One More Surprise for Coach Lobo

In a year of surprises, the cross country teams had one more in store for boys head coach Dennis Lobo at the 2011 awards ceremony on Tuesday evening.

Indeed, the teams’ senior captains presented Lobo, whose wife, RuthAnn, over the summer, with a check for $675 in her memory for the RuthAnn and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship fund.

According to Dennis Lobo, it’s a common practice for teams to present their coaches with gifts at the end of the banquet but the gesture went above and beyond anything that he could have expected.

“It blew me away, considering all the things they have done with the and everything else,” Dennis Lobo said over the telephone Wednesday. “I thanked them amply during the course of the banquet for all the things they have done to get me through the most difficult time in my life.

“I just thanked them and told them that I love them. It was wonderful.”

And with that, Dennis Lobo reflected on the season.

“It’s been a great year; it’s sad to see it end,” Dennis Lobo said. “It’s been a wonderful experience coaching the kids and working with the parents.”

As for the future, Lobo is less certain. For now, he is going to help coach his grandson’s Suffield travel basketball team with his son. Other than that, Dennis Lobo did not yet know whether he would come back in the spring and coach the Granby Memorial track and field team.

“Let me see how things go through the winter time,” said Dennis Lobo, noting that he didn’t have to make a decision until January or February. “I’ll wait and see.”