After three and a half years with Pembroke Academy as a lab coordinator and head coach of the boys’ basketball team, Mike Donnell decided for health reasons to step away and resign entirely.
In the past few weeks, he had not felt well. He was coming off a year of dealing with cancer, teaching, running an auctioneering business, taking care of family and leading the Spartans to a long-awaited Division II Championship win.
The same day he resigned, Oct. 30, he received a call from his doctor telling him that cancer had invaded his liver and lungs. The worst blow was that his doctors said they believed it was incurable.
Donnell’s ups and downs through the better part of the past year and a half were covered by the Monitor — his initial cancer diagnosis, his treatment, eventually being declared cancer-free soon before the championship basketball season started.
When he sat down to speak about his condition and life, he was still waiting for results from additional biopsies to have a clearer picture of the future ahead of him.
Accompanied by his wife Karen, he spoke frankly and earnestly as a man with conviction about what he wants to do, given the unknown timetable of the rest of his life.
First, he knew he had to step away from his role at school to focus on his health.
“I’m a family man, I love being with Karen and I love being with my family,” he said. “And of course, being involved in Pembroke Academy, and the most important thing to me is just spending as much time together as we have.”
After initially announcing his retirement and new prognosis to his students and coworkers privately, and then publicly on Facebook to a Pembroke community page, he received hundreds of messages and calls.
On a cold fall morning from the kitchen table at their Allenstown home, Donnell spoke of the love he had for his students and the school, and he reminisced on his time coaching. His wife knew how much the community appreciated him in return for his work.
“I’m a mess,” she said as her eyes welled up. “I just… he’s so powerful in the community, and he’s impacted so many people. I don’t think we truly realize how many people he impacted.”
Donnell said he wanted to get all of his affairs in order while he still can. Settling business matters, passing the coaching baton and ensuring he has a good quality of life moving forward are top of his list.
He emphasized his message to others to get regular checks for cancer, appreciate what they have and care for the people around them. When the doctor says the words “terminal cancer,” you look at things differently, he said.
Through all of his years coaching, beginning in the 70’s, he enjoyed his time in Pembroke the most. He was most proud of teaching kids how to advocate for themselves, and championing themselves in school, sports and life.
“I think the kids knew that the most important thing was, I cared about them. They came first,” he said. “I think today, if you show a kid respect and you care for them, they’ll run through a wall for you.”
With Donnell’s departure, Coach Jim Cilley will step into the head coaching role fully, and assistant coach Julia Valotto will step up to second in command.
Cilley previously coached against Donnell when they steered rivals Belmont and Franklin, respectively. They became good friends and partners working toward a shared goal as Spartans.
Cilley said he hopes to continue Donnell’s legacy in many ways. Donnell had a special way of connecting with the community and always brought everyone into the fold.
“Mike is just such a unique individual who has a very big heart, and he’s got a soft spot for a lot of people in that community,” Cilley said. “And at the end of the day, I think my job is to come in and continue to give the community something to be proud of every night.”
One of his former players, Evan Berkeley, who became a champion with the team last year and now plays for Plymouth State, said he has full confidence in Cilley’s ability to handle the program.
He heard the news about Donnell’s prognosis that same day, and he remembered the impact his high school coach had on his career.
“It was definitely heartbreaking, but at the same time, we’re so glad we went out with a championship and got to have such a great experience,” Berkeley said.
Berkeley’s time at Pembroke Academy gave him a passion for the game, for the grind, for the process of improving oneself every day, and in no small part, that was thanks to Donnell.
“Since the day I met him, he just totally boosted my confidence, my love for the game, and he has made me such a great person on and off the court,” he added. “He’s a community guy.”
Donnell will still try to make a few home games at Pembroke Academy this year, although he said the last thing he wants to do is distract the players from getting the job done on the court.
He added that he hopes to make it up to Lake George and go to the Saratoga Race Course horse track with his wife and his granddaughters at least one more time. Besides that, he won’t be skydiving or going far from home to explore the world. He’s satisfied with what he’s already done.
This upcoming basketball season will look different, in Pembroke and Division II as a whole, with Donnell away from the bench.
“I know you’re concerned, but if there’s anything you can do from this is to use it as a tool to motivate yourself,” Donnell told his players when he retired. “I’m not going to give up and you guys can have a great season.”
