By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

Bill Babine's Hall of Fame resume: 1992, 2003: NHIAA state tourney semifinalists 1987, 2004: New Hampshire-Vermont Lions' Cup Coach 2003: Class I NHSCA Coach of the Year & New England Small School Coach of the Year nominee 1991, 1992, 2004: NHSCA Preston Eames Award recipient for outstanding contributions and dedication to soccer

WEARE - At any level, it's the ultimate honor for anyone involved in athletics. Nearly four full months after his crowning achievement took place on Dec. 5, the smile on this John Stark coach's face hasn't lessened when hearing that special phrase precede his name: "Hall of Famer" Bill Babine.

After 30 years of coaching boys varsity soccer teams - six years in New Jersey and the past 24 in New Hampshire - Goffstown's Babine said he first learned he'd be inducted into the New Hampshire Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame last November.

"I was taking notes at (an NHSCA) meeting with my head down," Babine said. "The discussion was about sportsmanship and the role of the kid on the field with the referees. We were talking about how coaches need to do a better job (making sure their players compete properly). It wasn't on my mind that the agenda was shifting."

Although the topic changed almost instantly, the central theme remained the same.

That theme was respect. And based on the round of applause Babine said he received following the big announcement, there wasn't any doubt he'd earned his colleagues. collective admiration.

"A lot of the guys in the Hall of Fame are mentors of mine," Babine said. "Watching and observing them helped improve my game. It's neat that my plaque hangs next to theirs, shoulder to shoulder."

The reality of Babine's situation is actually more than neat.

Since the NHSCA and its Hall of Fame are affiliated with the National Soccer Coaches Association, Babine also became a member of the national Hall of Fame as well.

According to JS athletics director and head football coach Bill Raycraft, Babine handles two critical aspects of coaching as well as anyone.

"Whenever I talk to Bill, he doesn't want to talk about himself, his accolades. He always puts the kids first," Raycraft said. "And his preparation behind the scenes is tremendous. If you put those two things together, he certainly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."

Admittedly not a very nostalgic person, Babine said he couldn't help but remember the many young athletes he coached after learning he'd soon be a Hall of Fame inductee.

"A lot of the guys had minimal talent," Babine said of the countless athletes whose soccer skills he helped develop. "But they believed in me as their coach. It wasn't the big wins (that were as special as) the number of nice people (I met) who learned to appreciate the game."

A winning way
The best evidence of Babine's contribution to the game doesn't come in the form of wins. After all, a state championship still eludes the JS coach. But that doesn't matter to Babine.

While it might finish a close second, a championship plaque could never provide the same sense of pride as reflecting on his involvement with Tri-Town Youth Soccer, for example. Babine founded and presided over the recreation league from its inception in the late '80s through last fall.

The competitive side of soccer is only one aspect the JS coach enjoys. And it's not the most important, he said.

Sportsmanship reigns supreme in Babine's book.

"My career record is only seven or eight games above .500 for all the years I've coached," Babine said. "But there's more to appreciate than wins - like how I coached ... (Teaching) sportsmanship of the game is the coach's responsibility. Don't blame a call on the refs. Accountability rests right in the coach's shoes."

A player's perspective
Babine also always wants his athletes thinking on the field; it's never enough to simply go through the motions.

"He made the game very contagious, the way he taught and talked about soccer," said Geoff Sheehy, a 1996 graduate of John Stark and a four-year standout on the varsity soccer team. "He taught us how to think out there."

When he was a JS freshman, Sheehy said he viewed soccer as "something to do" before baseball season began. Four years later, however, soccer was Sheehy's primary passion, thanks to the experience of playing for Babine. As a result, the former player even attempted to make the roster of his college team.

Three times voted to all-state squads, which included firstteam and all-New England honors as a senior, Sheehy said he never doubted Babine was one of the premiere coaches in the state, despite owning a win-loss record that might've suggested otherwise.

"The tools he had to work with were different (than teams with more talent)," said Sheehy, who now lives in Rapid City, SD, and wrote a congratulatory letter to Babine upon hearing about the coach's induction. "I've always said if he had the athletes, man, he would've done the same things (as the winningest coaches in the state)."

Babine said he's also remembered for never carrying a whistle or raising his voice.

"I've always believed if you have something to say to a player, you don't scream at him," he said. "You stand next to him and say it.

"For most high school boys, the game is a test of their identity," he added. "That's why at the end of a game, you have to really think about what you're going to say."

Some days, the coach said, a player will make six great passes and score the winning goal. Other days, the team is still going to lose - and it's not that the player did anything wrong.

"As a coach, you have to remember that before speaking."

Understanding his quiet coaching style is different from others who teach the game, Babine makes no excuses for his approach. His personality is the same on the field as it is off.

"I can look at him and see the dedication he has for his sport and how committed he is," Raycraft said. "It's not just a commitment from August to October. He's there for the kids in the classroom and on the field all year round."

And even though Babine's days on the sideline will one day end, his coaching legacy now lives forever.

"It's really nice," Babine said. "I don't have the career stats that will knock people out of their seats. But I've had a great career and it's nice for people to acknowledge it."