SAUGUS — Mark Bertrand loved Saugus. And Saugus loved him right back.
That is why his death Friday night in an accident in which the Bobcat machine he was driving overturned, pinning him underneath, is such a tough thing to take.
Bertrand was more than simply the varsity boys basketball coach. He was a fierce advocate for the Town of Saugus.
“Bird,” as he was called, wanted Saugus students to stay home, said School Committee chairman Tommy Whittredge.
“I love the town,” Whittredge said. “But we’re surrounded by all these high-powered private schools. St John’s Prep. Malden Catholic. Austin Prep. St. Mary’s. ‘Bird’ understood that if you wanted to get good kids, and good athletes, to stay in Saugus you had to focus on the younger kids.
“And he did,” Whittredge said. “He really saw the youth programs as a feeder system for the high school.”
Not only that, Bertrand helped the girls program as much as he could, and assistant Erik Stockwell said in a Facebook post Saturday that the team — which has had some success in recent years — would have been as well off had it not been for Bertrand and the work he put in to help them.
Bertrand, 57, took over as varsity coach during the 2018 season after head coach Paul Moran was forced to step down for health reasons.
“He did a great job picking up the pieces,” said Whittredge, who first met Bertrand as he was beginning his tenure with the Saugus National Little League while Bertrand was wrapping up his involvement.
“He was really knowledgeable,” Whittredge said. “And he was very helpful.”
Whittredge also said that while the records might not have shown it, Bertrand was the perfect coach for the team.
“I used to call him an old-school, throwback coach,” he said. “He instilled some discipline into them.”
News of his death has shaken the entire town.
“This is a terrible loss for the town,” said David DeRuosi, superintendent of schools. “He was a good coach and a good man. He was really a caring, giving person.”
“It’s going to be especially difficult, because usually in this kind of a situation, we have grief counselors come into the school. But because of this situation (remote learning), we will offer counseling virtually,” DeRuosi said.
At approximately 5:20 p.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to 31 Woodland Ave. for a report of a Bobcat machine that had overturned, trapping Bertrand. Police reported that firefighters extricated Bertrand and initiated CPR. He was then transported to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.
Bertrand graduated from Saugus High in 1982. After one season playing hoops at North Shore Community College, he took his basketball talents to Division III Worcester State, where he graduated in 1987. From his playing days, Bertrand learned the importance of having pride in representing a school and community.
Bertrand returned to the Saugus program in 2008, when Moran tabbed him to coach the freshman team. He also coached the junior varsity team before joining the varsity staff as an assistant. Overall, Bertrand spent 10 years on the staff before being named head coach.
Bertrand’s son Joe, who scored more than 1,000 career points for Saugus, was named the Item Player of the Year for boys basketball in 2014.
Bertrand’s wife, Marybeth, works for the school department as well.
Saugus Athletic Director Terri Pillsbury and Saugus Middle-High School Principal Michael Hashem remember Bertrand as a pillar of the Saugus community.
“It is with the deepest regret that we have learned of the sudden passing of boys basketball coach and SHS alumnus Mark Bertrand,” Hashem and Pillsbury said in a statement. “Mark was a true gentleman, as well as a valued member of our school community and the town of Saugus. Mark was a true family man and a pillar of the Saugus community, as his passing has and will continue to profoundly impact our school and athletic families.
“The Bertrand family is widely recognized as the ‘First Family of Saugus basketball’ and Mark’s presence and influence will be greatly missed by everyone that knew him. We also send our deepest sympathies to Mark’s wife, Marybeth and their sons Joseph, Daniel and Michael and to his extended family as well.”
There was an outpouring of condolences and well wishes on social media from across the North Shore basketball community and beyond Saturday morning, with many remembering Bertrand as a dedicated family man who loved his community, teaching the game of basketball and serving as a role model for all who he came in contact with.
