In an honor that Newport High Athletic Director Jeffrey Miller suggested is probably overdue, Larry Carle and Bill Thurlow, two stalwarts in Tigers football history, are headed to the NHIAA Hall of Fame.
Carle, who had been an educator and coach for nearly 40 years, was most prominently the head coach of the Newport football program from 1989-2013.
He is the winningest football coach in the school’s history, leading Newport to four titles, while appearing in the championship seven times.
Thurlow, also an educator, coached in Newport’s football program for 55 years, beginning in 1965, starting with scouting and then focusing primarily on the offensive and defensive lines.
During his tenure, Thurlow worked under 11 head coaches and was part of 38 winning seasons, nine championships, and 13 title game appearances.
The Newport duo joins five other honorees who will be officially inducted into the hall this fall.
“For several decades before my name, I had the title ‘Coach,’ or that was my nickname… and now — and it’s raising my heart rate — I get to have in the nominative case, you know, a descriptor, as a member of the NHIAA Hall of Fame — that’s pretty exciting,” Carle, who also coached Newport’s baseball team to its only state title in 1983, said of the honor.
While Thurlow was of the mindset that the recognition has more to do with the Newport football program than him personally, he was happy to be tabbed for the hall.
“I was also very pleased to go in as an assistant coach because I know most of the people in there as coaches were head coaches — I never was,” he said. “I think in a way it’s nice to see assistant coaches have somebody in there that represents the hard work that they and volunteer coaches do.”
As hall of famers to be, both coaches “exemplify the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct, and moral character and when appropriate, carry the endorsement to their respective high school,” according to the NHIAA’s general criteria for nominees in a document on its website.
Coaches are “eligible upon retirement, after 20years of service to the high schools of New Hampshire,” to enter the hall of fame, the document says.
Although the hall of fame distinction is exciting for each coach individually, it is made even more special that they will enter in the same class.
“Larry and I coached together for over 30 years. He was a good friend of mine; we’ve gone through a lot of success and had some difficult times as well — I know it means a lot to him and to go in together — to me it’s a great tribute to Newport High School and Newport High School football,” Thurlow said.
“His going into it is richly deserved… like me, he was a teacher/coach… and he brought a lot of those principles and values to the practice field,” he added.
Carle echoed that sentiment and praised his coaching pal.
“We’re speaking of a man who is so goshdarn good as a teacher/coach that there’s a street named after him beside the school,” he said. “To be able to have my name stand beside his name — this is a huge compliment… I’ve never seen a better leader of young people in the classroom or on the playing field than my friend.”
Miller, who not only played under both as a student but supervised them as athletic director, was complimentary of the duo.
He added that both were certainly worthy of the honor, especially given their roles in leading one of the state’s smallest public school football programs to success over the years.
“I’ve always thought that coaching is just an extension of the classroom, and these two were phenomenal teachers in the building for years, and they just extended that and just taught life lessons that all of us who played for them still try and pattern ourselves after now and model,” Miller said.
While their coaching days are mostly behind them — Carle still helps the team with the quarterbacks — their impact is still felt.
“Everybody within the program were kids who played for Larry and Mr. Thurlow,” said Miller.
“There’s that lasting legacy and impact. It’s still going on today because you look at our youth feeder program and they’re still running basic sets and plays that the high school has run for the past 40 or 50 years,” he added.
Among the specific ways their fingerprints are still on the program is through Kevin Pollari, who will begin his first year as Newport’s head football coach in the fall. He not only played under Carle and Thurlow, but also coached with them.
“It has created a coaching tree and a legacy for the past 30 years now that I don’t know many other coaches in the state that have done that; it’s pretty exciting to be a part of,” he said.
In his first season as head coach, one of the biggest things he will take away from his hall-of-fame mentors is ensuring coaching and game plans are tailored to his players’ skill sets.
Ultimately, Pollari too thought the honors for his former coaches and colleagues were overdue.
“Their legacy at Newport is second to none as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I’m not sure I fully understood it when I was a high school kid, but it wasn’t far out of high school when I realized how great their program was.”
“I can’t say enough good things about the two of them,” Miller said. “I would play for them any day, and one of the best things I could say is, if my kids had the chance to play for them, I would have been very, very happy for that.”
The NHIAA Hall of Fame banquet is set for Nov. 15 at the Courtyard Marriott in Concord. The event will begin with a reception at about 11:30 a.m., lunch at 12:45 p.m. and the induction ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets are available for $60 and must be purchased by Oct. 30 by either calling 603-228-8671 or emailing info@nhiaa.org.
