News & Notes

MassCoach News

"The Official Newsletter of the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association"

January 2010

Welcome to the annual MBCA Coaches Clinic at the Doubletree Inn in Westborough.

Clinic coordinators Frank Carey and Harvey Krupnick have again put together an outstanding lineup of speakers. Special thanks to our Grand Slam and Triple Play Sponsors: Championship-Award Guys, Boston Red Sox and On Deck Sports for making it possible for us to continue to improve on a great weekend. Thanks also to National Fundraising Partners for hosting our Friday night social, and Akadema and Miller Net for sponsoring the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning coffee respectively. Please patronize our sponsors and the many vendors who have joined us for this weekend.

2010 MBCA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Congratulations to the members of this year’s class of the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame: Please join us in honoring our new MBCA Hall of Fame members at the banquet on Saturday night. All are deserving of our recognition.

Greg Picucci, Gardner High School: Coach Picucci has coached varsity high school baseball for the past 26 years and has been at Gardner High School since 2000. During that time he won over 300 games and his teams have qualified for the district tournament 17 times. Over 100 of his players have gone on to play college baseball and 2 have signed professional contracts. Over the years he has earned the respect of his fellow coaches, players and umpires for his outstanding work ethic and sportsmanship. Under his leadership and direction his teams have been awarded 3 league sportsmanship awards. Greg’s love of the game, enthusiasm and teaching skills have enabled his players to learn to play the game the right way.

Joe Leone, Concord-Carlisle High School: Joe Leone was the head baseball coach at Concord-Carlisle High School for 22 years and over that time won 225 games and qualified for the district tournament 12 times. His teams also collected numerous Dual County Sportsmanship Awards. But Joe’s contributions to Massachusetts high school baseball far exceed his success on the field. Joe has served on the MBCA’s executive board for many years, and was its president in 1998-1999. He also chaired the Awards Brunch Committee since 2000. Joe was very active in promoting, instructing and developing youth baseball in the Concord-Carlisle community. Coaching baseball was the love of Joe’s professional life. Joe was constantly seeking and implementing new ideas and programs to provide a positive experience for his baseball players. The baseball players at Concord-Carlisle always got a first class, effort driven experience when they played for Coach Leone.

Alan Gallotta, Cohasset & ArchbishopWilliams High School: Alan Gallotta dedicated 34 springs to coaching high school baseball. His career began at Archbishop Williams High School where he coached for 27 years. Over that span his teams won 16 league championships and 2 state titles. During his last 7 years, he turned the struggling Cohasset High School Baseball program into a league championship team in 2008, their first championship since the 1950’s. More importantly, Coach Gallotta is known as a coach who is dedicated to his sport, his school and his players. He is considered a positive example for sportsmanship and a role model for student athletes.

Ron Silvestri, Worcester Vocational High School: Ron has been the head varsity baseball coach at Worcester Tech for the past 24 years and over that time has collected an amazing 436 wins. His teams have won 21 C.A.L. championships, 3 district titles and 5 State Vocational Championships. Two of his teams (2004, 2008) won the MIAA Division 2 State Sportsmanship Award. In 2001 Ron received both the Bill Wickman Memorial Award for Contribution to Baseball and the Son’s of Italy Coaches Award. He demonstrates and promotes an atmosphere of respect for himself and his players. Coach Silvestri teaches the sport of baseball, but more importantly the lessons of life while providing each athlete with a positive learning experience.

Congratulations to Gary Lombard-Presidential Award Winner 2009:

The Presidential Award, named after the MBCA’s founding fathers, Howard Ferguson and Thomas O’Connell is the highest award conferred by the association. The Presidential Award recognizes a person who has given extraordinary and distinguished service to high school baseball in Massachusetts and to the MBCA

2010 MBCA AWARD RECIPIENTS

FRED EBBETT AWARD

Joe Keohane – Burlington Little League

Don Greene – Shrewsbury Youth Baseball

Stan Ziomek – Amherst Youth Baseball

Monk Marini – Randolph Youth Baseball

ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR

Scott Harris – Reading High School

Harry Ayotte – Chelmsford High School

MBCA NEWS AND NOTES

Congratulations to Coach Dan Dulchinos for his recent induction into the City of Chicopee’s Hall of Fame. Coach Dulchinos is an inaugural member of the Chicopee Hall, and this is the latest of his many noteworthy achievements. Over his coaching career, Coach Dulchinos has compiled a 630-366 record, winning 22 league titles, 4 Western Massachusetts Championships, and 1 State Championship. Coach Dulchinos is a MBCA Hall of Famer. In 1994, Chicopee’s Rivers Park was renamed “Dulchinos Field” in his honor.

Coach Frank Carey of North Reading High School has been chosen as the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) District 1 Coach of the Year. Congratulations to Coach Carey. Coach Carey is also a MBCA Hall of Fame Member.

The National High School Baseball Coaches Association (NHSBCA) has honored several Massachusetts players and coaches. Coach Brian Davis and Hudson High were recognized as the District 1 Facility of the Year. Players Jon Leroux of Auburn High School and Dan Kemp of Tantasqua Regional High School were honored as BCA All-New England team members.

Jim Stone was recently inducted into the ABCA Coaches Hall of Fame. Jim coached at U-Mass Lowell and is now enjoying his retirement.

Mark Angelo, a 1978 graduate of Reading High School, was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame this November. Mark is the only player in the history of the league to have two seasons with over 100 total bases. Mark played three seasons with Wareham and Yarmouth-Dennis.

MBCA VICTORY CLUB

Peter Ambrose: Cardinal Spellman High School – 600 wins

Pat Yanchus: St. John’s Prep – 400 wins

Ron Silvestri: Worcester Voke – 400 wins

Andy Cline: Phillip Andover – 300 wins

Neil Burke: Algonquin Regional High School – 300 wins

Greg Picucci: Gardner High School – 300 wins

Dana Weybrew: Smith Academy – 100 wins

Mark Rowe: Georgetown High School – 100 wins

Nominations needed: The MBCA is looking for yearly nominations in the following categories. If you feel there is a deserving baseball person in your community, the MBCA would appreciate your time to forward their name and accomplishments to an MBCA executive board member.

•Fred Ebbett Award: Award of Distinction

•Assistant Coach Award

•Hall of Fame Nominees

MIAA NEWS:

The following is relevant news from the MIAA. The MIAA is the state governing body for high school interscholastic athletics. It is important for all coaches to keep up with current rule changes and policies.

•Tournament Baseball: The Reebok RBK VR6000 is the official tournament ball through 2012.

•Helmets for base coaches: Players must wear batting helmets of the full protection type, including double ear flaps and visor, while at bat or on bases. On-field coaches will be required to wear a protective helmet. The protective helmet can be a hard liner shell that fits inside the baseball cap (skull cap), a one flap, two flaps, or no flap batting helmet. This applies to freshmen, JV and varsity.

•New Alignment for Eastern Massachusetts: Beginning this spring, Eastern Massachusetts will have four divisions for the MIAA tournament. Be sure to check the MIAA website as many schools have changed divisions.