The Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association inducted longtime Greenfield football assistant Al Dean into the Hall of Fame at a banquet at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough on Sunday.
The lavish proceedings at the DoubleTree began with cocktails followed by a dinner. Dean gets the honor in the assistant coach category along with five others in the same category.
“It’s always nice to be recognized,” Dean said. “Part of it seems a little strange. It’s not a job. It’s something I enjoyed doing. To be honored for something like does seem a little unusual for me. I am flattered; that’s for sure. There are really good assistant coaches all around Massachusetts and the committee felt I deserved that recognition.”
Mike Kuchieski played for Dean during his time as quarterback for the Green Wave and then coached with him for 21 years. The defensive guru getting some shiny and universal recognition is long overdue, according to Kuchieski.
“He’s a legend,” Kuchieski said. “It is something that’s been deserving of him for the last 56 years…he’s been up through the ranks. He started off as my middle school coach and then my J.V. and freshman coach. Then my varsity coach. He’s a guru. He does the game right. He’s well deserving. There’s nothing more you can say.”
Kuchieski and Dean have a special relationship that built itself on and off the trenches at Vets Field. Dean has a humble approach to the recognition.
“Our relationship has always been special,” Dean said. “We are connected in so many ways. We coached together since 2004. The reason I am getting the award…he is directly responsible for that. I am sure whoever makes the last decisions on these things he seriously lobbied for that. I didn’t think it was necessary, but I appreciate it.”
Dean began coaching Kuchieski when he was a seventh grader. He coached the middle school team for 10 years at the beginning of his career. Kuchieski evolved as a player during his high school career under Dean before heading to play at Springfield College.
“I coached him for six years,” Dean said of Kuchieski. “As a player he was really involved and concerned. You could tell he was going to play somewhere.”
Drew Conant graduated from Greenfield in 2022. Conant played middle linebacker for the Wave.
“He was one of the greatest coaches and defensive masterminds that I’ve ever been around,” Conant said. “He was also just a guy you could go to if you had any sort of problems or issues on or off the field. He would take a step back from his coaching role and approach it person to person and give you the best advice he could.”
Dean also coached Brodie Conant, Drew Conant’s father. Brodie Conant graduated in 1989.
“If anybody is worth it’s definitely him,” Drew Conant said. “He put his whole life into this game. He coached my father and then he coached me and we are 30 plus years apart. That tells a story right there.”
Dean would have intimate knowledge of the opposing offense every week like clockwork for the Green Wave.
“If there was a weakness in the opponent’s offense, he would definitely exploit it,” Drew Conant said. “He would put us in position to make the plays. Honestly if it looked like his gameplan failed, it’s because we didn’t make the plays.”
In total, the MHSFCA honored 17 players and coaches with inductions and awards. Jim Pugh won the Distinguished Service Award. Tommy Cassell won the Media Award and Ken LaChapelle won the Silvio Cella Lifetime Achievement Award.
