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Wind Chimes The wind chimes’ sole purpose is to provide the gift of song to any willing ear in range. Constantly reliable, the chimes dangle from their wires and sway through any type of wind- a slight summer breeze, a brisk autumn gust. No matter how fresh and revitalizing the breeze might be or how fierce and harsh it could become, the wind chime will always achieve its purpose. I am unsure why it is but after I hear the soft ringing of chimes’, there is a feeling of awareness, peace. I feel grounded. I have always found the same to be true with Coach and appreciated the soulfulness of that quality. No matter the severity of the storm in his life or mine, Coach consistently had a way about him that provided internal peace and tranquility. Be it a long in-depth talk or a brief conversation, interactions with Coach resulted in increased self-esteem and confidence. These are the traits the followed me throughout life and was essential in making me the man that I am today. Coach was the wind chimes for many youths looking for that peace in their life; he always and without fail provided his song. Coach, there are times a man might be comfortable in his own home but must walk out into a rainstorm in order to listen to the soft singing of the chimes. And when a man is forced out into the rain, he will find the chimes there waiting and without judgment or expectation sing aloud their sought out purpose. Thanks for always being there for me Coach, through all of our storms. I will forever cherish all that you have provided me. I love you. God bless. Tommy Bavaro A superb Gentleman...fiery competitor...committed
coach...loyal friend...great teacher. All these and so much more.
Never knew him to say a bad word about anyone. But most of all, a superb
Gentleman. I miss the nights of trying to out-think each other,
and
of having our kids battle each other while at the same time totally
respecting each other. Coach Hastings' legacy is Newington Wrestling.
Well deserved. My father (Rick's cousin) called me this morning and shared this tragic news. Although I had not seen Rick in many years, I have extremely fond memories of the holidays, and family gatherings that we shared as boys. Though Rick was only a few years older than me, I always perceived him as being the (young) grown-up who everyone loved being around. And, after viewing the video tape of Coach Hastings on the Black Hawks website, I saw the same - confident and sincere - second cousin that I looked up to when we were children. Over the years Rick Hastings' name came up in a few conversations that I (by chance) had with people connected to Wrestling, or Newington High School; enlightening me of the high esteem that his community placed upon him. My heart goes out to everyone who was touched by Rick's big heart. Jeffrey W. Jahnke Wow....you don't know what you have
until it's gone. I think back to the things that I have learned from
Mr. Hastings....too many to count. I remember my last day of 5th grade...he
saw me do something really stupid to another student and made me stay
after school for a half hour! After "yelling" at me as a
teacher...he then started talking to my like a father. I'll never forget
his tone of voice and how disappointed he was with the way I was acting.
He really cared about all of his students...He was a great teacher....a
great guy....and a great friend. My thoughts and prayers are with his
family and all of the people whose lives have been touched by Mr. Hastings.
He will be missed.... Rich... Coach Hastings was one of the most influential people in my life. He taught me a great deal about being a man and what it takes to be successful in life. He will surely be missed but never forgotten!!! Julio Duarte Every once in a while, I stop and take a look in the mirror and think about the man I have become. When I think about how I have become the person I am today, the first person that comes to mind - other than my own father - is Coach Hastings. I can say unequivocably that I would not be who I am without the immeasurable impact he had on my life. When I became a wrestler, I had a lot to learn - both on and off the mat. Through all the hard work I endured while he was the head coach, along with the countless motivational speeches, mental practices, kicks on the butt, pats on the back - it was not hard to know that he lived up to his word: he treated me like I was his son. When I lept into his arms after my first pin, I knew that I was armed with all the lessons he taught. And I have not forgotten them since. My prayers go out to Benjamin, Billy and the rest of his family and friends. Ben Fairclough How can anyone summon the words to express what Coach meant to us. He not only molded a succesful program but more importantly he made all of us better people. I'll never really know what made me decide to wrestle my freshmen year, Coach just made it seem so incredible I had to be a part of it and to have Coach be apart of my life. He cared for every student but a special place in his heart was reserved for the team members. Whether they were state open champions or a JV guy with only days on the team he always made you feel as if you were the number one concern in his life when you needed him. The nite of this tragedy started as any other house fire for me. When I saw the license plate I wondered but thought it might be a coincidence. The horror of the discovery changed my thoughts but still I didn't know for sure till hours later. My life was changed so greatly by this man he showed me how to live life the right way, how to treat others, how to achieve things even when no one thinks you can. I was looking forward to showing my daughter to Coach and will now never have that chance. but I do know that he will be looking over her as he will all of the Newington Wrestling family of which he was the Patriarch. He always told us to dream and set our dreams high and I have set my dreams as high as possible I dream of being the Coach, Father and most of all the man that coach was. Tony Spada I remember the first year my son wrestled at the high school level for Coach Hastings. There was another young man that was having a difficult time both on and off the mat and Coach wanted someone to be a "peer-mentor" to him... Coach chose another JV wrestler to look out for him. It not only helped the troubled wrestler, but gave responsibility to the other JV wrestler who acted as the mentor... Coach rewarded the JV wrestler - my son - with a varsity match by the end of that season for his leadership... That was just the kind of guy Coach Hastings was. He put as much emphasis on things happening OFF the mat as ON the mat. He taught his team to always conduct themselves with dignity... to always go pay respect to the other team's coach after a match... it was the way we did things in Newington Wrestling. It was Coach's way he made young wrestlers into young men... Bruce Fairclough I was a proud member of the first
wrestling team at Newington back in 1988. When I heard the tragic news
it made me step back and re-think of those times during that first
year. Coach Hastings made a lasting impression on all of us and that
will be his legacy that will live on for many years. He taught us how
to succeed and helped shaped us into the men we are today. For that
I am grateful to Coach Hastings. For anyone who ever encountered Coach
Hastings we were just an extension to his family and he was always
proud of our achievements athletically and most importantly in life. Richard C. Hastings has been an inspiration
in my life since I was in Kindergarten. First as a gym teacher, later
as a coach, and eventually as a mentor, he has taught me so much about
life. I have thought on and on about the lessons I had learned as I
began writing, searching for those perfect words that could convey
how I feel. Five crumpled up pieces of paper later I have concluded
that sometimes it is best to keep it brief. Unfortunately life is not
perfect it has ups and downs, victory and defeat, great gains and...like
recently... tragic losses. What Coach taught us was that what makes
a person great is how they can overcome adversity. Life comes at you
hard an unexpectedly at times. It is impossible to have total control
over our lives, but it is possible to be strong enough to handle pain
and loss. Also equally important is the value of friends and family.
It is only through their help do we truly work through life's difficulties.
Coach was a man that was there for those he loved through their most
difficult times. He held back no punches and never told you what you
wanted to hear. He was truly an inspiration. It is partly because of
him that I now teach. I have the opportunity to pass on the knowledge
that was imparted to me. His legacy will live on in those who were
lucky enough to have known him. It is through us that Richard C. Hastings
will be immortalized. Even though in future generations his name may
be lost; his message will live on. He will truly be missed. I have known Richard Hastings since I was a child. He was my brothers Wrestling coach throughout high school. He has been my friend for as long as I can remember. His charm and willingness to help kids and adults when in need was phenominal. He was a great man, even through his hard times in his personal life. His recent death due to a fire in his home is tragic and horrifying. I wish for everyone to remember him and honor him in these next couple days. He leaves behind family and friends. May we never forget. R.I.P. Coach Richard Hastings Cornelius Uliano Mr. Hastings was a great man and fantastic coach. The news of his passing seems very surreal. He coached my brother through his wrestling career and was a great role model to him as well. I will never forget what he taught us and how he teased me through freshman year physical education. I remember how much fun we had when he was teaching us self-defense, and how much more confident he made us girls feel. God bless him and his family. Much love and sorrow, My Coach, My "Father", My Friend Let me tell you about a man I once
knew, Cornerstones A wonderful wind swept into the lives Jon D. Kehl I had the privilege to wrestle and
coach with Coach Hastings. His approach to wrestling still lives with
me and I am better for it. He had a way of teaching life lessons and
disguising them as a wrestling workout. In all ways, Coach will be
missed by everyone that he came in contact with - and that was everyone. What a shock it was when my mom called to tell me about the tragic news. I was the first in my family to be taught by Mr. Hastings in High School PE. Soon after, my brother came along and had him for a PE teacher and wrestling coach. What memories I have of watching all those matches. Mr. Hastings did turn boys into men and the program really did bring people together to create a second family. My family still has lasting relationships that started with the Newington Wrestling Program. My son has also been able to experience Mr. Hastings in his life as an elementary school PE teacher. He still boasts today about how his Uncle Jarrod's coach was his gym teacher. My thoughts and prayers are with the entire family and all those that have been touched by Mr. Hastings. Jodi (Kehl) Mangene Dear Mr. Hastings, I coached against Rick many times and was always impressed with the skill level, sportsmanship, will to win, of the Newington wrestlers! Rick was always a gentleman, and fierce competitor, who understood where sports/wrestling fit into the educational part of students lives! Personally, Rick was one of the few peers I had in the coaching fraternity that could match my "sick" sense of humor! He will be sorely missed as both a friend and a rival! Rick Sherman I have known Mr. Hastings for almost
twenty years. Although I never wrestled
for him, he had such a positive impact on me as a young adult. Mr. Hastings
was a great judge of character, and what he thought of me meant alot.
Over
the
past couple years, I grew closer to him as a teacher candidate at Anna Reynolds Michael DelGaudio Rich Hastings was not my coach or
my P.E. teacher. As a matter of fact I am older than him by many years.
He still managed to teach me a great deal. Rich and I team-taught Sunday
School together. As I watched him with the middle school kids, I realized
what a wonderful teacher and person he was. As everyone who wrote a
message has said, he genuinely cared about his students. It was important
that they get what he had to give them. (He'd even bribe them with
donuts for answering a question.) He was an inspiration to everyone
he met. Coach Hastings was the most important
role model, mentor, and father figure during my four years wrestling
for him. What is best about Coach is that I know I am not nearly the
only one to feel that way. It makes me proud to scroll down the names
here and see that I am but one of a legion of people that owe so much
of who they are today to what Coach Hastings taught us back then. I
remember trying to tell him how much I appreciated everything he did
for me when I visited him a year or so after I graduated high school,
but Coach would have none of that, and joked with me until I changed
the topic. That was the sort of humble and gracious leader he was,
more interested in doing things instead of talking about old war stories.
Like so many others, I now am sitting here at a computer with hundreds
of old, warm, and sometimes hilarious memories of the greatest mentor
I ever knew coming back into my mind. We all have different ones, but
they all share the same Coach. Rick was my cousin, although we haven't been close in quite a few years, I remember how much fun he was as a kid. We spent a lot of time at our aunts house in Hampton and he would come swim in our pool. He was a great guy. I wish I would have known him better as an adult. I'm very sorry for the rest of his family and will be thinking of them often with my deepest sympathy. Sincerely, Candy Jaworski Perkins I was shocked to recently learn of
the death of Coach Hastings. Let
me start by saying this site did an excellent job of paying tribute
to the Coach...thanks. Coach Hastings was one of those guys that as Khary Stringer
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 Our thanks to Atlanta Bread on the Berlin Tpk. for allowing us to meet at their restaurant... |
