To the Editor:

My story begins three years ago in the winter of 2013 with my son and the Middleburgh High School’s varsity basketball head coach, Andy Wright. In 2013, my son started attending Middleburgh High School. I reside in Niskayuna; however, after an unfortunate set of circumstances, my son moved in at that time with his mother who resides in Middleburgh.

It was a very tough transition for my son coming from a different school in his sophomore year. I encouraged him to try out for basketball in the winter of 2013. I thought this would ease his transition and help him to make friends.

So he tried out for the junior-varsity team and that’s when he met Coach Andy Wright. My son played basketball for Coach Wright for the next three years at Middleburgh — his sophomore year at the JV level and the past two years on varsity.

Coach Wright knew my son was coming in from another school and initially knew he was struggling making friends and trying to fit in. Throughout these three years, my son made inroads with his team and developed friendships with most of his teammates and with a few other students outside of basketball.

However, he still was uncomfortable for most of the time and experienced a few issues his junior and senior years that negatively impacted his grades and a few of his relationships. It almost came to a major halt this year when my son wanted to quit basketball halfway through the season.

He missed a few practices and even a game while he was going through this tough period. He had lost his will to continue to play. My son’s mother and I did our best to help him through this but I believe Coach Wright was the deciding factor that led my son to the decision to stay on the team and finish the season.

All the while during this rough patch and for the past two-and-a-half years, Coach Wright had always kept an eye on him and “took him under his wing” to mentor him and try to help him.

After a couple more conversations with Coach Wright, my son developed a very positive attitude toward school, his teachers, his school work, and basketball. He made me incredibly proud when he made amends with his teammates and his coaches and began to play hard for the team again.

The next few weeks my son experienced a time that every high school basketball player dreams of. The team came together again and went on a big streak, winning game after game!

It was like watching the movie, “The Hoosiers.” It was one of the most exciting things to witness as a parent of a player and as a high school basketball fan. The team ended up with a 13-7 regular-season record, which earned the team a spot in the playoffs.

They went into the playoffs and made it all the way to the Regional Sectionals at the Glens Falls Civic Center. They ultimately lost to a very good Lake George High School Varsity Team. My son and his teammates were very disappointed.

However, I will never forget what my son said to me after the game. He said, “Yeah Dad, I’m upset about the loss. But these last few weeks were the best time of my life!”

The team ended up with a 15-8 overall record and a very successful season under Coach Wright.

As a father of a child who struggled at a new school but turned things around with basketball, I couldn’t have been more proud of him. I also cannot be more thankful to Coach Andy Wright for everything he’s done for my son over the past three years.

My son learned how to respect authority under Coach Wright. He also learned from Coach Wright  that the right way of doing things is hardly ever the easiest way to do things.

I don’t believe my son would have experienced this storybook ending his final season for the Middleburgh Knights if Coach Wright was not in place there. The patience, kindness, sternness, and guidance Coach Wright showed my son for three years was simply incredible. He showed this support constantly to all his players.

I’m a faithful person and I believe there is a reason my son ended up playing basketball for Coach Andy Wright. The life lessons he learned from him are invaluable. I would be willing to bet the vast majority of the parents of students who played for Coach Wright would feel the same way I do.

My son will graduate from Middleburgh High School in a few weeks and will be attending college in the fall. He loves the game of basketball and still plays every week. He will always remember his time with Coach Wright and his high school varsity team as one of the greatest of his life.  

I wish Coach Andy Wright the very best in his future endeavors. Middleburgh High School has been very blessed to have him the past three years. I believe Coach Wright is an extremely valuable asset to Middleburgh High School and would be to any school in the future.

Matthew Coso

Niskayuna

Editor’s note: Andrew Wright, who teaches social studies at Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School, had coached the BKW varsity boys’ basketball team but was let go by the BKW School Board three years ago. He recently applied to get his old job back and said he was disappointed not to get it. “I want to be able to come back and coach at Berne-Knox some day,” he told The Enterprise this week. “I don’t want to engage public outcry.”