Longtime Turners Falls High School track and field coach Ron Hebert passed away last week at the age of 83.
Hebert, who grew up in Northampton, attended Northampton High School and later graduated from Springfield College, was heavily involved in the Western Mass. track and running communities. He took over the Turners Falls cross country and track and field programs in 2002, where he remained until last year. Prior to that he coached at Williston and Northampton High School, beginning his coaching career in 1969 with the Blue Devils before spending eight years coaching cross country at Williston in the ’90s.
Hebert was also heavily involved with the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club and started the Florence 8-Mile Road Race — which later became known as the Ron Hebert Road Race — in 1969, a race that is still held annually. For all his accomplishments within the running community, Hebert was inducted into the Western Mass. Runners’ Hall of Fame in 2022.
“Ron was great here in Turners,” Turners Falls athletic director Adam Graves said. “He invited all kids into his track program. He was old school in his ways but new school in how he taught. He was always looking for new techniques and ways to help the kids. He was still old school though — he still wrote down his training cards for the kids every day. The kids became better athletes and people from being around him. They called him ‘Grandpa Ron’ and that’s who he was.
“The kids loved him,” Graves added. “If you followed his workouts, you’d get better. He knew his stuff. He’ll be missed. He was the kind of coach who would take his jacket off his back and give it to the kids during meets. That’s the kind of guy he was.”
Greenfield High School track and field coach Pete Conway, who began coaching against Hebert in the 1970’s, said he will miss seeing Hebert at meets.
“He was a coaching friend starting in the ’70’s when he was at Northampton High School,” Conway said. “He never spoke a negative word about another coach. Some coaches couldn’t see the man through the image and didn’t understand Ron the way that I do. I will miss seeing him. He was an extraordinary person in his own way.”
Hebert was proud of his work with the Special Olympics, helping bring it to Western Mass. In 1964, Hebert helped Special Olympics founder Eunice Shriver with the first-ever Games. He was in charge of the New England contingent that traveled to the University of Southern California for the inaugural games, with six Northampton residents competing.
Hebert spent time as a track and field official and was also heavily involved in his road race, showing up every year and handing out socks to each finisher, a tradition he started when the race first began.
Within the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club, he became a quartermaster. He did that until just a few years ago, and his responsibilities included delivering equipment to those conducting races and being responsible for all the precious cargo like clocks, mile markers, etc.
David Martula, who went to high school with Hebert and is now a Director-At-Large within the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club, said he will remember Hebert as the great person he was.
“He was a strong, sweet guy,” Martula said. “He was very modest. He was a track coach in the area and they all liked him very much. We’ll miss him. He was always positive and never felt sorry for himself. He was just an amazing guy.”
Patrick Pezzati, who serves as clerk for the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club, had the unique perspective of working alongside Hebert as well as having a son who was coached by him for a season.
Pezzati said that all the athletes who were coached by Hebert seemed to really enjoy him.
“He was an old school guy,” Pezzati said. “He believed in doing things the old fashioned way. He’d be out there still coaching with the clipboard and the stopwatch. He was going to do it his way. My son ran for him briefly. Ron was great with the kids. The kids really liked him.”
Within the athletic club, Hebert was always on top of things and was always someone you could depend on.
“He showed up at every meeting,” Pezzati said. “He was extremely dedicated and always there. He was very reliable.”