Ace Adams

One of Brandeis University's former baseball coaches, Ace Adams, is gearing up for another year as a Minor League Baseball pitching coach in Davenport, Iowa, during 2009.



The Quad Cities River Bandits, in conjunction with the St. Louis Cardinals, have announced that their entire coaching staff will return to Modern Woodmen Park in 2009. Joining manager Steve Dillard will be hitting coach Joe Kruzel, pitching coach Ace Adams and trainer Brian Puchalski.

"The River Bandits are thrilled to have Steve Dillard and our entire coaching staff return in 2009," said team owner Dave Heller. "It makes a big difference to have coaches that know the fan base, the ballpark and the front office. They are great guys to work with and they already have built a strong rapport with this community. We are extremely happy to have such a great working relationship with Steve, his coaches and the entire Cardinals organization."

Ace Adams will be in his second season with both the Cardinals and the River Bandits. Known for building strong relationships with his pitchers, his chief accomplishments in 2008 included developing talented hurlers such as Nick Additon, Mark Diapoules and Richard Castillo -- all of whom had breakout seasons that landed them on the prospect radar.

Arthur "Ace" Adams was born July 25, 1952, in Needham, Massachusetts.

Adams was a collegiate coach for thirteen years at University of Michigan (1989-96), Brandeis University (1986-89), Harvard University (1985) and Dartmouth College (1984). He was also a traveling batting practice pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in 1984-1986.

After coaching in the Montreal Expos (1997-2001) and Florida Marlins (2002) farm systems, Adams was a pitching coach in the Red Sox Nation (2003-2006). He was a coach for the Lowell Spinners (2003), Augusta GreenJackets (2004), Wilmington Blue Rocks (2005), and Portland Sea Dogs (2006). Adams became a coach for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2008 in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league system.

40 Years Ago!

Pete Varney (#80) of Quincy celebrates after hauling in a pass for a two-point conversion in the closing seconds of 1968’s edition of The Game. Photo courtesy of Harvard University.

The Patriot Ledger remembered:

The screaming newspaper headline captured it perfectly – Harvard Beats Yale 29-29! It was also the Ivy League school’s version of “42 Seconds Over Cambridge,” and it hit at the heart of the Yale football faithful.

***
The game included...North Quincy High’s Pete Varney....

Varney, a tight end, would go on to play parts of four seasons in the major leagues as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox and the Atlanta Braves before coaching baseball at Brandeis.

“I was kind of apolitical at the time,” Varney, 59, said. “I was too wrapped up in my own little world, my little cocoon, so to speak. I’m not saying that it was a good thing, but I had so many things on my plate, trying to get a quality education, while playing two collegiate sports on the varsity level. I was an observer, not an activist.”

“As for the magnitude of the game, I think everyone from Harvard would agree, it was David vs. Goliath. Yale was ranked in the top 20 all year, and (Brian) Dowling (Yale’s quarterback), hadn’t lost a game in four years. Even though we were both undefeated, in the mind of the public we didn’t have much of a shot to compete.

“The fact that we ‘won’ was almost miraculous,” said Varney, who celebrated the victory with a family lobster dinner at Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston. “I do know this, if we continued playing that game, we had so much momentum, there was no possible way we could have lost.”

***

Harvard called its final timeout with 3 ticks left.

[Junior Frank] Champi then dropped back to the 15, pump-faked twice, ran up to the 10, looked right, turned left, and just as he was being hit, launched a pass to the left side of the end-zone – touchdown, Vic Gatto.

“I thought, we’ve come this far. I was very confident. It was inevitable,” Champi was reported to have said.

The Crimson fans stormed the field, and after a long delay to clear the field, the inevitable did, in fact, happen. In the corner of the end zone, Champi found the answer to one of Boston’s trivia questions; who caught the tying two-point conversion in the ’68 Harvard/Yale football game? Answer: Ex-North Quincy High School star Pete Varney.

“I almost didn’t play in that game,” Varney said. “I was sick that week with the flu, and after the game, I just collapsed in the trainer’s room.

“When I made the catch, which was a simple curl pattern, I thought of my teammates – what we lived through, and what we accomplished as a team. I thought of the sacrifices we made as a team, and that the journey is more important than the final result.”

Tip of the hat to Kenny Likis for the sourcing.

Pete

The NCAA has a new description of the head baseball coach for Brandeis University. This probably has been authored by Adam Levin, the sports information director at Brandeis. The Sping 2009 season will be Pete Varney's 28th season.

Pete Varney
Year: 27th
College: Harvard '71
Title: Head Coach
Email: varney@brandeis.edu
Phone: 781-736-3639

Coach Pete Varney, Brandeis University and the postseason are synonymous in New England baseball. Overall in his 27 seasons at the Judges’ helm, Varney has led the Judges to the post-season 20times. During his tenure as the Brandeis head coach, his teams have had an impressive list of accomplishments. Those achievements include an NCAA Division III College World Series appearance, 12 NCAA Regional invitations, two ECAC Division III New England Championships, eight ECAC tournament selections, six University Athletic Association titles and five Greater Boston League crowns.

Varney has guided the Judges to postseason appearances in 11 of the last 14 years. He has earned great respect on the national level because of his wealth of coaching and playing experience on both the collegiate and professional levels. That respect, coupled with major league playing experience, is given to the man whose name has become synonymous with Brandeis baseball. In addition, he has overseen and helped raise money for the improvement of facilities, including the new dugouts installed in 1999.

The Brandeis baseball program is renowned for the number of former players who have gone into the professional ranks. Twelve former Judges coached by Varney have been signed by major league baseball clubs and two are still currently playing. Bryan Lambert '05 became the latest to enter the professional ranks when he was signed by the Washington Nationals, reaching Single-A Savannah in his first campaign. Right-handed pitcher Nelson Figueroa became the first former Brandeis player to appear in the major leagues when he started three games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the summer of 2000. He spent two seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and was one of the top pitchers in the AAA Pacific Coast League before getting a call-up to the majors at the end of the 2004 season. Overseas, Tim Dunphy '06, one of the winningest pitchers in school history, plays in Belgium for the Namur Angels, while Ben Dashefsky '07 played in the very first game of the Israeli Baseball League last summer.

Varney has run a class program that emphasizes academic success and personal responsibility on and off the field. Twenty-six years ago, Varney took over the reins of a highly successful program from former coach Tom O’Connell, the recently retired coach of baseball at Princeton University and 2003 inductee into the Brandeis Hall of Fame. Varney’s impact was evident immediately as his first team won 23 games, the Greater Boston League championship and qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament.

Recruiting, the lifeblood of any successful collegiate program, has received a great deal of attention from Varney and his assistants. The staff’s efforts in that regard have not gone unnoticed.

Varney’s formula for success on the diamond is based on solid pitching and defense, along with a wide open offensive style of play. He has been named as New England Division III Coach of the Year three times (1984, 87, 99) and was named Greater Boston League Coach of the Year five times. Varney spent three summers (1988-90) as the head baseball coach of the Cotuit Kettleers in the nationally known Cape Cod League.

In high school, Varney was a three sport standout at North Quincy High School and is a member of its Hall of Fame. He was honored this past fall by the Everett High School’s E Club as its top opposing player. After a year of prep school at Deerfield Academy, Varney chose to stay in the Boston area, attending Harvard University.

As a collegian, Varney lettered in both baseball and football. He is best remembered in this area for catching the two point conversion in The Game, a 29-29 tie with Yale University in 1968. Varney's name still peppers the Harvard baseball record book in several categories. He has the third best career batting average .370 (1969-71), second-most home runs in a season (10 in 1970), and most RBI's in a game, (9) vs Washington and Lee in 1970. As a senior, he led Harvard to the 1971 NCAA Division I College World Series where the Crimson finished fifth in the nation. For his efforts that year, he was named first team All-American.

He was drafted seven times by major league teams between the years 1966 and 1971. Three times he was the number one pick overall. Finally, after graduating from Harvard in 1971, Varney signed with the Chicago White Sox, who drafted him with the first choice in the June secondary phase. He went on to play seven years of professional baseball and spent parts of four years in the big leagues with the White Sox and the Atlanta Braves.

When he retired from baseball, he began his coaching career at Narragansett High School in Templeton, Mass. After three years, he was named baseball coach at Brandeis. In addition to his coaching duties, Varney is the coordinator of student-athlete recruitment and is a lecturer in the Physical Education Department.

A former standout for the Gerry McCarthy Club in the Boston Park League, he was inducted into the League's Hall of Fame in November, 1985. Varney serves as the chairman of the New England Division III College Baseball Coaches Poll and a member of the NEIBA Executive Committee.


Brian Lambert
Year: 9th
College: Brandeis '97
Title: Assistant Coach
Email: lambert@brandeis.edu
Phone: 781-736-3670

One of the many Brandeis baseball alumni who has joined the coaching ranks, Brian Lambert is in his ninth campaign in his alma mater's dugout. Lambert served as head coach at Nichols College for two seasons in 2004 and 2005.

Lambert arrived at Brandeis as a freshman in 1995 and was an everyday starter in the outfield. His last three seasons, he was the centerfielder. During his four-year career, he led Brandeis to four post-season appearances, including an NCAA berth the last three seasons. As a senior captain, he led Brandeis to a then school record 29 wins. The lead-off hitter, he hit .376 with four home runs, 11 doubles, 25 RBI, 48 runs scored and 10 stolen bases as a senior. Lambert set a school single season record with 44 walks as a junior and has a career total of 105, second on the all-time list. Also that year, he tied the school record for runs with 44, and topped that with 48 last season. An outstanding fielder, he committed only two errors in 131 career games and stole a total of 42 bases.

A native of Walpole, Mass., he serves as the third base coach and oversees recruiting, summer team placement, ordering equipment and developing the team’s strength program.

Bryan Haley '99 at Endicott

Bryan Haley ended his first year as Endicott College's new head baseball coach, with a winning conference record of 13-9, despite a losing season record of 19-21. Haley hopes to build on his conference performance as he goes into his second baseball season at the Massachusetts college.



Haley is one of the "graduates" of Brandeis University Coach Pete Varney's so-called "College of Coaches." This has become the informal name given to Varney's baseball program, which has served as a fertile field of future directors of other college baseball teams.

Haley is a 1999 graduate of Brandeis University, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies. Bryan was a member of the most successful four-year span in Brandeis baseball history in which he was a four-time letter winner, a 1998 All-New England honoree, and the Athletic Director Outstanding Male Athlete winner in his senior campaign. Over the course of his career, the Judges posted a 111-47-1 record and made their first Division III College World Series appearance in 22 years.

Bryan came to Endicott in Beverly, Massachusetts with an extensive coaching background having served as the assistant coach at his alma mater, Brandeis University, in 2000 and 2002. While at Brandeis, Haley coached a pitching staff that ranked 16th in the nation with a 3.41 ERA and earned an NCAA New England Regional Tournament bid. Three of Haley's pitchers at Brandeis went on to sign professional contracts.

Before Endicott, Bryan served as an assistant coach and pitching coach for Columbia University. In six seasons under Haley's guidance, Columbia developed six all-conference pitchers and two Major League Baseball contract signers. In between his stints with Brandeis and Columbia, Haley helped lead the Ryde Hawks Baseball Club of the New South Wales Baseball League of Sydney, Australia, to a Club Championship in 2002.

Bryan Haley (Endicott) now joins six other of Coach Varney's former players and coaches who are presently leading college programs of their own, including Derek Carlson (Roger Williams), Mike Connolly (Bowdoin), Eric Podbelski (Wheaton - Massachusetts), George Reidy (Assumption), Bob Rikeman (Newberry) and Cliff Smith (Elizabethtown).

I plan to profile all of these former Brandeis baseball players in future postings.

Centor to Carnegie Mellon

It is official now. The NCAA's Josh Centor has moved on.

Carnegie Mellon hired Josh Centor as an assistant director of athletics to manage financial operations and data analysis.

Centor, who worked for three years at the NCAA national office, also will oversee the athletics department budget and NCAA rules compliance, and assist with revenue generation and strategic planning for athletics communications. During his tenure at the national office, he helped develop the Double-A Zone, the Association’s first Weblog, which launched in November 2005. He also introduced and administered Mondays With Myles, a weekly podcast conversation with NCAA President Myles Brand.

Centor is a 2004 graduate of Brandeis, where he was a baseball student-athlete. He was previously profiled on this blog.

Brandeis Player To China

Current senior Brandeis University baseball player Eli Harrington of Winooski, Vermont, will leave Friday, June 27, 2008, for an eight-week internship at Voice of America's Beijing bureau and will likely report on activities at the Summer Olympics.



The opportunity came together quickly, Harrington said. Brandeis encourages internships and work experience, and one of his professors mentioned Harrington, 20, to a former colleague who worked for Voice of America.

After a few phone interviews, he was hired and told to start packing his bags.

The Voice of America bureau in Beijing has only four or five employees, so Harrington said he'll probably be asked to do a variety of tasks. "It is so small, I will be able to do more hands-on production," Harrington said.

The prospect fits Harrington's personality. He said he has widely varied interests. He said he embraced the French language and culture, thanks largely to Winooski High School teacher Maida Townsend. He's now enthusiastically learning mandarin Chinese.

He's also interested in finance, global issues and journalism, and is on the Brandeis baseball team. His major is international global studies: global communications and media.

Harrington said he doesn't know where his interests will take him, but he is particularly interested in international journalism. He said the journalism bug bit him years ago, when his mother published the now-defunct Winooski Eagle, a community newspaper.

Harrington arrives in one of the world's most dynamic countries at a time of immense change and upheaval. The May earthquake in Sichuan Province that killed tens of thousands of people helped ease, at least temporarily, the leash-hold Chinese authorities have on journalists, not to mention public protest. Unrest in Tibet is simmering. And the Olympics are putting a spotlight on China.

"It seems to be the pride of China. It's sort of their coming-out party," Harrington said of the Games.

Journalists in China don't have nearly the latitude they do in the United States, and he said he looks forward to learn how Chinese authorities will react to him as he asks questions, films street scenes and develops Web content for Voice of America. "It will be interesting how they view journalism," Harrington said.

He credits his upbringing in Winooski with encouraging him to pursue varied interests. The city is small, so he didn't get lost in the crowd. He was able to pursue his curiosities with help from parents, neighbors, teachers and other students in the close-knit community. Winooski is also diverse, at least by Vermont standards, exposing him to numerous influences, he said.

Harrington is also a cryptozoology fan. His location close to Lake Champlain seeded his interests in the local lake monster, Champ. (The local professional baseball team has even taken on Champ as its mascot, and renamed itself in honor of the local cryptid.)



"People in Winooski will take you as far as you want to go," he said.

Harrington said he'll return from China in late August, attend his senior year at Brandeis, then consider his options.

Sources: "Winooski native heads to China" by Matt Sutkoski, Burlington Free Press, Burlington, Vermont. Personal communication with Loren Coleman, 2008.

Sons & Fields of Dreams

Happy Father's Day!

Fields of dreams stretch out in front of me, and I see those of many folks. I enjoy talking to people about the topic of their imagined and planned futures, while trying to have some insights about my own. Funny thing is that as a dad, most of my dreams on this special day are those I have for my sons wishing theirs come true!



Brandeis University Baseball's Class of 2008.

Today, I want to overview the beginning trek into the various fields of dreams for the seven sons who are the senior baseball players recently graduated from Brandeis.

(I unapologetically list the '08 players in alphabetical order, and thus my son comes up first, which seems appropriate to me on Father's Day!)



Malcolm Cone-Coleman. SS. After graduation, Malcolm stayed in Waltham a little time saying goodbye to Vernon Street, the original baseball house, where he lived for his last two years while attending Brandeis. He interviewed for jobs, especially one that was #1 on his list. Then Malcolm spent a couple weeks in Portland, Maine, waiting for call-backs and relaxing with his brother Caleb, his hometown friends, old baseball teammates, and his family.



Malcolm got the job he wanted, and began work on June 9th, at the New England Sports Network (NESN) headquarters in Watertown. NESN is 80% owned by the Boston Red Sox. Malcolm will be learning a variety of jobs there, and initially, as a production assistant, at night, writing up sports stories and uploading videos (like Hazel May interviewing Terry Francona, above) for the website, NESN.com. Malcolm is excited by this job, loves the opportunity to work in sports information for the Sox, and looks forward to what tomorrow will bring. Malcolm plans to be as close to baseball as he can, recreationally playing and professionally working in the field.



Craig Letendre. RHP. Craig went on a cruise with teammate Pat Matthews after graduation. Beginning on June 23rd, Craig starts working at the State Street Corporation in Boston and says his title is a mutual fund accountant. While Craig doesn't expect to play baseball in the immediate future, he may join some mens' leagues someday.



Pat Matthews. RHP. Pat, back from his cruise with Craig, is working at the Chapins restaurant on Cape Cod in Dennis, Massachusetts, for the beginning of the summer. Then Pat will start his job with John Hancock in Wellesley as a financial adviser in mid-August. He has plans to get back to playing baseball sometime soon, but won't be playing any baseball this summer.



Brandon Pick. RHP. Taking a break after graduation, Pick starts work on July 7th at Ameriprise Financial, doing private practice for Pursino, Andriola & Associates, a private wealth firm, out of Garden City. In the beginning, Pick will be writing financial plans and helping with investment strategy, then early next year, making investments full time. Pick figures within three years he can attain being a CFP, Certified Financial Planner. Pick jokes that playing baseball in the near future is not happening, but a slow pitch softball league may be more in his calling in the years to come.



Tyler Robinson. LHP. Being a Canadian, Tyler decided to use his last few weeks of his visa to see the USA (as pictured above). He has visited or is on his way to the Catskill Mountains, Cleveland, Niagara Falls, Chicago, the Mall of America, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Bryce National Park, Zion National Park, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Carmel, Santa Barbara, L.A. and then back to New York City, before returning home to Canada. Tyler is studying for the Mcats this summer and working at a needle exchange program in Ottawa part time. He may go back to school for a masters program and end up in either public health or international health. Tyler will be playing baseball with the Oshawa Royals this summer, and he is negotiating to play baseball in Australia for fall 2008 (which is their spring, of course).



Chuck Sheehan. CF. Chuck is waiting for the newly built condo (near Boston College) in which he and Malcolm will be roommates, along with Chuck's brother Matt. Hopefully it will to be completed by the middle of the summer. Chuck has begun his paralegal job at a Boston-based law firm Cetrulo & Capone LLP. Chuck is playing on the Boston InterCity League's Cassell Club Baseball team this summer.



Rocco Toppi. RHP. Rocco moved back to Portland for the summer, and has a summer job at Sorella's Bakehouse, which is owned by his girlfriend's father. While Rocco won't be playing baseball, he is running the summer basketball program at Portland High School, with Eric Shone, another former PHS basketball player. Rocco is keeping his options open for either a more permanent job or going back to school for a masters in education.