George Thomas- former Bulldog soccer player and coach and an absolute giant of the Canton High School Boys Soccer family, died suddenly this past Thursday night and has left an enormous hole in the hearts of all who were touched by him. He walked through his life never looking for the spotlight- if anything intentionally avoiding it- but ask anyone who knew him and they will tell you that he was always the brightest light in the room.
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| Coach Jon Girolamo, Danny Erickson and George Thomas pre-game in 2010 State Semi-Final |
George leaves behind so many different circles of families and friends who all feel the same way about this loss as we in the Bulldog Soccer family do. We are so, so sad that our dear friend has left us but we are all feeling so fortunate to have had him in our lives. We extend our condolences and share in the same grief as his many other "families" including the Wheaton crew, Sunrise crew, Dream Street crew and countless others. George made us all better people and made each of our communities kinder and more caring.
As has been captured in so many social media posts already- George was an amazing husband, dad, son, brother, co-worker, teammate, and friend but I'd like to highlight here in our Bulldog Boys Soccer Blog just who he was to our program.
George the player- Let's start with the finish here. GT currently sits as the 7th leading scorer in the program's history, scoring 31 goals and doling out 18 assists in his CHS career. As a sophomore, he was a huge part of our greatest-ever single season turnaround. After winning only three games during his freshmen year (1996) he helped us to our first-ever Hockomock League title in 1997 (17-3-1). He scored one of the greatest and consequencial goals in CHS Soccer history on a diving header off a Robbie Conroy set-piece before jumping into AJ MacDonald's arms in the South Sectional Quarterfinal 2-1 win over Oliver Ames. (NOTE- he is still pissed at me that he was left off of the all-star team that year....He should have been on it- just one of the thousands of coaching mistakes I've made the past 30 years.) Check out the goal in video link below:
George would go on to lead the team to two more winning seasons and tournament appearances. He was awarded Hockomock League All-Star his Junior and Senior seasons and was named EMASS All-Star his Senior year. He was a huge part of a group of young men who set an amazing foundation for years of CHS Boys Soccer successes to follow.
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| George Thomas- 1997 |
Our Bulldog family was so proud when he headed off to play for legendary coach Matt Cushing (RIP Cush) at Wheaton College where he was handed nothing and earned everything. George's story at Wheaton is one that every young soccer player would learn from. It is one of the greatest examples I have seen in my life of perseverance leading to enormous success. Georgie didn't become Wheaton captain and lead his team to the NCAA D3 Final Four through god-given talent. He did it through grit. George had grit before grit was all the rage. Driving down to New Jersey to watch him play in the Final Four is still one of the proudest moments of my coaching career.
George the coach- In 2004, fresh off his Wheaton successes, GT came home and joined the CHS Boys Soccer coaching staff as assistant coach. He would stay in that role for nearly a decade, coaching nine seasons until work and family made it impossible for him to contribute at the level that was acceptable to him. Georgie was the best assistant coach I have ever had and I have had some amazing assistants over the decades. He was awarded the Eastern Massachusetts Assistant High School Coach of the Year in 2008- an award that he was too humble to easily accept- although he deserved it more than anyone.
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| Tess Erickson and George Thomas V at Canton Soccer School 2019. |
The boys (alum) have been texting me the past couple of days since our loss of GT. They are all hurting, but they are all sharing their fond memories. George has left all of us with so much.
Coach George was also a fixture at Canton Soccer School each summer. I know he loved it as much as I did. Camp week was another time where GT would make a huge impact. It was really sad for me when he had to finally "grow up" and couldn't work camp anymore- but his presence has been with us there each summer since and will continue to be as long as we keep meeting each summer. Having his son George become a camper in recent years made him so happy- and me too.
The CHS Boys Soccer family will embrace and support George's family during this unfathomable time and long into the future. To Ris, G5 and James- your husband/dad did so much for his Canton High Soccer community and we are ready to give back.
Rest in peace Georgie. I love you and miss you already. I'll try to make you proud every day. Go Dogs!
Please consider supporting the family in this time of need. A GoFundMe page has been established and can be found by clicking here.
