Breakfast at the Throckmorton household was an adventure.
Tim would pull eggs out of the refrigerator and toss them to his daughter, Hillary, and son, Ellis.
“They knew the eggs were coming at them. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They had to make the play or it would break on them,” said Tim.
He explained that he was trying to teach them a lesson.
“You never drop a baby. Even the clumsiest person doesn’t drop a baby,” said Tim. “Sometimes in sports, you have to find a way to do things because you have to.”
Hillary said it was a valuable tool in developing hand-eye coordination.
“I asked my roommates if they wanted to catch eggs but they declined,” she quipped.
“A lot of people would have dropped the eggs. It was good to have a lot of chances at greatness,” Ellis joked.
Mother Emily Ellis said the egg toss was a “Tim thing” and pointed out that even if their kids dropped the eggs, it didn’t mean they went hungry.
The lessons they learned in the kitchen and through competing against each other in the yard later would be applied to their athletic careers.
“It hurt to lose to my sister,” said Ellis.
“We’d beat up on each other playing basketball and it made each of us better,” Hillary said. “He was bigger and tougher. He made me tougher and I made him smarter.”
They have also been very supportive of one another, as required by their parents.
“One of the house rules was that you went to each other’s games (if you could),” Hillary said. “I love watching Ellis play. I’m so proud of him.”
The Throckmorton children followed in their parents’ footsteps as athletes.
Hillary played basketball and field hockey at Bangor High and also ran track. She went on to play two years of basketball at Bates College in Lewiston.
Ellis played football and basketball at Bangor High and also played a year of tennis.
Now at Husson University in Bangor, he is a three-time All-Eastern Collegiate Football Conference linebacker.
Tim Throckmorton, the longtime sports director/anchor at WABI TV Channel 5/The CW, played tennis and hockey at Bangor High and freshman soccer at the University of Maine along with tennis before switching over to football. He played four years of football.
Two broken arms prevented him from playing football in high school.
Emily Ellis is a member of four halls of fame for her terrific basketball career at Mount View High School in Thorndike and the University of Maine.
Both children said they were provided the opportunity to play as many sports as possible and choose the ones they liked. They were encouraged not to specialize.
“You just want your kids to do what they love and be happy,” Emily said. “The lessons you learn in an athletic environment are the most valuable lessons you can learn and apply to life.”
“Sports is the foundation for the rest of your life,” Hillary said, who graduated with a degree in sociology from Bates and is now an events coordinator for the High School Year Exchange (Student) program in Boston. “In the workplace, I’m competitive and team-oriented. I learned that not only from sports, but from my parents, too.”
“When you’re growing up, you think everybody’s parents have all this knowledge about sports,” Ellis said. “I didn’t realize until I got older how lucky we were to have mom and dad as our parents. Not only did they teach us a lot of lessons through sports, they’re also good human beings.”
Tim pointed out that he and Emily insisted that their children play a musical instrument so they would be well-rounded. Ellis played drums and Hillary played clarinet and piano.
“Mom used to hate hearing me practice my clarinet. I was terrible,” joked Hillary.
“When you go to a talent show and see people in your class play an instrument well, it gives you an appreciation for something other than sports,” Hillary said.
Celebrity spotlight
The fact Ellis and Hillary grew up with celebrity parents never affected them, although Emily recalled her daughter having a funny reaction to an exuberant parent while watching her brother play.
“The parent was animated like Tim is, so Hillary asked me what television station did he work for,” Emily joked.
“We didn’t have any idea they were local celebrities at the time,” Hillary said.
“They were just our parents,” said Ellis. “But when you grow up and realize the effect they have had on other people, it’s pretty cool.
“It makes you proud of them,” said Ellis.
Their parents always were a popular topic among friends and acquaintances.
“People would come up to me and make comments that used to make me a little upset like, ‘Why aren’t you as good as your mom?’” Hillary said. “My mom was a great player.
“There was definite pressure growing up. You were either going to fold under the pressure or rise to the challenge. Ellis and I wanted to make it to the next level out of high school (and we did). Sports is such an integral part of our lives,” added Hillary.
Tim and Emily’s notoriety may have generated attention for their children, but Ellis and Hillary have tried to leave their own mark.
“I’m sure they were under the microscope but they dealt with it very well,” said Tim, who said he allowed the TV competition to determine their newsworthiness.
“I was the last station to put my kids on. Channel 2 and Channel 7 had them on first,” Tim said. “I felt if those two stations mentioned my kids, I could, too.”
Tim and Emily got divorced when Hillary was 8 and Ellis was 7, but they shared custody and parenting remained at the top of their priority list.
“Just because you aren’t married doesn’t mean you don’t get along and you aren’t going to raise the kids together. That was never a question,” Tim said.
“We made sure the kids weren’t going to be collateral damage. I am so thankful that Tim is their dad,” said Emily.
“Even though they were divorced, they worked so well together,” Hillary said. “They put their differences aside.”
Ellis and Hillary feel blessed to have the parents they have and Emily and Tim also count their blessings.
“I couldn’t be more proud, not just about what they’ve done in athletics but the type of people they are. Hillary is strong-willed, smart and beautiful and Ellis is one of most thoughtful, considerate people you could ever know,” said Emily, who is a successful real estate agent.
“I’m amazingly proud of both of them,” said Tim. “They are both great students and great citizens.”