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The other side of Dick Tomey
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It is not often that you hear about a coach's emotions or even about his/her personal life. But once in a while a story on a coach's character will be so powerful that it can't help but find its way into the spotlight. Dick Tomey is a coach known for being close with his players. After a brutal 58-28 loss to Washington last year, Tomey called the whole team into his office one by one to discuss what happened. He questioned each player's abilities and scrutinized their performance. Tomey wasn't using scare tactics; he wanted to get into their heads because something was obviously wrong. But sometimes, a coach can't always find out what's going through a player's mind. In the case of Kenny Hewitt, no one will ever know just what he was going through. Kenny Hewitt was an offensive lineman for the Hawaii Rainbows when Tomey was coaching. He was one of Tomey's best and favorite players. But in 1988, a year after Tomey left Hawaii, Kenny Hewitt killed himself. Tomey boarded a plane to Hawaii the next day to comfort the Hewitt family and was a pallbearer in Kenny's funeral. While Tomey's coaching abilities have been debatable for the past few seasons, there is no question about his dedication to the team and to each individual who is out there playing for him. There's no doubt that when Arizona's plane touched down in Hawaii for the game two weeks ago, Tomey had Kenny on his mind. If he was still alive, Tomey would have made it a point to have Kenny at the game. Instead, Tomey was visited by Kenny's sister, who told him that Kenny's mother was trying to reach him. It was a few hours before the Wildcats' season opening game but once he got the message to call Mrs. Hewitt, the game and everything else would have to wait. He slid away, for half an hour, and talked to Kenny's family. Even though Tomey is criticized so often in public, he made it a point to keep his grieving for the family private. Clearly image is nothing to Tomey. Say what you will about his efforts with the Wildcats on the field, Tomey's got a feel for what his players are dealing with. Under the pads and helmets, there are 80 kids who look up to Tomey like a father. The public might never hear or care about his relationship with his players because the Wildcats aren't winning every game. Maybe if Tomey and the Wildcats ever do make it to the top of the Pac-10, then somebody might put some focus on what Tomey has been doing all along: making sure each player knows that he will support them no matter what happens. Rachel Carasso is a senior majoring in creative writing. She can be reached via e-mail at Rachel.Carasso@wildcat.arizona.edu.
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