George Beaudry, who died in 1999, was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004 and now will also be a posthumously inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
George Beaudry receiving his 1982 National Coach of the Year award. Courtesy photo
By Ronni Newton
Nearly three decades after he retired as a teacher and coach at Conard High School, and 16 years after he passed away, George Beaudry will be inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
The honor will be made official on Nov. 19, 2015, at the annual banquet at the Aqua Turf in Southington.
Beaudry will join Bob McKee (1982) and Rob Cersosimo (2012) as one of the few Conard coaches bestowed with that honor.
Beaudry began his coaching career in 1956 at the junior high school level in West Hartford. His career took off after he succeeded Bob McKee at Conard in 1968, and Beaudry earned a spot in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.
During his 18-year tenure as head wrestling coach, from 1968-1986, Beaudry guided the team to an amazing 235-30-2 record – a .880 winning percentage that remains a record to this day.
During that time the Conard team put together winning streaks of 41, 34, and 40 straight matches, won five state titles over the course of eight seasons, and captured 13 league titles – including 12 in Beaudry’s his first 13 years.
Beaudry and then-assistant coach Rob Cersosimo look on during a match. Courtesy photo
In addition, 27 of Beaudry’s wrestlers won state titles, with nine taking state open crowns. His teams finished undefeated eight times, winning four sectional titles during the 1971-74 period. Needless to say, expectations were high when the wrestling season came around!
Although Beaudry was a man of few words, the impact he made on his athletes will forever be etched in their minds. “Coach Beaudry was calm, patient and caring. He expected the best from you and also got the best out of you,” said Dan Zaleski, who was a junior on Beaudry’s final team in 1986.
Rob Cersosimo, a longtime assistant of Beaudry’s who became head coach and who currently serves as one of Conard’s assistant wrestling coaches, first worked with Beaudry when he was a new student teacher at Conard. At a ceremony in February at Conard establishing a scholarship in Beaudry’s name, Cersosimo praised his his former colleague and mentor – a man he said was “cerebral and caring at the same time” and was able to bring out the best in everyone.
“I know one thing, I was mentored properly,” Cersosimo said. “I owe a lot to a lot of people, but coach Beaudry was the best of the best. He was one of the greatest men I have had the opportunity to know, and that includes my dad,” Cersosimo said in February.
George Beaudry. Courtesy photo
Conard wrestling teams were highly successful on the mat, but according to some of his former athletes it was not all about the wins. Al Gianini, who captained the Chieftains in 1973 when they won the Central Connecticut Interscholastic League championship, said, “What set Coach Beaudry apart is that he taught love. He loved us in the true sense of the word and we all loved him. When one of us got in trouble at school or were struggling with our grades we went to Coach Beaudry for advice. I can think of no greater gift a high school coach can teach young men than the capacity for love.”
In addition to coaching wrestling, Beaudry was also the head boys track and field coach from 1974-81 and assisted Bob McKee on the football staff from 1968-77. He was fortunate to win the CHSCA Wrestling Coach of the Year award in 1975 and was named the District I Coach of the Year for the NHSACA in 1982.
In December 1999, the Hartford Courant listed Beaudry as one of two wrestling coaches in its “Best of the Century” edition.
As Bob McKee said in a Hartford Courant article 31 years ago, “When you say Conard wrestling you are really saying George Beaudry. He’s the one who established Conard pride.”
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