DISQUS

WarriorAlum · 4 months ago

Hector I am really bothered by this. Take away his career records, take away his knowledge of both sports. The biggest thing that matters is he was in it for the kids 110% every day no matter what. Not a lot of coaches are like that. Like you said earlier in the year, he calls you up and tells you the box score no matter what. He knows that the kids care about things like that and wants them to be recognized whenever possible. He is such a stand up guy, and preached to his players to be stand up people. One of his many rememberable quotes he says was "good things happen to good people." In this case, like you said, a classless and ill-timed occurrence happened to a good person. I know you know this because you send your son to Warrior Baseball Camp, where he has a blast due to Coach Mags' hard work and learns great values like having integrity and teamwork. Although I am not a true adult yet and am still in college, I am fully aware of what happens in the parenting world of Andover. A lot of them are petty and all about themselves. I am sure that there were numerous complaints to the AD about how he isn't a good coach because their son got cut etc. Trust me, every kid that got cut from the program when I was there deserved to get cut, and every kid who lingered on JV deserved to as well. The parents cant get it through their brains that their son isn't good enough to make the team, and therefore will complain and whine until they get their way. It's just the way Andover is, and I'm embarrassed its like that. You don't fire someone without a reason, and if for some reason there was, you let them know in advance...not right before his anual camp starts. This just shows that the AD has no business or communication skills whatsoever. The AD could atleast had a discussion with Mags before, so he could have realized the fact that he was only going to coach for one more year anyways.... before he got blindsided the first day of his camp!? We need McNally back in there, he does things the right way and is a stand up guy like Mags. I hope someone steps up to the plate and gets coach Mags reinstated so he can finish his coaching career and be remembered in a good way, because he deserves it.

bighec711 · 4 months ago

Alum,

Your passion standing up for your coach stands as the best line of defense for Mags ... the respect you, a player, have for him and what he's accomplished.
Forget wins and losses for a second. As one friend of mine said, in all his years Mags has never done a thing to embarrass Andover, the town, the school or the program.
He's constantly positive, with the media, the players and the opposition.
There's a lot to be said for that. His athletes exude class and compete hard every day.
40 years of service should definitely mean more than getting just a slip of paper that says we don't want you anymore.
Thanks for stepping up and chiming in.
HL

the_other_side · 4 months ago

I am glad to see this, even though I am not an alumni nor supporter of AHS athletics. I think this area of the state is vastly under-recruited in so many sports. I wish Miller luck and hope that it opens the door for more kids to reach the "big time".