Vinal Tech/Coginchaug Regional football coach Bob McNamara, the only coach the Hawks have ever known, tendered his resignation in a letter written to both Vinal and Coginchaug officials dated Dec. 2.

"As someone who has been with Mac from the start, I’m very sorry to see him go," said Coginchaug Director of Athletics Theodore Lombardo. "I will miss him both personally and professionally. He was very low maintenance from an AD’s point of view. He did the job you expect a football coach to do.

"He’s a great football man who did things the right way. He ran a disciplined and classy program. He did a lot of things that in many places it falls to the AD to do -- scheduling, working with the Gridiron Club [The football booster club at both schools] and planning the banquet along with the club members.

"He tried to make the program a top-shelf one both on and off the field."

McNamara, who teaches at Prince Tech in Hartford, was philosophical.

"I only remember the great experiences," he said. "The kids were fantastic and they did what they were asked to do. I was exposed to a high-quality student-athlete and I enjoyed it from the first day to the last. It was a difficult decision to go, but it’s the right one."

McNamara went on to say that he expects to be coaching again. But he also said he looks forward to watching his son, who will be a senior at Bristol Eastern High School, play football in the fall.

"I’m not ready to give up coaching," he said. "I’ll be coaching someplace where they’ll have me. But I’ll always remember the support I received from the administration at both schools and I’ve made a life-long friend in Ted Lombardo. Of course, it probably helps that we’re both Yankee fans."

McNamara said that his two biggest thrills were his team’s first varsity win over Rocky Hill in 2000 and the stunning upset over Middletown in 2004.

"I’m going to miss him," said Vinal Tech Director of Athletics David Curtis. "He’s been a fantastic coach who runs a great practice. I have nothing but positive things to say about him. He always put the kids first and he coaches the way a coach is supposed to coach."

Vinal/Coginchaug began football as a cooperative venture in 1999 with a junior varsity program and went varsity in 2000. After back-to-back winning seasons in 2003 and 2004, the very young and inexperienced Hawks were winless this past season. However, the program had 70 players in grades 9-12 this fall and most are returning next season.

Lombardo said the search for a new coach would begin immediately.

"We’ll post the job and a selection committee will be created," he said. "We hope to find the person who will be the right fit for the program."