raising kids Kneeling (from left): Gerard LaTour, Dave Parisi, Larry Decore, Neil Goldstein, Joe LoVerde, Glen Bradshaw, John Aliseo. Standing (from left): Tony Barbuto, Joe Parlemini, Mike Regan, John Augello, Lou Liotta, Mark Christie, Gene Forsythe, Tommy Long, Mr. John.
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LA C h t i w G N I COACH E
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How one coach’s calm and fair approach to leading a team inspired another to follow in his footsteps for life.
e asked us to call him “Mr. John.” I never knew his last name, but he figured that wasn’t a detail we needed to know when he gathered us around home plate at the first practice for our Mid-Island Babe Ruth League team that chilly March afternoon in 1969. He introduced himself as our manager. He didn’t have any coaches to help him. We didn’t know anything else about him because he had never run a youth sports team before. He had children, but they didn’t play ball. He was a tailor, who owned his own business. He would come to practices and games straight from work, often wearing a white collar shirt and dress pants. He didn’t have to be there; he accepted the role because someone from the league told him there was a team without a manager, and Mr. John
met the call. He was a volunteer in the truest sense. Mr. John would be my manager the next three years, until I was 15. During that time, he never raised his voice. He laughed a lot. We practiced often. He wanted to win, but it was never life and death. I loved playing for him. Mr. John wanted all of his players to have a great experience. He treated every player with respect, no matter the ability level. He didn’t embarrass you with harsh words after a mistake or if you failed in a situation. He wouldn’t let you risk further injury by asking you to play when you were hurt. He treated his players the way he hoped a coach would have treated his own children. Players rarely missed a game when they played on Mr. John’s team. It was too much fun.
32 October 2020 • siparent.com
good sports.indd 2
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