Cragin Named Assistant Coach Of Year

By Andy Hutchison

Brian Cragin, Newtown High School’s assistant boys’ basketball coach, has been named the Connecticut High School Coaches Association’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2009-10 season.

A nine-year assistant at Newtown High, Cragin has coached under Head Coach John Quinn and was nominated by Quinn following this year’s 17-win season, which included a run to the South-West Conference championship game.

Cragin was recognized at the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Boys Basketball All State Banquet at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington this month. The award is in recognition of many years of service and dedication to student athletes and Cragin was selected by Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference executive coaches board.

Also an assistant with the high school’s football team, Cragin has worked as an assistant with the baseball team. He has received many accolades during his career, including Connecticut Sportsmanship Awards for basketball and baseball.

“He is a tireless worker, with an outstanding basketball mind. He understands the game like no one I have known in the coaching business. He has made me a better coach, and made our teams very competitive and fun to watch,” Quinn said in his nomination letter.

“I understand the importance of preparation and execution, half court offenses/defenses, out of bounds plays philosophies, etcetera, but what is most important in coaching is trust and loyalty amongst your players and staff,” Cragin said.

In detailing Cragin’s duties, Quinn notes that the assistant coach draws up a practice plan at 6 am every morning and that Cragin runs the bulk of the drills, teaching the team’s zone offense and other strategies.

“As a bench coach, he is outstanding. As head coach, I cannot ask for a better assistant, both technically and emotionally,” Quinn wrote in the letter.

Cragin’s involvement in education and interscholastic athletics dates back nearly three decades. His career began in 1982 at St Thomas More Preparatory School in Colchester, where he worked as athletic director and assistant basketball coach with Quinn’s brother Jere. Cragin spent six years at St Thomas More, working toward his certification to teach in Connecticut, and taught several courses along the way.

Cragin then spent a year at Holy Cross in Waterbury, teaching mathematics, and working as assistant football and baseball coach. He left the state briefly for a job as head football, baseball, and basketball coach at Sidwell Friends Academy in Washington, D.C., where he also taught math from 1989 to 1992.

Cragin returned to his roots in 1992, to teach special education at New Fairfield High School. He served as the head basketball coach and head baseball coach for five years, and has coached football and basketball at Newtown High since then, while continuing to teach at New Fairfield High.

Cragin has been involved in promoting youth sports in Newtown, having coached many travel baseball and basketball teams throughout the years and has been actively involved in community-based fundraising events.