ORFORD — Last winter, Tim Goodwin watched coaches pace the sidelines of Rivendell Academy’s basketball court from the stage, which sits above the court. He enjoyed hearing what they told their teams during timeouts and also jotted down stats for Raptor coaches.
Now he will be in the huddle during timeouts with players looking to him for direction.
The school’s longtime girls soccer coach, Goodwin says his first love was basketball. He takes over the Rivendell girls hoop program for Dennis Fitzgerald, who went 10-30 in two seasons.
“It’s fun watching other coaches,” Goodwin said in a Wednesday morning phone interview. “At halftime, I can think about what would I do if I was the Rivendell coach, what would I try to change, and then see what they actually do.”
For Rivendell athletic director and boys basketball coach Ross Convertino, the hire made too much sense not to execute. Goodwin’s served as the Rivendell Middle School girls basketball coach the last five years and has previous experience with the girls programs at Plainfield Elementary and Lebanon High.
More importantly to Convertino was Goodwin’s experience with the players at Rivendell. Goodwin coached nearly the entire roster when they were in middle school, and his nine years spent running the girls soccer program gives him credibility on the hardwood.
Goodwin guided the girls on the pitch to a 5-5-1 record this fall and an appearance in the VPA Division IV semifinals. The Raptors nearly won the state title last fall, falling to Proctor in the championship game, 6-0.
“I think, for a lot of kids, soccer was an escape (this fall),” said Goodwin, who served as the Twin State Lions Cup Vermont girls coach in 2016. “I saw a lot of kids walking over to practice with their heads down and leaving practice with their heads up, talking to each other and joking with their teammates.”
He formed Rivers Edge Sports Club in 2018 as a way for soccer players to play travel soccer in the spring and not make the trip down to Norwich’s Lighting Soccer Club. The goal wasn’t to compete with Lightning for membership but provide a fair-priced alternative for those located in the northern Connecticut River Valley.
Goodwin’s added a basketball wing of the club since then, putting Convertino in charge of travel teams and a youth clinic. The two also hope to organize a summer basketball camp in the near future.
Rivers Edge is not Goodwin’s full-time job; he’s a partner at 4 Legs & a Tail Magazine, which is based out of Lebanon and publishes magazines for animal lovers in New Hampshire and Vermont.
Prior to taking over the girls varsity soccer job with Rivendell, Goodwin assisted Hank Tenney’s teams at Hanover and Rivendell. He’ll follow in his mentor’s footsteps again with basketball, too, as Tenney coached the Raptors girls basketball team from 2013-18.
“Coaching is coaching,” Convertino said. “Tim has knowledge of the game, and especially at this level; if you can coach, you can coach. He’s always immersed himself in the game. I think it’s an easy transition for him because, first and foremost, he’s very good at coaching young women, and he has a proven track record of developing student-athletes here at Rivendell.
“He’s a guy of high character and integrity. He’s a hard worker; there’s not a single coach in the Upper Valley who is going to outwork him in whatever he’s doing. I’ll put my yearly salary on that.”
Goodwin doesn’t predict the switch from soccer to basketball will be too difficult. If anything, managing during competition will be the change, he said. As opposed to soccer, where most of the changes are made in practice, he will have to make the most of timeouts and late-game situations.
He inherits a program that went 6-14 last winter and lost in the opening round of the VPA D-IV tournament for the third consecutive year. Still, the Raptors return leading scorer Adele Tilden (7.8 points per game).
“It’s going to be a blast, but I have a lot of on-the-job learning to do,” Goodwin said.
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.