sports

Baseball coaches provide depth for players
With alumni coaching, the team can rely on past experience of the young staff

By Carey VanWormer
Staff Writer

Three former St. Michael’s baseball players will coach the baseball team this spring. 

Seth Cole, 2001 alumnus, is in his third year as head coach and Aaron Ciullo, a 2006 alumnus, returns for his second year as assistant coach. Newcomer Ryan Dulude, a 2007 graduate joins the staff for his first-year on the coaching staff.

“As any proud alumni, I want to see the program do the best they can,” Dulude said.  “I can’t think of any better way to do that than help coach the team.”

As a coaching staff, Cole, Ciullo, and Dulude each share three accomplishments: They played four years of baseball at St. Michael’s, were team captains and recipients of the George “Doc” Jacobs Award for outstanding contributions to the athletic department. 

“They know more than anyone what it takes to succeed in the program because they played here and did so well,” senior captain John Kunkel said.

His experience playing has positively affected his coaching experience, Ciullo said. As a former player he can relate to the team and understand the balance of baseball, academics, and a social life. It allows for the team to approach someone with experience, he said.

“Hopefully we understand what the guys want to get out of the experience because we were in their shoes not too long ago,” Cole said.

A significant portion of the 2008 team has played with the assistant coaches. The transition from friend to coach has been the biggest challenge for Ciullo and Dulude, Cole said.

Ciullo said he thinks it’s about balancing the friend relationship with the role as an authority figure. So far, there have been no conflicts relating to this, he said.

“Last year I was their friend and teammate,” Dulude said. “The fact of the matter is I am still their friend but now I have to be able to discipline them and act as a coach.  I have an obligation as a coach to represent myself as a part of the institution of St. Michael’s College.”

It’s tough to listen to Ciullo and Dulude when they are yelling during drills or telling them to run, senior Ed Fennessey said. He is used to their authority as a player because he played with both of them as his captains.

Senior captain Kyle Gingras said after playing with the assistant coaches, he views them as peers rather than coaches. 

The veterans need to make sure they consistently give the coaches respect and instill that in the younger players, he said.

With such a veteran squad, many have taken on leadership roles, Cole said.  In addition to the four captains, other upperclassmen have stepped up, he said.

“It is their team and they are taking ownership of it,” he said. “It is rewarding for me to see.”

The team mentality has adjusted its focus and is thinking about the team as a unit, Fennessey said. Its goal is to avoid a hierarchical structure and allow anyone to take on leadership roles, he said.

It was segregated by age his first year, but the team unity is the strongest it has ever been, Gingras said. 

The coaches connect with the team, and they are closer in age, giving them a perspective based on experience, he said.

“We are not a power team, but we have a lot of team unity,” Gingras said. “That will be our biggest strength.”

The four captains have helped the team transition, Ciullo said.  They are doing everything in their power to make sure it’s more competitive and powerful, he said.

The team is also concentrating on winning games, Kunkel said.

“We are more focused on winning baseball games than any other year I have been around,” he said. “We always wanted to work hard and have fun but we weren’t as concerned with winning as we are now.”

With a combination of leadership from seniors and pitching depth, the team could break the record for the number of wins in a season, Dulude said.

“Baseball was the first sport ever played at St. Michael’s,” Ciullo said. “We have to keep it going.”

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