Coach Thomas Bradley, who coaches the cross country team at NECC, was in need of major surgery during the season but decided to get it done in the offseason so he could continue coaching. He finally went through the procedure on Friday, Nov. 13.

He came to Northern Essex and revived the program after 7 long years without the sport. Bradley grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., graduated from the Military Academy at West Point and served as a Captain in the U.S. Army for 5 years.

For 35 years now he has been coaching multiple sports at different schools in New England, but his favorite is cross country.

On behalf of the NECC community, the staff at the Observer would like to wish him a quick recovery.