Ex-Coginchaug coach Camp passes away

Longtime Coginchaug boys basketball coach Wally Camp passed away Tuesday at the age of 87.

Wally Camp finished with 508 career wins, one of 15 coaches with over 500 CIAC victories. The athletic complex at Coginchaug is named after Camp

“It’s really difficult to accept he is gone,” said current Coginchaug coach Todd Salva, who coached under Camp and succeeded him in 1990. “He’s been such a big part of my life since I was a freshman in high school. He was my teacher, my coach, my colleague, my mentor and probably most importantly, he was my friend. That’s a pretty big cycle to go through.” Camp’s lone state champion-

ship came in 1974 when the Blue Devils beat St. Thomas Aquinas 49-48 in Class S. Camp brought two other teams to the final, in 1980 and 1982, but lost to Cromwell and Portland, respectively. Camp guided the Blue Devils to 11 Shoreline Conference championships.

Camp and Salva are the only two coaches in the school’s history. Camp received a Merit Award from the CIAC tournament committee last March at the Mohegan Sun Casino — the same day and place Coginchaug played for the Class S final, its first appearance in a final since that 1982 season. Coginchaug lost to Immaculate.

Camp was awarded the prestigious Gold Key award by the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance in 1991.