State of Sports: Andy Mooradian would be proud of Butch Psaledas
May 9—WHAT DID former University of New Hampshire football coach and athletic director Andy Mooradian mean to Butch Psaledas?
The answer to that question was obvious by what Psaledas said — and didn't say — when he was informed that he would be presented with the Andy Mooradian Award for Outstanding Contributions to Football at the 36th Annual Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter of the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete banquet held Tuesday night in Manchester.
"My reaction was very emotional," said Psaledas, a Londonderry resident who played football at UNH. "I choked up to the point where I couldn't speak.
"I knew Andy Mooradian very well. When I was at UNH, he had just started as the AD, and he helped me a lot. I was married young. My wife and I were married after my freshman year. We were rich for a while, about a year and a half, until my first child came along and then we were broke. I needed extra money and there was no money coming from home, so I went to see Andy and he actually talked with me. I ended up working on the grounds crew (at UNH) and then I got into the training room and became an athletic trainer.
"A lot of college coaches don't care about their players at all. They're just a stepping block. I've witnessed that. Andy wasn't like that."
Psaledas, 74, grew up in Manchester and attended Memorial High School. He spent a good chunk of his life as a teacher at Pelham Middle School, Memorial and Londonderry High School. He also worked as an assistant principal at Londonderry High.
Psaledas was Memorial's varsity football head coach for six years (1989-94), and served as an assistant coach at Londonderry under Tom Sawyer, Jon Rich and current head coach Jimmy Lauzon.
He claims the 2022 season was his last as a high school coach.
"I have arthritis in my spine, and the last couple years have been a challenge," he said. "Being on my feet a long time is a killer. I can't do it. It's more difficult for me now. The eyes aren't as quick as they used to be. Breaking down film was taking me longer and longer.
"Way back, I could watch the whole defensive line on one play and know what they all did. Now when I break down film, I have to watch each player one by one. I don't know how guys like Belichick keep doing it."
Manchester Central assistant coach John Trisciani, who is on the Joe Yukica Foundation's board of directors, nominated Psaledas for the Mooradian Award. Trisciani was also the one who informed Psaledas that he was this year's recipient.
"I only told a few people that I was receiving this award because I'm very humble about this and whatnot, but I called my brother, who was at UNH (as a football player) before me and a far better athlete than I ever was, and I told him, 'This is tough (emotional) because Andy was so good to me when I was at UNH.' My brother paused for a second, and said, 'You know he was good to everybody, right?'
"This award means a lot to me because Andy's name is on it. To me, Andy was salt of the earth. He always listened to people. He was kind, considerate. I hold him in high esteem and that's why I was choking up when Trish (Trisciani) was talking to me.
"I've always wanted to treat people the way Andy Mooradian treated people."
Scholar-athletes honored
The Yukica Chapter honored 39 NHIAA scholar-athletes at the banquet. The recipients were selected based on their athletic (football) and academic achievements, plus their contributions to their community.
The 2023 Yukica Scholar-Athletes:
Jacob Albert (Pinkerton), Anthony Amaro (Londonderry), Cam Bonner (Hanover), Parker Bromley (Bedford), Toby Brown Jr. (Nashua North), Evan Cibotti (Bedford), Matt Cleary (Plymouth), Emmett Colby (Spaulding), Trice Cote (Milford), Ethan Demmons (Pelham), Bryan Desmarais (Windham), Jack Drabik (Londonderry), Patrick Elder (Hanover), Derek Finlay (Nashua North), Jacob Fredericks (Winnacunnet), Aidan Goss (Windham), Ryan Graney (Exeter), Montana Hanchett (Hanover);
Also, Drew Heenan (Londonderry), Jack Hogan (Winnacunnet), Reimello Hyde (Merrimack), Gunner Jackson (Portsmouth), David Jacques (Salem), Calvin Lambert (Somersworth), Spencer Lassard (St. Thomas), Karsten Lemire (Nashua South), Cal McAuliffe (Bedford), Henry Ntoro (Windham), Devon Paquette (St. Thomas), Matthew Proulx (Dover), Caden Sanborn (Plymouth), Jason Senus (Londonderry), Colby Shepard (Stevens), Andrew Soucy (Londonderry), Charles Urda (Milford), Joshua Webb (Goffstown), Dylan Wrisley (Londonderry), Cole Yennaco (Pinkerton), Camden Zambrowicz (Timberlane).
A night dedicated to George Larkin
Others who were honored at this year's banquet, which was dedicated to the memory of George Larkin, a longtime member of the Yukica Chapter's board of directors.
—Distinguished American Award: Nathan Noyes (New Hampshire State Police)
—James "Red" Hayes Award for community support of athletics: The Common Man Restaurant (Windham)
—National Team of Distinction (NH representative): Dylan Wrisley (Londonderry)
—Donald E. York Scholarship Award: Calvin Lambert (Somersworth)
