Fred Jewett is headed for the hall of fame, even though that has never been his goal. “I don’t coach to be in the hall of fame,” said Jewett, the head coach of boys indoor and outdoor track, as well as cross country, at Hingham High School. “I coach to teach young men how to grow up and be better people and be good men, husbands and fathers, and really help other people learn how to work together. “Teamwork is everything in track, as it is in most sports. I coached football for so many years as well (head-coaching gigs at Archbishop Williams – his alma mater – and Hingham) and all the things I learned there I brought to track and it’s been very successful.” Jewett, a longtime Scituate resident, looks forward to his induction, pleased aplenty to be entering the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Sunday, at The Lantana in Randolph. Proceedings will get under way at 2 p.m. For one who has coached as long as Jewett has – 45 of his 65 years – it’s a rush to be joining such elite company. “It’s a very big thrill,” said Jewett, who has a busy weekend as Hingham will compete in Saturday’s All-State meet at Fitchburg State. “It’s not something I even expected this year, to be quite honest with you. (But) I’ve put my heart and soul into it. It’s nice to be honored in this way.” Jewett is the fourth former Scituate coach to be enshrined in the MSTCA Hall of Fame, following Bill Smith, Jim Rinella and the late Charlie Leverone. “Those guys were legends to me,” Jewett said, “so I’m really honored to even be considered in the same breath with them.” NUMBERS GAME Hingham won the Patriot League Keenan Division this spring with a 6-0 record, giving Jewett and the Harbormen their fourth straight outdoor title and ninth overall (including one as co-champs) since he assumed the winter and spring roles in 2002-03. Jewett took the boys cross country reins in 2013 when his son, Dave, 38, became director of mathematics for Hingham schools K-12. Fred has led cross country to 7-2 and 9-0 records since the transition. Hingham also has dominated winter track, winning the Patriot League crown in nine of the last 10 seasons (including one shared). All of that puts Jewett’s regular-season record at Hingham at a sensational 148-21-1. Jewett stepped down in 2007 as an English teacher at Hingham High after 34 years, but he continues as a substitute and proctors AP exams. “I have children of my former students who are running now,” he mused. “It’s great, a very nice relationship, knowing the parents and seeing how well they’ve grown up and been successful and their kids are just terrific athletes who work so hard at being really, really good. It’s a lot of fun.” THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR Before he began coaching at Hingham High in the winter of 2002, Jewett was boys outdoor and indoor track coach at Scituate High from 1993-2001, going 74-42 overall with the Sailors, winning back-to-back Big 3/Pilgrim Conference indoor titles (1996-98). Gary Moore was a Scituate High captain and distance runner (mile and 2-mile) in 1996-97 and ’97-98. Now in his eighth season as head coach of indoor and outdoor track at Silver Lake, Moore thanks Jewett for laying such a solid foundation in the course of his development. “Going against Fred’s teams, you know they’ll be ready, motivated, and working hard,” said Moore, a Stonehill College graduate who lives in Whitman. “That’s something he instilled in me and what I try to pass on to my athletes.” Moore, whose indoor team (5-0) was league champion this past winter, cited Jewett as “an innovator” who tapped the talents of students who came to track and field from other athletic backgrounds. “He knew they all had something to contribute,” Moore said. “That, combined with his amazing ability to motivate and explain why we were doing this, and why we were doing that, made it work. He was so good as a communicator.” Moore said Jewett “changed our lives, myself included. I can say I’m where I stand today because of Fred.” ‘MUTUAL RESPECT’ Jewett, whose passions include the White Ribbon campaign (billed as “the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity”), says his philosophy is simple. “Our program is based on mutual respect,” Jewett said. “There’s no negative language. It’s all based upon everyone helping each other out and teamwork and sportsmanship because, quite frankly, when you get to the big meets in track, it’s so competitive that you need all the positive energy and all the support you can get from everybody on your team. And not just your coaches. “I think that’s been the cornerstone of why we’ve done so well in Hingham and it certainly was the cornerstone of why we did so well in Scituate.” Above all else, Jewett is a devout family man. His wife, high school sweetheart Rosemary, is a retired nurse who, Fred said, is “a master gardener and a photographer. She’s very artistic.” Besides Dave, the Jewetts’ other sons are Steve, 40, who operates his own public relations firm in Hartford, Conn., and Tom, 34, a rock singer-songwriter who’s been focusing on the songwriting recently. So, Fred Jewett has so much for which he is thankful. And he sees no end in sight. Hall of Fame doesn’t mean breaking out the rocking chair and packing your career away and putting a neat little bow. He finds excitement in every day he works. “People might think it’s boring,” Jewett said. “It’s not boring. It’s challenging, and every day is different.” Retire? The word is not even in his extensive vocabulary. Said Jewett, “I have too much energy to retire.”
Inducted: 2015