This summer, Swampscott’s John Squires, with the help of the Recreation Department, created the Tides Hoop Men’s Basketball League. It was a major success, with players showing up every Monday and Thursday at Swampscott Elementary School for some fun competition.
“I’ve been involved in basketball my entire life,” Squires said. “I’ve been refereeing for 53 years in high school, and I did some college for a while, but this will be my 53rd year doing high school basketball at the varsity level.”
Squires’ basketball roots grew and expanded in town, from playing on a state championship team coached by the iconic Dick Lynch to being a director at the Don Nelson-Tom “Satch” Sanders’s basketball camp in New Hampshire for 30 years.
“I’ve had this passion since I was a youngster,” he said.
The league’s first session ended after nine weeks.
“We have 13 teams, 12 full and a traveling team that subs and fills in for the week. I have three divisions of four teams,” he said.
Squires wants to continue to grow the league and get the word out to other communities.
“It’s a program open for all men… The age level is from basically 21 to almost 60 years old. I have a place for everybody,” he said. “My goal is to have three or four divisions of six teams. Then I can really do it the way that I want to.”
Squires said he’s really pleased with the first session, saying he’s gotten a lot of support from the Recreation Director Charlotte Daher de Garcia and Superintendent Jason Calichman.
Squires also noted that he and his wife, Deborah Squires, started a program years ago for young boys and girls.
“We started on Saturday mornings with 10 to 15 kids, and it turned into being almost 80 boys and 80 girls every Saturday back-to-back from 8 to 10 a.m. (and) 10 a.m. to noon,” he said.
While on the topic, Squires also gave major credit to his wife, who came up with the name Tides Hoop for the league and was also a big part in getting it set up.
“She was instrumental in supporting me for this program, too. She’s been a behind-the-scenes person I can bounce things off of as far as setting this whole program up,” he said.
Squires was happy to see that most of the teams will be back for the next session, which will be starting in the winter, as it will be a year-round league.
“It’s something I really want to develop and get more and more community people involved. That was the idea behind Swampscott Rec trying to get people from the town involved. I also got some gentlemen who had just moved to town to join,” he said. “In fact, those two who just moved here are actually in the finals.”
Squires has received great feedback, bolstering his hope to grow the league.
The league plays on one court, split into three, which makes the games run smoothly, allowing teams to get in and out in a timely manner.
He also mentioned that he wasn’t the only one in the family who grew up with a passion for sports, as all three of his kids went on to play in college.
“I’m a big believer in sports. When I used to be a vice principal and I talked to the different parents, I’d say, ‘I don’t care what your sons or daughters do, but I’m a firm believer, especially at the middle school level, that they have to do something,” he said.
This didn’t just mean sports. Squires understood that some kids might find passion in art, music, drama, the chess club, or the math team.
“Anything. You need to be involved in stuff because you see people from a different perspective, especially if you’re somebody like me who was the bad guy with the black hat. I was the guy who, if you got in trouble, you’d see the assistant principal. But they got to see me in a different light as a teacher, or a coach, or a mentor. That’s what education is all about,” he said.
Squires and his wife were both teachers, which is how they met, and their daughter also followed in their footsteps, while his two sons went into other fields.
“My wife has a great quote that I follow. Her philosophy about discipline is that it doesn’t have to be punitive. Discipline is about educating others. It’s about learning from making mistakes. And I think that’s just a great quote,” he said.
Squires continued that when he was in school, when you were in trouble, it was always punitive.
“There was always a punishment for it. Well, my wife brought this to light for me. She said, ‘It doesn’t have to be punitive. It can be about educating and teaching somebody. Yeah, they made a mistake. We all make mistakes, and we’re all going to make more mistakes, but you don’t want to make the same mistake more than once or twice,’” he said.
Squires said he keeps the same philosophy going into this summer league, creating a space where the guys can get a good workout, have fun, and enjoy some competition in a safe space.
