Coach, Athletic Director, Mentor

The contributions a coach makes to his school and community are not only measured in wins and losses and such is the case with Bill Atkinson. While his teams achieved significant successes on the playing field, “Mr. A” will be equally remembered for the high ethical principles he practiced in his daily life and instilled in the hundreds of students whose lives he touched.

A graduate of Springfield College, Bill had his first contact with Suffield High School when he practice taught here in 1949-50. He returned in 1954 to become athletic director, coach of the soccer, basketball and baseball teams, and to teach physical education. His soccer teams won six conference titles and went to the State Tournament Semi-Finals on five occasions, sharing the State Title with Hale-Ray in 1958 and winning it outright in 1960. The latter win broke Hale-Ray’s 56 game unbeaten streak! SHS also won its first ever State Basketball Championship in 1960 under the tutelage of Stanley Meila who had served as Bill’s assistant coach (three sports) for several years.

To help develop a feeder system for basketball, Bill conceived the Saturday Morning league for seventh and eighth graders using his varsity players as coaches. A similar arrangement was later established in soccer. He was instrumental, too, in establishing the North Central Connecticut Conference, a 12-team league that is still flourishing today.

During the summers, Mr. A (first as a staff member and later as owner/operator) conducted camps for boys. The early ones were primarily basketball camps and featured NBA players. Many Suffield boys attended his camps or served as counselors.

In 1964, he was ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church (serving for five years in Suffield’s Calvary Church) and in 1971 was ordained an Episcopal Priest. He is to this day in constant demand to officiate at baptisms, weddings, and sadly, funerals for his many Suffield friends.

1965 to Present: Coach – Field Hockey, Basketball, Cheerleading

A native of Suffield, Cookie attended Suffield High before the advent of girl’s interscholastic sports. She nonetheless played four years on her class intramural basketball squad leading the team to four consecutive finals (a game played before the entire student body). It was highly unusual for Freshman and Sophomore teams to make the finals. She was a three-year varsity cheerleader serving as captain her senior season. While attending Southern Connecticut State College, she played three years of field hockey and two years of basketball. In 1964, working with Becky Laemal, the two women organized the first formal recreation program in Suffield. Cookie later served on the Recreation Commission for several years.

She joined the Enfield School System in 1965 to teach physical education and to coach. She is in her 37^th year of coaching field hockey where her teams have won five State Championships, been State runner-up once, and won nine League Championships along the way. Her teams have finished atop the Courant Coach’s Poll (best in the State) twice and two of her players were high school All-Americans. She was the girls basketball coach at Enfield High for 17 years and spent 10 years as varsity cheerleading coach.

She was Division M Field Hockey Coach of the Year four times, Connecticut High School Coaches Association Field Hockey Coach of the Year, and National High School Coach of the Year in Field Hockey. The Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance named her High School Female Coach of the Year in 1995. She was in the first induction class of the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame, a member of the New Agenda: Northeast Hall of Fame as a high school coach, and a member of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Cookie has served on numerous Connecticut High School Coaches Association and Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference boards for field hockey. In 2003, she retired from active teaching but remains varsity field hockey coach at Enfield High School.

Golf, Soccer, Basketball

Russ graduated from Suffield High School in 1983 following a distinguished three-sport career and winner of the Meade Alcorn Outstanding Athlete Award. He was captain of the 1982 soccer team and was a starting midfielder on SHS’s undefeated 1981 Class M State Championship squad (17-0-3). In basketball, he captained the 1982-83 team when he also received the most valuable player award. But it was in golf where Russ achieved his greatest accomplishments. A three-time All-NCCC golfer, he led the team to three consecutive NCCC Championships and to Suffield’s first ever State Golf Championship in 1982. During this three-year period, he was undefeated in NCCC play!

In both 1982 and 1983, he was selected to the All State Golf Team and, during 1983, Captain Fricke set the SHS scoring record of 67 in a dual match against Tolland and East Granby High Schools…the record still stands today. During this same 1983 season, Suffield played and beat Glastonbury High School (the defending Division I State Champion) in a match in which Russ defeated Tim Petrovic in individual head-to-head play. Petrovic is now a PGA Tour professional. With partner Jeff Bracket, Russ finished second in the CHAPPA State Two Man High School Invitational.

Outside his high school competition, he was the Ellington Ridge Junior Champion in 1981, the Suffield Country Club Men’s Champion in 1982, a semi-finalist in the 1982 CSGA Junior Championship, and was selected by CSGA to represent Connecticut in a Ryder Cup format competition against a junior team from Great Britain in 1983.

Following high school, Russ received a scholarship the University of Richmond where he played all four years and was captain of the team his senior year. He captured the James Madison University Invitational individual title in 1986 and the Richmond team won the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship that same year.

Since graduating from college, Russ has won or highly placed in several Virginia and Connecticut golf tournaments, notably winning the Richmond Golf Association City Amateur Championship in 1988. He played briefly as a professional on the Florida Mini-Tour but has since been reinstated as an amateur.

Field Hockey, Basketball, Softball, Coach, Special Olympics

In 1972, Title IX opened the doors for female athletes to take center stage and Mary-Jane took full advantage of the opportunity presented. A versatile three-sport athlete, she played three years of varsity field hockey, four years of basketball, and four years of softball.

In field hockey, she was All NCCC playing goalie for the Wildcats. Captain in her senior year, in the very last game as a high school player against Tolland, she scored the only goal of her career and it lifted Suffield to a 1-0 win!

A prolific scorer and rebounder in basketball, she started all four years and became the first girl in SHS history to score 1000 points. The biggest night of her career came against East Granby when she scored 34 points. With Mary-Jane leading the way, Suffield captured three NCCC titles over her four years and was a regular participant in the State Tournament. For her efforts, she received multiple team MVP and All NCCC honors and was honorable mention for the prestigious All State team. She was team captain in her senior year.

Team captain in softball, as well, Mary-Jane had an outstanding four-year career as an infielder. Here, too, she won multiple team MVP and All NCCC honors.

Mary-Jane continued her education at the University of Maine in Farmington where she played both field hockey (three years) and basketball (two years). As a goalie in field hockey, she was named team MVP her freshman year, when in one game she made an astounding 35 saves! In her two years of varsity basketball, UMF was 27 and 9 with Mary-Jane the second leading scorer as a freshman and leading scorer as a sophomore. The Dean’s List student graduated in 1982 with an outstanding GPA of 3.75 and was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, a national honor society for education majors, in 1981. A special education teacher, Mary-Jane is a long-time volunteer for Special Olympics and continues to be active in Windsor Locks where she began the Special Olympic Program in 1997. She coached the Windsor Locks High School field hockey team from 1986 to 1992.

Baseball, Soccer, Basketball

Dave was a prominent three-sport athlete at Suffield High School from 1957 to 1961. A window to his future prowess occurred in the mid-1950’s when David played Little League baseball for the Rotary team. It was a four-team, town-wide league at the time with Dave playing a pivotal role in Rotary winning back-to-back championships in 1954 and 1955. In 1955, he set a remarkable record of hitting 18 home runs in an 18 game schedule.

While at Suffield High, Dave played varsity soccer for three years, basketball for two years, and baseball for four years. His speed, daring, and determination made him an exceptional goal-scorer. During his tenure, Suffield won its first ever State Championship in 1958 when they were declared Co-State Champions after tying Hale-Ray 1-1. They lost in the semi-finals in 1959 and won the State Championship outright in 1960, beating Hale-Ray (and ending their 56 game unbeaten streak). David scored 22 goals that season including the only goal in the title game. Over his three year career, SHS won 43 games, tied 8, and lost but 2!

While not a natural basketball talent, Dave nonetheless was a starting guard on Suffield’s 1960 State Championship team. His speed, defense and intelligence made him a valuable contributor (and the only non-senior starter) on that 24-1 quintet. He won a crucial jump ball with the score tied in the championship game that enabled SHS to maintain control of the ball and convert the winning basket at the buzzer.

Dave really shined on the baseball field where he played center field and consistently led the team in home runs and runs-batted-in. The consummate team player, when a medical problem sidelined him his junior year, he spent the season coaching third base to remain an integral part of the team. In his senior year, he led the team to one of SHS’s best baseball records of 11 wins and 5 losses, while batting .450 (mostly on extra base hits). In his first two years he hit over .400. When a Red Sox scout came to see him play, he hit a single, triple and home run. Against a very strong Berlin High team (and future major league pitcher Gary Waslewski), David also had a single, triple and home run.

Dave was the 1961 Meade Alcorn Outstanding Athlete and, following high school, he went on to play baseball at the University of Hartford where he continued his power hitting with numerous home runs and a batting average of .332. He also played in the semi-pro Hartford Twilight League for three years and was among the league leaders in hitting as well as a League All Star. Throughout his athletic career in both high school and college, Dave consistently made the honor roll and dean’s list and was a member of the SHS National Honor Society.

Football, Basketball, Baseball

Bill attended Suffield High School for three years but later transferred to Suffield Academy to pursue his desire to play football. Earning a full athletic scholarship at the Academy he graduated in 1948. While at SHS, he played baseball and basketball and during this same period played football for the Windsor Locks Ramblers, an independent team.

At Suffield Academy, he starred for the undefeated 1946 football team (7-0). Rated as the strongest prep school team in the area, the team gave up only 19 points all season and became the first Tiger team to go undefeated since the early 1920’s. Bill captained the 1947 team and again played a leading role when they finished with 3 wins, 3 losses and a tie. An outstanding basketball player as well, he played on the 1946-47 Academy basketball team that finished 21-1 (losing only to a powerful West Point Plebes team). The team went on to participate in the Eastern States Basketball Tournament. The next basketball season, Bill played a key role as the Academy won the Class A Invitation Prep School Tournament with an upset of highly touted Tilton (NH) 40-36. The Tigers won 16 and lost only 4 during the regular season.

Following graduation, Bill received a full athletic scholarship to Wake Forest University in football where he played for four years and was an outstanding runner at fullback. He averaged over 5 yards/carry as a freshman on “one of the strongest Wake Forest frosh teams in 25 years.” They finished 4-1, losing only to North Carolina by one point! Touted as a Doc Blanchard look-alike, Bill was often compared to the Army player in style and with the same devastating running results. Some highlights from throughout his collegiate career include:

¨ As a sophomore, Wake went 4-6.

¨ Scored TD in loss to North Carolina and in big win over William & Mary.

¨ Scored and ran brilliantly in 27-7 win over Duke.

¨ As a junior, team was 6-1-2; first time in 26 years Wake did not lose to any North Carolina opponent.

¨ Leading ground gainer for Wake Forest as a junior…721 yards on 178 carries.

¨ Scored only TD in tie with Boston College, scored TD in lopsided win over Richmond,

¨ Scored twice in 47-0 win over William & Mary, and scored once in one-point loss to Clemson in battle of unbeatens.

¨ As a senior, Wake won 6 and lost 4, beating all three North Carolina opponents.

¨ Hampered by injuries most of the season, Bill had a breakout game in a win over Duke.

In recognition of his success on the gridiron, Bill was voted Honorable Mention All American, Third Team UP All South, and made All Southern Conference Second Team in 1951. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 11^th round of the 1951 NFL Draft. In his brief time in the NFL, he played all of the preseason only to have a career ending injury in but his second regular season game.

Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Coach

Maybe it’s in the genes…the son of legendary athlete and coach Danny Sullivan, David has carved his own unique niche in the annals of Suffield athletics. Achieving outstanding success as both an athlete and a coach, he first came into prominence as a freshman soccer player in 1981 when he scored the only goal in Suffield’s State Championship win over Valley Regional. Dave started varsity for four years, was the leading scorer on the team for three of those years, and was captain in both his junior and senior years. His exploits earned him All NCCC honors for three years and All State honors for two years.

In his four- year varsity career in basketball, Dave was captain in 1985 when the Wildcats captured their second State Basketball Championship in school history. He was the play- maker averaging just over seven points per game for a very talented quintet that finished 27-1. Dave also played varsity baseball for three years where he was captain for his final two years. He earned All NCCC recognition as a junior and senior. Capping his 11-letter athletic career, David received the Meade Alcorn Outstanding Athlete Award in 1985.

Following high school graduation, David went on to Boston College on a soccer scholarship and played for the Eagles for four years. He led the team in scoring for three years, was All Big East as a sophomore, and traveled to Europe to play as a member of the PUMA USA East Regional All Stars. For two years after college, he played semi-pro soccer for the Moodus Rowdies.

In 1990, David began coaching soccer (first boys and now girls) at Suffield High School. In 1991, his boys team copped the fifth boys State Championship in Suffield High history and the first since Dave’s playing days in 1981! Following a four year hiatus, he returned to coach the girls soccer team in 1998 starting a string of three consecutive trips to the State Finals in which his teams won the girls State Championship in 1998 and 2000. The 1998 Crown was the first ever State Title for any SHS girls athletic team! Presently in his 6^th season, Coach Sullivan has had 8 of his players receive soccer scholarships to Division I colleges.

Outside of his high school coaching role, Dave has been active in the Suffield Parks and Recreation Commission as a member, vice chairman, and coach as well as coaching Suffield youth teams for the Soccer Club, Little League, and Travel Basketball.