Favreau built a swim team power

By Tom Haley
RUTLAND HERALD
Mike Favreau built up the Springfield summer swim team into a power that boasted numbers that led some to call it the “Green Army.” They were a sight to behold, walking into the pools around the Connecticut River Valley about a hundred strong.

“Some years we had 110 to 120,” Favreau said.

It allowed Springfield to send quality swimmers into every age group for all of the events.

It all started when Favreau returned to Springfield after graduating from the University of Vermont in 1974.

He began working for the town’s Parks & Recreation Department when Clint Martin told him that he didn’t have time to coach the team any longer with all of his other duties.

Favreua had a background in swimming from many years as a life guard and said he would be willing to take the coaching job on.

Jack Porter, who had many of his own children on the team as successful swimmers, acted as assistant coach and handled the divers.

“I knew really nothing about diving,” Favreau said.

The “Green Army” became the scourge of the Twin State Valley Swim League, winning the championship every year from 1975 through 1982.

Seeking a more competitive environment, Favreau made the focus the Vermont State Championships which were held every year at Dartmouth College. They also won that five years — 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984 and 1989.

When it was made a two-day meet, breaking the boys and girls apart in 1985, the Springfield girls won the state crown that season.

Winning those State Meets was a big deal because the Springfielders were going against quality swim teams from the Burlington area.

“We were able to beat those teams because we had the depth,” Favreau said.

Patty Porter Deschaine was one of his strongest swimmers and she went onto compete in swimming on the next level at St. Michael’s College.

Favreau and Porter will be among the class being inducted into the Springfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame on March 5.

Heather Hake Hartford, an athlete Favreau coached in softball and soccer in middle school, will also be among the members of the newest SHS Hall of Fame class.

Being inducted with people he was directly involved with makes the induction ceremony even more special to Favreau.

“It was like a big family kind of thing,” Favreau said of the swim team. “When you are successful, everyone wants to be a part of it.”

There was also lavish media coverage of the swim meets. The Eagle Times in Claremont, New Hampshire, ran the names of the top six swimmers in every event.

“It was good for the paper to have all those names but having that coverage didn’t hurt us, for sure,” Favreau said.

Favreau coached girls basketball and softball at Springfield High and also nurtured the feeder programs while working for the recreation department. He created sixth grade teams to add to the established seventh and eighth grade teams.

While he shifted the swim team’s focus to the large state meet, the weekly meets on Sunday in the Twin State Valley League, particularly the rivalry Springfield had with Claremont, remained special.

The Claremonters in their black and gold uniforms, had a proud program just as Springfield did. The Black & Gold was coached by Queenie Quimby.

“I loved Queenie,” Favreau said.

“During the winter months, he would let us come over and swim indoors to work on stroke mechanics about once a week.

“Queenie was a legend. I really respected him.”

Today, Favreau lives in Bristol, Connecticut. That puts him 140 miles down I-91 from Springfield. Yet, the old hometown is always close by in his memories of a swim team dynasty that people still talk about.

tom.haley @rutlandherald.com