seen a soccer game in my life,” he recalled before becoming WHS’ first soccer coach. “We coached for the students. There was no remuneration for coaches. If the students wanted a particular sport, I’d start the team and coach, then someone would take over.”
Sweeney and his wife, Betty, a longtime second-grade teacher in Waterford, moved to Waterford when it was a growing town in the ’50s. Waterford High was in the incubatory stages of becoming a four-year school. In fact, Sweeney remains the only coach in the state to lead a school without a senior class into the CIAC basketball tournament. In 1959, Waterford High offered just grades 9 through 11.
“Isabelle Coulter built the high school slowly, and it was an intelligent way to do it,” Sweeney said. “Waterford kids went to high school in New London in prior years. When I first came to Waterford High, there were no sports. There were a lot of kids hanging around looking for something to do. If the kids wanted a program, I felt it was my responsibility to give it to them. There was nothing financially involved for me.”
Not only did Sweeney carry the mantle as athletic director and multiple-sport coach in Waterford High’s early years, he served as an adviser to then-Principal John Palmer’s hiring of two of the state’s most successful coaches: Gerry Rousseau for baseball and Bill Mignault for football. Mignault coached two years at Waterford before leaving for Ledyard where he has become the state’s winningest coach with 320 victories. The late Rousseau won more than 500 games and five state titles at Waterford from 1963 to 1993.
“Gerard Rousseau was a super guy, the best friend any man could have,” Sweeney said. “He built Waterford baseball into the state’s most successful program. Bill Mignault and Dick Cipriani were great football coaches, too.”
Sweeney enjoyed coaching success in his own right. His basketball teams never posted a losing record and won multiple ECC championships and reached two CIAC semifinals—the best boys’ basketball showing until the 2006-2007 team made the Class M final.
Under his watch, the WHS tennis team went 20-1 in one season. In 1980, his WHS golf team was undefeated. Also, he coached two undefeated boys’ track and field teams and led the boys’ cross-country team to the 1960 state title.
In most of these programs, he built the teams from square one.
“I call him Mr. Waterford Sports,” said Bill Donovan, a Waterford native and WXLM (102.3 FM) sportscaster. “The town and school system were fortunate to select him as their first athletic director. He developed programs, some from scratch, and was ambitious enough to put Waterford sports on the map. I wish I could have had the pleasure of playing for him.”
Friends and former players describe Sweeney as a positive, good-natured coach who blended a sense of humor with discipline to get his point across.
Bob Pearson, who played basketball for Sweeney, recalls a scene when Waterford scrimmaged New London. A Waterford player battled for a rebound only to accidently tip the ball into the New London basket.
“Fran blew his whistle, brought the kid to center court, and pointed to one side, saying, ‘That’s our basket,’” Pearson said. “It was a light-hearted moment and broke some tension. Fran was just a great coach and a great person. He touched a lot of lives, all in a positive way.”
His positive, engaging personality allowed him to build sports quickly.
“In the first year I coached track, only seven people showed up to tryouts,” Sweeney said. “The next year we had 120. There was a great need for spring sports.”
Sweeney raised six children and continues to live in Waterford. He says he can’t put a price tag on his opportunity to watch WHS sports grow from its infancy into the respected local and state force it is today. The baseball team leads all CIAC schools with nine state championships. Soccer, football, girls’ basketball, girls’ softball, wrestling, golf, tennis, and cross-country have also enjoyed considerable success on the state level at times.
“I loved the students, enjoyed teaching, and looked forward to going into work every day,” Sweeney said.
And he still can’t get enough of it, working as a lifeguard for senior citizens at the WHS pool before school and serving on the Town of Waterford Parks and Recreation board.
“I have known Fran for over 35 years,” Sousa said. “He is without a doubt one of the most respected, loved, and revered individuals you could ever know. He has been a guiding light in shaping character and values in young adults in the town of Waterford.”
For tickets, priced at $75, write to Gold Key Dinner, Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance, P.O. Box 70, Unionville, CT 06085; or call Bill Donovan at 444-6889.