Nor’easters head coach, Ed Silva, impacts lives on and off the court
BIDDEFORD, Maine (BVM) — Being a coach allows you to help people, and you can continue to be active in the sport you love. For men’s basketball, head coach Ed Silva, he gets to live out that dream. With degrees from Eastern Connecticut State and the University of Connecticut for sociology and social work, coaching has always called his name.
As a college student, Silva tried different majors but finally settled on sociology. It gave him a better understanding of how people function and think, and that’s what he enjoyed. Silva also loved the game of basketball and soon realized that he was destined to be a coach. But for Silva, being a coach meant more than just coaching the game he loved, it meant being a teacher as well.
“I would define myself as a teacher more so than a coach if you come from that framework, it changes your perspective,” Silva said.
Fast forward to today, Silva has been a coach at the collegiate level for 19 years but has been at the University of New England for eight seasons. Last season Silva led the Nor’ easters to a 13-12 overall record. The squad racked up 83.0 points per game, along with 40.2 rebounds. He hopes to improve those numbers in the upcoming season. Although there are uncertainties with the virus, they are scheduled to start their regular-season games mid-January.
“I’m excited for the kids, I felt so bad for the kids that left out on spring sports, here and all over the county,” Silva said. “I hope and pray that we and all of the country can have a season. I know how much sports mean to these students because I know how much it means to me as a coach and thinking back to when I played, how devastated I would be if this was in my time period.”
Even though Silva makes an impact on the court, he hopes to make more of an impact on all the student-athletes he comes in contact with. Silva is an advocate for student-athletes mental health and ethnicity rights on the campus. He also enjoys working with the youth in the Biddeford community.
Visting elementary and middle schools to talk to students about the fundamentals of life, Silva continues to speak about the fundamentals of sports, what trust looks like in a sport, and what honesty looks like in a sport. He would also mention how the lessons learned from sports can be used in everyday life.
“It’s crazy because I see kids around town that I coached when they were in elementary school, and now they are graduating,” Silva said.
“They recognize me fast because I am a 6-foot-5 bald man, but they will repeat the ‘be comfortable with being uncomfortable’ quote I told them years ago. It shows that what you say and what you do is really being watched and is really resonating with people.”
Working with kids means a lot to Silva. Silva grew up without a father and was a part of a group called ‘Young Fathers.’ This is where he would help coach and encourage men to stay engaged and active in their child’s lives. Currently, Silva is proud to say that he is present and engaged in his kid’s lives as they grow up. Silva is pleased to call himself a father.
As Silva continues to be part of his family, he also continues to be active in his athlete’s lives. If you were to ask any of Silva’s athletes, they would tell you that he gives them a lot of advice on many aspects of life on and off the court. When asked what the best piece of advice he has ever given, he had to think about it. Once it came to mind, he figured it’s the most meaningful advice he has to offer.
“Anything or anyone that is important to you, the most valuable thing that you can give it is your time,” Silva said. “If you care about it, it will have your time.”
