MANASQUAN — Richard Trimble, who recently passed away, could be described as a sports renaissance man, according to Art Gordon, who worked with Trimble at Manasquan High School for over 30 years.
Trimble was a teacher, a coach, a husband, father and grandfather, a writer and an avid reader.
He was a huge advocate of youth and high school sports, but never one who ever wanted any attention.
“He was a baseball coach at Spring Lake Heights and he coached my son Brenan and the kids loved him,’’ said Art Gordon. “I was president of the parents association and at the end of the year I wanted to do something to honor him when Rick finally stopped coaching at Heights. I tried to do something and he said you can do it, but I am not showing up for it. He never wanted accolades, his honor came when he saw his former students excel somewhere else.’’
Art Gordon’s son Brenan, is just one example of a former student of Trimble becoming a teacher and a coach. Brenan is the Manasquan varsity baseball coach. Jim Fagen is another example of a former student of Trimble who had two stints as the Warriors varsity ice hockey coach.
Trimble’s main sports were baseball and ice hockey. He coached Manasquan High School’s first ice hockey team, with his son Andy being one of the top scorers. Trimble also coached football and helped start a weight lifting program.
Trimble would hold weight lifting competitions on the beach and other venues. His daughter Jill Caccamise remembers tagging along to a competition, she and her mom Jean not being so sure about.
“They dragged us to a prison once for a competition,’’ said Jill Caccamise. “My dad was walking into the prison and one of his former students was behind bars, calling out Mr. Trimble!, He had to stop and talk.’’
Trimble was coaching high school level hockey long before the NJSIAA recognized it as a varsity sport.
There would be no Manasquan High School ice hockey if not for the dedication of Trimble, according to Fagen.
It was a nearly 25-year journey when Trimble first organized Manasquan hockey before the team officially became a varsity program and won their first game on Dec. 6, 1996. The program had a Braves team for younger players, a Warrior team for high school players and a Chiefs team for alumni players.
Trimble literally put down the foundation, helping put in concrete for Manasquan’s first inline rink in 1992. His ingenuity and creativity was apparent in his street hockey clinic when he would cut up an old tennis ball and put it inside a wiffle ball as another option to play street hockey with, or hang an old toilet seat from the goal as a target.
Jill remembers her father being a big New Jersey Devils fan growing up because her grandfather Richard Trimble Sr., was a longtime off-ice official for the Devils and family members would go to games at Continental Airlines Arena. When the team moved to its current location at the Prudential Center, Richard Trimble Sr., was not brought in as an off-ice official.
Richard Trimble went back to his old team, the New York Rangers.
“We were all Devil fans at that point and he is watching the Rangers singing their [goal scoring song],’’ said Jill. “We were like Dad what are you doing?!’’
He also ran youth sports clinics, including a baseball camp at Brookdale Community College. Art Gordon remembered Trimble’s connection with the young players.
“He would hand out baseball cards at the end of the day to kids who did well,’’ said Art Gordon. “I remember how the kids looked forward to end of practice sitting under the trees at Brookdale.’’
At his home in Manasquan, he could be found sitting on his porch on one of his homemade chairs made of broken hockey sticks, reading, probably a historical non-fiction book, with a Buffalo Bills flag flying out front.
Trimble was a huge Bills who would go to at least one Bills game a season.
Trimble was a history teacher at Manasquan and was famous for being a voracious reader.
“As a teacher his name comes up at least once a week among the staff at school,’’ said Fagen. “This includes things like his terrible hand-writing, use of a type-writer, his never-ending reading, and other ‘Trimbleisms’ as Art Gordon calls them. His knowledge of history topics was unbelievable. Interestingly, every inductee to the Academic Hall of Fame that was a student while Rick was teaching mentioned him in their speech.’’
He found enough time to write sports for The Coast Star and had a column called “Time Out.’’
Trimble also was the author of several books, including “He Touched Them All,’’ about an LSU baseball player who died young. He also wrote books about developing baseball programs, sports camps and recreational programs and books on baseball and softball drills.
Fagen was best friends with Trimble’s son Andy and played baseball and hockey for Trimble.
“When I received my acceptance letter to Wagner College, I ran back to school to tell him,’’ said Fagen. “When I got my job teaching at Manasquan, he was the second person I told (my wife was first), and when I first became the head ice hockey coach, he was the first person that I told. He helped to guide me all of those times.’’
Fagen feels it is an honor to be in the same conversation as someone like Richard Trimble.
“From time to time people have compared me to Mr. Trimble, largely because I teach history, coach hockey, and people knew my relationship with him,’’ said Fagen. “While being compared to him is one of the greatest compliments one can receive, there is no way that I can fill those shoes and be all that he was.
I try to live up to the values and lessons that he instilled not only in me, but thousands of others, and still often find myself thinking about what he would do at different times. I am not worthy of being compared to him. He was that special of a person and I am thankful for the times that I had with him.’’
Trimble had nine grandchildren and he was a regular at all their events. He would even be at the Sea Girt Army Camp on cold windy mornings, watching one of his grandchildren play one of his least favorite sports, soccer.
“As a father and grandfather he really stepped up into the role,’’ said Caccamise. “He loves it, with his nine grandchildren he would call on Monday’s and get the entire schedule for the week. He would get to everything he possibly could and made us all feel like we were so important, everything we did he was so into. He was very supportive and his grandkids could do no wrong.’’
