For 35 years — predominantly in the Frewsburg school district — he made it his passion.

Now future Bears will have to learn from someone else.

Nelson recently stepped down as the Frewsburg head coach after a career spanning three-plus decades that included a 1996 Section VI finalist finish and a 2001 Class C-1 championship.

“I never had an end date or a year. This is going to free up a lot of time to do what we want to do,” Nelson said Thursday afternoon. “It’s Thanksgiving, Christmas and February break. Throughout the summer you’re going to camps, I’ve coached at camps … the kids went to camps, it’s a lot.”

Frewsburg basketball coach Tom Nelson and his 2019-20 team pose for a photo. P-J file photo by Scott Kindberg

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The 1981 Frewsburg graduate, who was a member of one of the greatest teams in school history as a junior, played four years of collegiate ball at SUNY Fredonia before getting into teaching in 1985.

After coaching the freshman team at Jamestown High School for two seasons, Nelson was hired as a history teacher and jayvee basketball coach at his alma mater in 1987.

He eventually took over the varsity program, took a break for eight seasons to coach modified basketball, and then finished his career back with the varsity team.

“We used to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 to 18 kids trying out for varsity and having to make cuts,” Nelson said. “We don’t have those kinds of numbers.

“It’s much more organized now with summer leagues,” he added. “We just got together and played when I first started. Every outdoor court was full. That’s just what we did.”

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Many changes have occurred in the sport during Nelson’s time, including shot-clock changes, the invention of the 3-point shot and sectional playoffs to name a few.

“When I played, there was no 3-point line. That has made a big difference in terms of strategy,” he said. “The idea of having that big guy in the middle … it’s nice if you have it, but obviously the game has changed as far as pushing the ball, shooting 3s and spreading the court out.”

His best teams came in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“We played Maple Grove … we had a lead with a couple of minutes to go and lost right at the end,” Nelson said about the 1996 sectional runnerup finish at the Niagara Falls Convention Center. “I could pick out a pair of officials who didn’t blow the whistle. The difference was maybe not more than four points.”

Five years later, the Bears beat Westfield for the Class C-2 title before losing to Traditional at Buffalo State College.

“We beat Westfield … we had a one- or two-point lead and they missed a shot at the buzzer,” Nelson said. “In the next game we got beat by about 30 to Traditional.”

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Late in his career, Nelson had the pleasure of coaching his own sons, Josh and Bradley; a nephew, Kyle; and the children of some of his players from earlier years.

Josh went on to a four-year career at SUNY Brockport and is now applying for teaching jobs while coaching in the Holley school district outside Rochester.

“I think it’s been great to have that time to spend with them,” Nelson said. “Josh is coaching and it’s been fun to talk to him and listen to some of the same problems I had in my first couple of years.”

Kyle teaches at Frewsburg’s Robert H. Jackson Elementary School while also coaching in the Jamestown district.

Bradley recently announced his intention to attend SUNY Cortland and play basketball there while pursuing a degree in education, focusing in social studies just like his father.

“Hanging out with the team, I got a good feel for what the players were like,” Bradley said Thursday of his decision to attend Cortland. “This decision was really tough, I just thought I’d fit in a little bit better there.”

Bradley also finished his career as the Bears’ all-time leading scorer with 1,336 points to better Gary Clark (Class of 1953), who finished his career with 1,171 points.

“He was lucky and also durable to never have an injury. He was never unable to play,” Tom said of Bradley. “He played in 85 varsity games and started 64 of them.”

Clark went on to Syracuse University and steadily improved to the point where by his senior season he ranked second on the team in scoring, according to the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame. He was even drafted by the New York Knicks, but instead joined the Army.

“Randy Clark, Gary’s son, and I played together. I was 6-5, Randy was 6-5 and we had 6-foot-7 Matt Olson, who played at Slippery Rock,” Tom Nelson said. “We also had a sophomore guard named Shane Conlan, who wasn’t bad. That was a good team.”

Nelson coached Frewsburg’s third all-time leading scorer Cordell O’Brien, who finished with 1,095 points upon graduation in 2017 and is currently a member of the Mercyhurst University football team.

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Still, Nelson took great pride in coaching the lesser-talented players on his team that he felt really made the teams complete.

“It’s fun to get in these drills. That’s one of the things I’ll miss, not jumping into practice and running in the drills,” he said. ” … Teaching the kids to make a good bounce pass, a good chest pass, make a layup correctly … I always tell them to bore me with the fundamentals. Do it the right way.”

He’ll leave big shoes to fill — literally and figuratively — and says he may get back into coaching in some capacity in the future like he’s seen many of his colleagues do in retirement.

“It’s a good time to let a younger guy do this,” Nelson said. “If there is a point where I’m not as busy, Brad’s done playing and someone needs an assistant … I would answer the phone.”