O’Hearn remembered for leadership, laughter & love

When Methuen/Tewksbury Red Rangers girls’ hockey coach and Methuen High School guidance counselor Dave O’Hearn passed away at age 48 on July 29, a huge chunk of Ranger Road’s heart, soul and passion went with him.

Social media posts lauded O’Hearn as a former player, coach, counselor and family man.

O’Hearn graduated from MHS in 1995 and was an important contributor to one of the most successful eras in Ranger hockey lore. He still holds the school hockey record for most games played and was inducted into the Methuen High Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. Post high school, O’Hearn excelled on the ice for Winchendon School and Elmira College where he served as assistant team captain. He joined the guidance department at MHS in 2017.

I interviewed O’Hearn just one time and found him to be a driven and determined coach. In the aftermath of his passing, I have had the chance to communicate with several people close to O’Hearn from various parts of his incredible life. Their comments solidify the great loss that the entire Merrimack Valley sports community is experiencing.

MHS Athletic Director Tom Ryan talks about O’Hearn’s hockey prowess: “Dave had a tremendous hockey background. He was an outstanding Methuen hockey player and went on to play high-level college hockey. He took his knowledge of the game and implemented that into his practice plans and game strategy.

“I think his background as a guidance counselor also helped him to be a better coach as well. He was able to listen to his players and know when to challenge them as well as when to back off.”

A former fiery football coach himself, Ryan discusses Dave’s emotion on the ice: “He was not afraid to voice his displeasure at a referee if a call was incorrect. He wanted the girls to know that he had their backs. After the game, however, when I would speak to him about the call, he would always brush that aside and talk about a hockey play that the girls did or did not make. He loved hockey and it showed all the time.”

O’Hearn had a unique skill to combine strictness with silliness.

“Dave could be a very demanding coach. He wasn’t afraid to give his players tough love,” explains Ryan.

“He did, however, remember to have some fun with the girls on his team. He had a pregame routine of doing a brief ‘Dave Dance’ in the locker room before every game to get the girls to play loose and to have fun.

“In addition to the girls on the team, I was able to speak to Dave many times regarding his own children. He was very proud of his daughters. We both have three daughters so we had a lot in common in that regard. Dave will be remembered for caring about kids and helping them in any way that he could,” Ryan said.

Before taking over as head coach of the girls’ hockey team, O’Hearn was an assistant to Sarah Oteri Doucette. She talks about her former bench mate: “As a coach, as a friend, as a guidance counselor and as a father, Dave was true to who he was and really wanted to help others. He always put the needs of others before his own and he did so without wanting anything in return.”

Assistant coaches are often underrated in their impacts, but Doucette knew what she had in O’Hearn: “For me personally, he always made sure I was treated with respect and had my back many times during our years together behind the bench. He was extremely knowledgeable and had the ability to teach the game at a high level while holding high expectations and helping each player reach their potential with care, empathy and honesty.”

Doucette says that O’Hearn had a knack for calming down a tense environment while showing players the beauty in the pressure of a difficult situation, preparing them for real-life challenges. She relates, “Dave loved the sport of hockey and he treated his life like a hockey game. He rose to every challenge and gave his best every shift. To the people he loved, he was the very best teammate.

“When in a position to lead, he showcased his ability to create a game plan, teach and practice the skills needed, communicate with care, and ultimately reach success. I feel so privileged to have called Dave a teammate in life for as long as I did,” she said.

Perhaps no one at MHS was closer to O’Hearn than School Counseling Department Chair Martha Reusch Tatro. She talks about his style as a school guidance counselor.

“Dave took great pride in helping students develop their confidence and identity. He always listened with intention and made students feel safe and heard. His students knew that he would always be there for them, from simple conversations to helping them reach their postsecondary goals,” she shared. “During the past two years as he navigated the many treatments and complications of his diagnosis, he would always check in with me, wanting to stay updated with what he was missing at school. Even in a time where it would have been more than understandable for him to be thinking about his own well-being, he was always thinking about others.”

Clearly, O’Hearn’s impact on his colleagues is eternal. Tatro explains, “Dave really was larger than life in our department. If someone needed a pick-me-up or a laugh, Dave was the guy. He taught us that the most important part of the job is quite simple: Build relationships, support students and always be someone on whom they can rely.”
The name Reusch has been synonymous with sports in the Merrimack Valley for generations, so Tatro is quite knowledgeable when discussing O’Hearn as a coach.

“Dave made an immediate, immeasurable impact coaching the girls’ hockey team,” she states. “He took an interest in each player and wanted to understand each as a person. He was a calm presence on the bench, demanding, encouraging and with high standards.”

While Tatro marvels at O’Hearn the coach, she knows his legacy goes far beyond the rink: “For his daughters, Maddie, Riley, and Kendall, Dave was the best girl dad. I think a former student summed up the true essence of Dave saying, ‘Mr. O’Hearn exemplified everything a guidance counselor should be. His dedication to helping students navigate their academic and personal journeys made a lasting impact on my high school career. Looking back, I realize how lucky we were to have someone who genuinely cared that much about helping his students succeed.’ ”Ryan Sheehy served as an assistant to O’Hearn with the Methuen/Tewksbury Red Rangers and got an up-close glimpse of his passion: “Dave had the ability to reach everyone he met on a personal level and found a way to relate and connect to them. He always made sure to make his point known, respect others’ opinions, and be able to provide constructive feedback and engage in respectful conversation.”

Sheehy sums up O’Hearn’s selfless personality perfectly saying, “He never liked to take credit for anything or talk about himself. He wanted to make sure everyone else felt valued and heard. When he was awarded Coach of the Year this past season, he gave credit to our players and assistant coaches. He was never one to talk about himself or brag about his accomplishments.”

When it came to interacting with players, Sheehy marvels at O’Hearn’s style. He relates, “He knew how to tell them the hard truths without being mean or embarrassing and, in the same breath, boosting them up with words of encouragement. Whenever we noticed a player in a slump, he would call her over and give a little pregame pep talk individually. He loved his players and always showed them respect.”

So, just what is O’Hearn’s lasting impact as a mentor? Sheehy responds, “We will remember that Dave was always the person to go to if you needed someone to talk to, go to bat for you or needed a good laugh. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”

O’Hearn was not just a hockey coach. He was also an outstanding player from youth hockey through college. Tom Ramsdell coached O’Hearn in Methuen Youth Hockey with the Bantams for two years and the Methuen High School Eligible team for another three years.

He talks about the hockey intellect of O’Hearn: “Dave was respected by his teammates because he was like having an extra coach on the ice. As a teenager, he was able to see plays happening three passes before they ever happened. He read the ice even better than most coaches.”

O’Hearn also developed leadership skills early on in his career. Says Ramsdell, “As team captain, Dave led by example, always giving everything he had while displaying outstanding sportsmanship. He feared nothing while on the ice.

“He once played in a cast for four weeks with a broken wrist. As a teammate, how can you not go on the ice and give everything you have when your captain is playing hockey with a broken wrist? He didn’t have to demand respect, he earned it.”

Ramsdell shares an anecdote that shows O’Hearn’s love, heart and dedication to the game: “We were at the Volpe Arena at Merrimack College shortly after tryouts when Dave approached me and suggested I had missed choosing a player to make our team. I asked who it was and he said that it was his cousin Danny Roy.

“I asked Dave if he was asking me this just because Danny was his cousin. Dave responded, ‘Coach Tom, that is not my style and I would never do that. He’s a good player and he belongs on this team. I promise I am telling you the truth, it has nothing to do with him being my cousin.’ ”

Even though O’Hearn was just 14 years old at the time, Ramsdell trusted his player.

“I didn’t even need to take another look and I put Danny on the team. It must be in the blood because Danny was an amazing hockey player who went on to be the leading scorer at Central Catholic and a top 10 all-time leading scorer at New Hampshire College (now SNHU).”

Ramsdell is now head coach of the junior varsity field hockey team at Salem (NH) High School and of the Woodbury Middle School softball team in Salem. He uses O’Hearn’s coaching philosophy to this day.

“Dave was respected by not only his teammates but his coaches as well. Like Dave, my goal is to develop athletes and, more importantly. guide them into being good humans,” he said. “When I see what Dave did during his lifetime, it brings me joy to think that, just maybe, I played a small role in who he became. Dave was a beloved hockey coach, a well-respected guidance counselor and, most importantly, a dedicated father. He took his gift of hockey expertise and humanity, and paid it forward.”

John Molori is an author, columnist, and a 2011 inductee into the Methuen Athletic Hall of Fame. Facebook: John Molori, Twitter @MoloriMedia. Email molorimedia@gmail.com