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At 80, this Plymouth native is ready for her 60th year officiating high school sports

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At 80, this Plymouth native is ready for her 60th year officiating high school sports

During a time when game officials are getting harder to find for all high school sports, Mary Lou Thimas is the exception to the rule.

The Plymouth native will celebrate her 60th anniversary of high school officiating this coming spring when lacrosse season rolls around.

“I started officiating field hockey games back in 1965 when I was a sophomore at Bridgewater State and I began working lacrosse games in 1982. It’s what I’ve always loved to do,” said Thimas, who recently turned 80 years old. “I love being outside in the fresh air and athletics have been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I guess I’ve always had a love for the game.”

Athletics have been a part of Thimas’ life as far back as her high school days at Plymouth-Carver when she played field hockey, basketball, softball, and tennis. That was the base for her to continue coaching and officiating games at the high school and college level for many years after her playing days had ended.

“I was a good student back in high school, but I always looked forward to the end of the day when it came time for sports,” said Thimas. “Athletics always motivated me in the classroom because I knew that if I didn’t do well in my classes then I wouldn’t be able to play sports. It was that way in high school and in college.”

Thimas played  just about all of the sports that were offered for girls when she was in high school. As Thimas points out, times have definitely changed and she couldn’t be happier about it.

“Girls have so many more opportunities with athletics in high school and college these days,” said Thimas. “When Title IX was passed in 1972 things became much more equitable in sports at all levels between boys and girls. I love seeing girls get opportunities to play more sports at the high school level and maybe earn an opportunity for a scholarship to play in college. There’s still work to do, but it’s much more of an equitable situation these days, which is tremendous.”

‘Coaching is teaching’

Thimas spent a major part of her working years as a physical education teacher in Quincy and Marshfield while also coaching field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse at the high school and college levels. To her, there’s not much difference between the two vocations.

“Coaching is teaching and teaching is a form of coaching,” said Thimas. “I love doing both. Helping kids in class and through sports has always been my driving force. I loved to see kids that I’ve coached go on to play in college or eventually become a coach themselves. I recently went to homecoming at Bridgewater State and saw a few of my former players. It was great to hear them say that I had a positive impact on them as a coach.”

Thimas coached field hockey, basketball, and women’s lacrosse at Bridgewater State, eventually moving into administrative roles including the director of athletics for women and then associate director of athletics. Her field hockey teams made the postseason in each of her seasons as head coach, a run that included NCAA Div. III tournament appearances in 1982 and 1985.

Paving the way for the next generation

The work that Thimas has done as a coach and an official has brought her recognition from many different organizations.

She’s a member of the Plymouth-Carver, Bridgewater State, and MASCAC Athletic Hall of Fame. She received the same honor at Marshfield High, where she coached field hockey, basketball, as well as tennis. Thimas was inducted into the New Agenda Northeast Hall of Fame in 1989 for her work in advancing the role of girls and women in athletics and entered the Eastern Mass. chapter of the United State Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2015.

Thimas will soon be recognized with a distinguished service award by the MIAA, the same group that presented her with the Girls Lacrosse Official of the Year back in 2016.

Rather than look back, Thimas is looking forward to this spring when she’ll be back out on the lacrosse field four or five times a week refereeing high school games.

“I can’t wait. I’m in good health and I still love officiating games,” said Thimas. “There’s a lot of running involved with lacrosse so pretty soon I’ll start working out to get ready and be in the best shape possible for the season. Four or five games a week can be taxing, so you need to take time to let your mind and body recover.”

Thimas said one thing that sports groups at all levels need to improve upon is the recruitment of younger people to officiate games.

“Older officials are retiring from the game and there’s not enough young people coming in to take their place. That’s not good. I would love to see more people get involved by being a referee,” she explained. “I’m not sure how to change the curve with the lack of new officials. Maybe by trying to recruit more people to officiate. It’s a great second job for someone who can do it and a great way to give back to athletics.”

Email the reporter at dwolcott@wickedlocal.com and you can follow him on Twitter, @DavidWolcott1.

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