WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Looking around the Hartford High gymnasium this summer, Jeff Thomas was searching for the latest boys basketball championship banner.
Scanning the gym walls, he realized the last one came in 1929. That’s when the first-year coach came up with the motto he now preaches.
Since then, Thomas has been living it 24-7. He had white T-Shirts made with 1929 and “believe” printed on the back. The coffee cup that sits in his office even has 1929 engraved into it.
“I don’t stop talking about it. It’s something that’s got to get off our backs,” Thomas said in a Tuesday afternoon phone interview. “Are you kidding me? Ninety years without a state championship? I go to bed thinking about 1929. Can you think about that? There hasn’t been an article written in 90 years saying Hartford (boys) basketball has won a state title.”
When Hurricane athletic director Jeff Moreno parted ways with longtime coach Steve Landon in March, Moreno knew he had to find a replacement with a track record of success in turning programs around.
At the time, Thomas was finishing up his third season coaching the seventh-grade team over at Woodstock Middle School. He stepped down from the varsity boys basketball job at Woodstock High after the 2015-16 season to take a larger administrative role with the school.
But three years after that departure, Moreno could sense that Thomas had the itch to get back. Teaching the basics of basketball could only satisfy so much.
“I like the way he is around kids; he views it as an extension of the classroom,” Moreno said on Wednesday. “What he brings to the table is something that can be used for the rest of your life. How he approaches things honestly and openly is to be commended. To that end, he is very good about keeping kids accountable.”
Thomas’ track record speaks for itself.
In 2007 he guided No. 12 seed South Royalton to a Division III state title, his second in three years with the Royals. When he took over at Woodstock in 2011, the Wasps went 3-17. By 2015, the Wasps finished 23-0 and won their first state title in 17 years.
He’s been around basketball for as long as he can remember. Thomas’ first head coaching gig was the girls junior varsity team at Springfield in 1986.
History is against him, however, in Hartford.
Along with no state title since 1929, the Canes haven’t made a championship game appearance since 1933 and haven’t been to a state semifinal since 1984. The last postseason win came in 2013.
“You know, to go back to living and breathing basketball six months out of the year … it’s just like I knew I loved you, but I didn’t really realize I loved you this much,” Thomas joked. “Come to me three years from now and ask me what the challenges are.
“Hartford’s always been a good team when I’ve had to prepare to play them. They’ve always been really tough kids. There’s some great athletes. I mean, look at our football or soccer programs; they’re really good athletes. So I’m excited to be able to actually coach them.”
Since he was named Hartford’s coach in May, Thomas has also made sure to get involved at the youth level. In November, he helped run the Hartford Recreation youth basketball camps.
He already has a plan in place for camps this summer, too. From June 22-26 at Hartford, Thomas will run a skills camp with mornings dedicated to the youth and afternoon focused on high schoolers.
Varsity players this season will also be expected to help coach youth teams this winter, and Thomas plans to bring players to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for community service work.
It’s some of the many ways Thomas hopes to build a pipeline of talent, but he can’t think about summer plans now.
The focus of the moment is on molding his first Hartford team; final cuts were made on Wednesday night. He will have fewer than 10 days to get his roster ready for its Dec. 14 debut against Harwood.
“I appreciate that he is embracing it (1929),” Moreno said. “It’s one of the ultimate challenges in Vermont high school sports. It takes that kind of attitude to tackle it. He’s not shy. I give him a lot of credit. The sky’s the limit, but he has some tremendously difficult work in front of him.”
Pete Nakos can be reached at 603-727-3306 or pnakos@vnews.com.