Mrs. Chase’s actions as a role model for girls of all ages encouraged her students and players to reach for the stars
Gloria Gendron Chase has been selected to the 2017 AHS Athletic Hall of Fame for her outstanding contributions as an educator and a coach. Her commitment to her players and students was endless and spanned over 25 years. Back in the late 50’s and early 60’s girls sports were struggling for time and recognition; and Gloria Chase stepped up to set the standards for the programs of the future.
In 1959, Coach Chase hit the road running when she started the first ever AHS field hockey program. The initial season caught everyone by surprise when her team finished the season with a record of 6 wins and 0 losses. But it was the 2nd year of the program that her players set a record that still stands today. The players of this very special 1960 team continued to go undefeated, but even more astonishing, they were not scored on in their 9-game season. This is the only time in the history of AHS field hockey, and that would be 58 years, that this feat has been accomplished. The combined win/loss record for the first two years of the program was 15 wins and 0 losses. And as if that were not impressive enough, Gloria’s JV teams went unbeaten as well.
High scorer for the 1960 season, senior Co-Captain Eva Morin, recently recalled the time spent on the field with her coach and reminisced about the important qualities that were expected of them: respectability, responsibility, accountability, and integrity. Gloria’s style of coaching led to an ever-increasing level of confidence, and this translated not only from the field but to the classroom as well.
Basketball was another sport during which Coach Chase’s players attracted an enormous amount of attention. Over a multi-year span they had a record of 23 wins and 0 losses. The dedication of the Coach’s players was epitomized by 2 sisters from Salisbury who frequently, in the dead of winter, walked the 3 mile distance from home to AHS in order to be at practice at 7 o’clock in the morning. This was the only time of day that the girls’ team could be scheduled for full court basketball as the boys teams and the town teams split gym time in the afternoon and evenings.
Educator Gloria Chase spent nearly 30 years in the different gyms of Amesbury. Joan Hudon, a multi-player athlete, remembers meeting Mrs. Chase in gym class during September of Joan’s freshmen year. Her first impression? “Mrs. Chase meant business but she was fun.”
Local legend Leo Dupere enthusiastically stated that Gloria was the most outstanding P.E. instructor he saw in his many years of teaching. He stated that Gloria was terrific with discipline, very skilled as an athlete and could demonstrate anything, and highly organized. During those early days Mrs. Chase was instrumental in helping organize gym shows during which standing room only crowds would spill into the corridors. In 1990 one of those gym shows was dedicated to Gloria Chase.
The Athletic Hall of Fame Committee recognizes that Gloria Chase was instrumental in leading the way to health, fitness, leadership, and motivation for the young girls and women of both her time and the future.
Congratulations to inductee Gloria Gendron Chase.
