Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Winter 2007

Thornton
Academy

What’s Inside

POSTSCRIPTS

Crossing the Finish Line
Mondor steps away from coaching after 33 years

Supercharged Science
With donors help, Thornton
has added laptops for student use during high school
science classes. Read more
about how the technology
has changed teaching on
pages 4-5.

Awesome Athletics
From the induction of the
Thornton’s first Athletic Hall
of Fame class and the addition of middle school sports
to coaching milestones. Read
more on pages 7-11.

Welcome Grades 6-8
In September, Thornton welcomed middle school
students for the first time
since 1848. Check out the
photos on pages 12-13.

TA QUOTE
“There are
moments when
I think ‘maybe I
am too involved,’
and then I see
someone else
giving so much
more. That’s what
keeps me driving
forward.”

year. It was
After more than two decades of coaching cross
not until he
country and three decades of coaching overall
enrolled at
at Thornton Academy, Director of Guidance Paul
Providence
Mondor ’68 has put away his coach’s whistle for the
College that
last time.
his love of
This fall, Mondor finished his last season
running
coaching boys and girls cross country, marking 22
developed.
seasons coaching the boys team and 17 seasons
“At that
coaching the girls team.
time, I lived
While Mondor has no plans to retire from his
with a bunch
post in Guidance any time soon, he says he wanted
of guys on the
to step down from coaching while he still connected
cross country
with students and so he can spend more time with
team. They
his family in the coming years. In the last decade,
were a pretty
Mondor has coached both his daughter Nicole
great, pretty
Durand Derr ’00 and his son John Mondor ’07, who is
focused group of guys, and they would get me to run
expected to graduate this spring, in cross-country.
with them,” says Mondor.
“[My wife and I] wanted time to visit our son
When Mondor came back to Thornton to teach, he
next year at college, and it would be tough if I
knew he wanted to begin coaching and immediately
were still coaching,” says Mondor. “It’s tough. All
got his feet wet as the assistant boys track coach.
coaches give up family time. I was fortunate to have
“Since then I have never looked back,” adds
coached my daughter and my son. This a great way
Mondor.
to end…seeing John

Since that first season, Mondor has
through.”
coached girls and boys freshman basketball,
In 44 years
indoor track (assistant coach), freshman
of cross country,
baseball, baseball (assistant coach), spring
Thornton Academy
track and cross country.
has had only three

Over the years, he has evolved into
boys team coaches:
an “outstanding coach,” says Thornton
Dominic DiBiase,
from 1961 to 1970;
—Paul Mondor ‘68, Academy Director of Athletics Dick Agreste.

“When we were starting out, he had
Dick Parker ’60,
on coaching. a deep caring for his athletes. He worked
from 1971 to 1984;
hard, was well organized, and very well
and Mondor who
prepared. Therefore, his athletes were well
took over coaching
prepared,” says Agreste. “The big thing with Paul is
duties in 1985. Paul Nannery ‘69 coached the girls
his communication skills with athletes. All of those
cross country team up until the 1990 season, when
things were present when we were young coaches
the two teams combined under Mondor’s leadership.
and, as athletic director, just seeing all of those
Under Mondor, the boys team has had only seven
qualities evolve, they are what his athletes have
losing seasons in 22 years, with only 9 individual
benefited from.”
meet losses from 1993 to 1998. During his 17 years
As a Thornton coach, Mondor is most credited for
as girls cross country coach, his teams only had
building the prominence of cross-country as a sport
one losing season, and from 1998 to 2001, his worst
among student athletes, says Thornton substitute
season for the girls team was a mere 11-2. In all, his
coordinator and girls track coach George Mendros
boys and girls teams combined have qualified for 24
‘76.
state meets and boast a 345-171 record (174-109 boys;
“Mondor is very charismatic, down to earth and
171-62 girls).
very loyal to his athletes,” says Mendros. “When he
Despite a long career coaching track and cross
started taking over spring track, we were getting
country at Thornton, Mondor himself did not run in
about 20 boys. A few years later, we were getting
high school. Rather, he played football, basketball,
over 50. When he started coaching cross country, it
and baseball at different times, and completely
was very similar. There were very few boys on the
abandoned athletics for academics during his senior
team. Now Thornton has
one of biggest teams in the
league in both boys and
girls cross country.”
This is due mostly to
Mondor’s enthusiasm for
the sport and his belief in
his athletes, adds Agreste.
“His passion just
permeates his athletes. He
puts the sport as a very
meaningful activity in

“It’s never frustrating;
always the best part
of my job.”

See Mondor on page 10

Cross country coach Paul
Mondor takes in a little
practice with members of
the 1986 cross country
team.

—Trustee and Alumni Board
President Ken Janson on volunteering at Thornton. To read
more, turn to page 3.

POSTSCRIPTS * WINTER 2007