For Bane '08.5 and coach Beaney, the respect runs deep

Author: Emma Gardner

For the last time in his collegiate career, Harrison Bane '08.5 returned to Middlebury in a 15-passenger College van after a weekend of competitive golf two weeks ago. Just like every ride before, he sat in the passenger seat and spent the five-hour drive chatting with his coach and mentor, Bill Beaney. While many of his peers use that time to catch up on TV episodes or get started on some reading for class, Bane seized the opportunity to learn from Beaney, the driver - just as he has for the past four years. The teaching, it appears, was not one-directional.

Coming off a strong fall season with the golf team, Bane has recently received multiple accolades of recognition for his hard work and formidable perseverance as an athlete. At the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championship (NEIGA) two weeks ago, Bane received the 2008 Guy Tedesco Award for "unselfish leadership, outstanding talent, love of golf and a willingness to help promote the positive aspects of golf to others." As Beaney stood at the podium to present the NEIGA Player of the Year plaque to Bane on Oct. 19, Coach Beaney reflected on the "honor and privilege to coach him … and to have been coached by him" over the past four-and-a-half years.

From his start as a first-year on the team in spring 2005, Bane shined as a promising young talent with a thorough appreciation for the sport. After all, Bane had fought for every opportunity to play, pushing aside the severe physical obstacles that had threatened to stand in his way since early childhood. Diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer at the age of four, Bane spent a great deal of his youth battling through surgery after surgery and months at a time on crutches or in a brace, with the disease serving as a constant reminder of the importance of determination and faith in oneself.

These days, when he comes off the course Bane devotes hours of his time to community outreach programs. He often visits schools throughout northern Vermont and New York, interacting with students, sharing his stories of athletic and personal triumph and encouraging others to realize their own aspirations despite the adversity they may face. He has continually inspired his peers, always emphasizing the positive effect that his passion for athleticism has had on his success in life.

As a result of his unceasing optimism and resolve, Bane has become an outstanding athlete with a rarely matched depth of understanding of what it takes to be truly "the best," as he has been described by his coach. In his speech at the NEIGA ceremony, Beaney emphasized the reciprocal relationship between a coach and an athlete, and the ways in which one contributes to the other's experience on and off the playing field.

"His four years of leadership at Middlebury College have totally transformed the culture that surrounds our golf program," said Beaney, relating the distinct characteristics that make Bane not only an inimitable leader, but an exemplary young man as well. The coach recounted "how humble he is, how hardworking he is, and how much he cares." Indeed, as captain of the team Bane has proven an instrumental force behind the program's success in recent years, earning All-NESCAC honors on several occasions over the course of his career, as well as the enduring respect of his teammates and tournament opponents.

Of his attitude toward competition, Bane extolled the merit of attention to sportsmanship. "What stays with you is how you played the game. Not how did you play after the round, but how well did you play? As competitors, we are judged not simply by our results but by how we accomplish those results," he said. "Other sports teams spend all week trying to kill the other team. At the end of the game they shake hands, but we compete against the course and against par. We have the ultimate - we have the four and a half-hour handshake."

In describing each other, Beaney and Bane employ similar language, both designating one as the other's role model. Accepting the Guy Tedesco Award, Bane attributed much of his rewarding experience at Middlebury to his revered coach. "Four years ago coach Beaney brought me into the Middlebury community and it was the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said to a receptive crowd.

This mutual admiration represents the remarkable influence that a sport can have on a friendship, and the power of the bonds between an extraordinary coach and a tremendous athlete. While the conclusion of the fall golf season signifies the end of Bane's career at Middlebury, the legacy of excellence and integrity he leaves behind will remain an important message for future generations of Middlebury athletes, coaches and students overall.