Coach Rod Wotton recently retired as a high school coach, completing nearly 50 years on the sidelines for three New England high schools – South Berwick and Marshwood in Maine and St. Thomas Aquinas in Dover, NH. In the process, the 71-year old Wooton became the winningest coach in New England high school football history. He called it a career after 342 wins and 21 championships. Wotten began his coaching career at South Berwick High School and became head coach there in 1962. He won his first state title in 1966, the same year the school moved to the town of Eliot and was renamed Marshwood High School. Wotton stepped down after the 1992 season and then coached briefly as an assistant at the University of New Hampshire. He took over the St. Thomas Aquinas program in 1996, inheriting a program with a 15-game losing streak. St. Thomas made the playoffs the following year, the first of five straight championship appearances.
But Wooten was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the early 2000’s although doctors suggested he keep busy by continuing to coach. By doing so through this past season, he kept Parkinson’s worst symptoms at bay. Now he plans to enjoy his seven grandchildren.
A reporter recently referred to Wotton as ‘New England’s legendary football coach.’ He didn’t like it. “I don’t like being called a legend,” Wotton said. ‘It’s something you’re called after you’re dead.”