Fazio: 2 decades of coaching success

By John Molori
MethuenLife Writer

The dean of boys’ basketball coaches in the Merrimack Valley Conference belongs to the city of Methuen, but with one pretty significant catch. Dave Fazio coaches basketball at rival Andover High School, and he realizes that he is, in many ways, a stranger in his own town.
“I know I’m not the most popular guy in Methuen,” jokes the 44-year-old Fazio. “But we love our house and living in this city.” Fazio is celebrating his 20th year at Andover, and his success is unquestionable. His teams have won eight MVC titles and he has been named league Coach of the Year six times.
Andover currently holds the record for the most consecutive Division 1 State Tournament appearances, and Fazio’s acclaimed Hooptown Basketball Camp (www.hooptowncamp.com) regularly draws over 1,000 kids from around the region.
With more than two decades of coaching under his belt, Fazio gives the real X’s and O’s on teaching the game to our children. He states, “More than anything, I want kids to come through those doors to learn the game. It is about fun and energy, but also about camaraderie and relationships. I want them to enjoy these times and have an enthusiasm for life, to dance like no one’s watching.”
Fazio grew up in Lawrence and has seen all aspects of the social landscape in our area. He played basketball for Dick Licare at Central Catholic (Class of 1983) and was a student-athlete at Salem State where he obtained his undergraduate degree in 1987 and his master’s in administration in 1994.
He believes that sports can be a strong training ground for life: “Steve Kelley and Bill Robinson at the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club had a great impact on me at an early age. I tell kids that every day, when you wake up, life is a challenge. As coaches, we teach life skills and build the foundation for a successful life.”
Fazio’s first head coaching job was at Dracut High School in 1988. With his adrenaline pumping, he was eager to jump right into the fray.
“I wanted to do every single thing I had ever learned in the first or second practice,” he recalls.
“We scrimmaged Central Catholic and I had eight out-of-bounds plays. With time, I learned that the kids have to trust you and know you’re real. When you make mistakes, you have to be able to laugh at yourself.”
Like many of the kids he now coaches, Fazio’s path was not always smooth, but it led him to the life he enjoys today: “I struggled athletically when I got to high school. It was the first time I played against kids who were better than I was. Playing against kids from other towns was an eye-opener. Once I realized I was not going to be a pro, I knew I wanted to stay in the game.
“I sold real estate for a while, but Dick Licare was a great role model for me. He was a teacher and a coach at Central and I thought that would be a great job.”
Along the way, Coach Faz, as he is known to players and colleagues, learned some hard life lessons. He explains, “My mom passed away during my sophomore year in college at Salem State. That was a difficult time when I had to really grow up.
“(Current Celtics assistant coach) Tom Thibodeau recruited me. He was an assistant coach my freshman year and the head coach my sophomore year, but he had eyes on the NBA and I think he forgot where it all started for him. Dana Skinner coached me my last two years at Salem State and he really had a great influence on me.”
Fazio lives in Methuen with wife Colleen and children D.J., Ally and Alivia. As a dad with his kids in Methuen and as a coach with his “other” kids in Andover, he believes the old adage that honesty is the best policy: “You have to be truthful in the way you communicate, and you never want to be hypocritical. When you’re in the trenches with the kids, they can tell if you’re trying to sell them something, or if you really care.”

Larry’s Legacy
The 2nd annual Larry Klimas Memorial Golf Tournament is slated for Saturday, June 27 at Merrimack Golf Course in Methuen. Registration is at 7 am with an 8 am tee time. The four-person shotgun scramble is $130 per person including cart, shirt, raffle prizes and a steak lunch. All proceeds benefit the LPK Memorial Scholarship Fund, which helps defray the cost of post-secondary education for scholarship recipients.
The tournament is a fitting legacy to Coach Klimas who passed away in 2002. Klimas guided the Methuen Ranger football program for 25 years with a 140-113-10 record, highlighted by five MVC titles. His 1992 team won the Massachusetts Division 2A Super Bowl.
As a track coach from 1971 to 2002, Klimas won five State Class Championships and 10 MVC Championships. The tournament is run by Klimas’ wife Judy and her family. Former Ranger football player and coach Glen Gearin is also an organizer.
“Judy has been giving scholarships to kids since Larry died,” explains Gearin. “Last year she ran a trial tourney at Merrimack that was attended by 50 golfers. I’m helping her this year in hopes of making it bigger and better.”
A tremendous golfer and all-around athlete, Klimas is a member of the Massachusetts State Football Coaches and State Track Coaches Halls of Fame. He was also inducted into the Lawrence High School and Methuen High School Halls of Fame. The Methuen High School Fieldhouse bears his name.
Gearin played for Klimas and succeeded him as Methuen’s head coach. He discussed with MethuenLife the legendary coach’s legacy: “It was important to Larry that his student-athletes be as good a person off the field as they were on the field.