Maurer had a way on the sidelines

In 2001, the Adirondack girls basketball team's unbeaten season was in jeopardy.

The Wildcats trailed Rome Catholic by 20 points at halftime. Adirondack coach Tom Maurer didn't yell. He laid out a new plan and new adjustments. The Wildcats cut  Rome's lead to a couple by the end of the third quarter and pulled away in the fourth to hang onto its undefeated season.

Maurer, 59, of West Leyden died Tuesday morning. He had been recovering from hip surgery earlier this month at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.

"It was one of those things he could and they believed," former Maurer assistant coach Dom Ventiquatrro said. "He was fun to coach with."

 

Upfront and honest, Maurer had an old-fashioned disciplined style of coaching. Ventiquattro and longtime softball opponent Pat Whalen of Ilion said Maurer could get away with being tough because his players knew he cared. They saw it. Maurer coached 27 seasons of girls varsity basketball and softball at Adirondack and his dedication included summer league games four days a week.

"He taught them to be more intense and to believe in themselves," Whalen said of Adirondack softball. "I told my kids 'look I'm not the only one who yells.'"