Perspective, Fall 2011 - University Liggett School

He calls his dad his “first coach, support, fan and inspiration.” Mike also cites as
memorable coaches John Fowler, David Backhurst and Joe Hubbach who, “with his
military work ethic, instilled in me the three Ds: discipline, devotion and desire.”
After graduating from Liggett, Mike went on to Williams College in Massachusetts.
“We had to have good athletics at Williams because we were called the Ephs after the
founder Ephraim Williams and our mascot was a purple cow. If we weren’t good,
people would have made fun of us!”
Mike, a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, is associate staff at
the Division of Thoracic Surgery at William Beaumont Hospital; assistant professor
of surgery at Oakland University William Beaumont Hospital School of Medicine;
and co-director, Center for Reflux and Esophageal Cancer Prevention at William
Beaumont Hospital.
Michael Coello, M.D.
Class of 1990
Doug Wood
Class of 1990
“My first year as a high
school athlete in soccer we
should have won the state
title and did not. It showed
me you cannot just show up
for a game.”
Doug Wood only had three coaches during his
12 sports seasons at Liggett but he credits all three
of them – David Backhurst (soccer), John Fowler
(hockey), and Bob Wood (tennis) – for pushing him
to achieve what he would not have without them.
After graduating
from Liggett, Doug
went on to Babson
Collage, where he
learned “that just
because you were
a good high school
athlete does not
mean anything –
when you get to
college everyone is
good.
University Liggett School
• 1986-1990: varsity soccer
• Led the team in points in 11th and 12th grades
• Held the school record for assists at graduation
• 1986-1990: varsity hockey
• 1990 Led the team to state championship
• Led the team in points all four years
• Holds the career point record for Michigan High
School hockey
• 1986-1990: varsity tennis
• Played on three state championship teams
Babson College
• 1990-1994: varsity hockey
• Made the NCAA Division III tournament three years
• Won the ECAC Division III hockey title in
sophomore year
• 1994 Made the final four in the NCAA tournament
• Led the team in point senior year; named MVP
“I had a classmate ask my coach if I could change hockey
numbers and his response was: ‘Tell Woody he’s lucky to have
a number.’” However, Doug did go on to earn all-league honors
in his senior year.
Most recently, Doug has coached high school hockey at both
Liggett and DeLaSalle.
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