Last month, attending the East Lyme High School-Norwich Free Academy cross-country meet was fortuitous. It was the very last time that Doug Sharples and I would speak.

During my senior year at East Lyme High (Class of 2005), my team angered Sharples, who had been the National High School Athletic Coaches Association cross-country coach of the year. He was so mad at us. He became more quiet and even kinder, maintaining his stoic nature.

“Always try to do the most amount of good.” he often said. Hardly a single word was spoken on the ride home after that meet with NFA. Teammates looked inward and self-examined. How did we disappoint coach, our hero?

Twenty years after the EL-NFA meet of 2004, coach reflected: “It wasn't so much that I was really mad, but that I felt we underperformed to our abilities.”

Previously, coach won numerous championships (conference, state class, State Open). Doug Sharples was the pinnacle of success when it came to anything running. We had let him down.

A few weeks after the ELHS-NFA meet where we let coach down, we triumphed. Late fall of 2004, at the New England cross-country race, the East Lyme team won!

“The opposite happened at the NCC — we overperformed!” Sharples reminisced.

It was an auspicious time while sitting in the hallway as we awaited the start of the NCC in 2004 with blankets of snow that caused a delay in the start. East Lyme placed third in all of New England, exceeding our expectations and thrilling coach Sharples. East Lyme had the best finish all-time for Sharples and for the East Lyme cross-country program.

Coach Sharples was one of the most influential people for the East Lyme cross-country team.

In 2001 coach explained to the team, “I will be your coach moving forward.” At that time, we were a loose bunch of runners. We had not learned discipline and metrics. Sharples, a visionary, thought long term. Our training started with heart monitors, using effort-based training to ensure athletes pushed themselves hard enough but not excessively.

“This way we avoid burnout.” Sharples explained.

Coach planned and strategized meticulously. Delayed gratification was a key element. “We take steps to build strength and endurance for the races,” coach assured us. As runners, we learned discipline — school, studies, training and eating well. Teammates began to think of their bodies as temples.

It was more than the metrics that mattered. Coach and his wife, Helene, who we called Mrs. Coach, had big hearts. Coach built trust, especially with his athletes. Ryan Murdoch, East Lyme, Class of 2006 said, “Coach always prepared you to run your best, not because of the training but because he made it clear he believed in you and your abilities. His impact on generations of runners will leave a lasting legacy.”

Coach also built confidence.

Coach was a mentor, confidante, major influencer. Coach was omnipresent. He called soon after my brother died in 2010 to offer his sympathies and support to the heartache my family endured. We always reunited when I returned from overseas. No matter the highs or the lows, Coach and Mrs. Coach were always there to support the team of athletes they coached over the years, especially me.

Coach Doug Sharples died from cancer the week of Nov. 8 at the age of 82. Coach passed days before the 2024 New England cross-country championships, thus maintaining in his lifetime the best record for East Lyme. (The Vikings finished second this year). Coach helped to build the program that exists at East Lyme today. Other coaches learned from Sharples as well and modeled their training practices after his.

Mike Boucher (Class of 2009) remarked, “Coach will be missed but never forgotten. I am who I am today 100% thanks to Coach Sharples.”

Boucher, who ran under coach’s purview, commented while on paternity leave with his second child, young Michael.

Remembering his life and his legacy is important. We must believe that anything is truly possible, as coach espoused.

Thank you always, for everything, Coach and Mrs. Coach!

Irving Steel lives in East Lyme and is a director for the local TV show “Stories Worth Telling with the Steels.” He graduated from the University of Georgia and holds a Masters of Public Health degree from The Chicago School.