Alex Hutchins
Web Manager
While most people in 1950 were wondering what a Cold War with the Soviet Union might mean for their future, New Canaan Baseball had their minds set on winning the first state championship in the town’s history – a feat that would take them another 63 years to repeat.
After winning the second championship over Waterford last year, Coach Mitch Hoffman’s boys are looking to keep the title in New Canaan’s hands by winning back to back state championships. “1950 was a long time ago and to say that we won one of two championships in New Canaan Baseball history is really cool,” said junior outfielder/pitcher Alex LaPolice. “We’re trying to do it again this year and become the first team to do it back to back.”
Junior pitcher David Giusti noted that the future of New Canaan baseball is looking up due to the success of the team last season. Specifically, David appreciated the many facility enhancements that came as a result of last year’s win and the impact their success has had on people’s impressions of the baseball program. “The state championship also brought us a lot of new things such as the L-screen, the backstop, and the new scoreboard,” he said. “I just hope that seeing this program succeed will bring new people into the program.”
Head Coach Mitch Hoffman agreed that the success of the team last season made a significant impact on the amount of enthusiasm people had to try out for the team this season. “We had 81 kids come out for baseball this year, which is a record in New Canaan baseball history,” he said. Even at the youth level Hoffman saw the impacts of last year’s success. “There are more kids playing youth baseball than there have in the past couple years,” he noted. “So I think throughout this town what these guys do on the field enables us to build a strong program.”
Coinciding with last year’s championship was the departure of key senior players including Andrew Casali and Casey Ouellette. While Hoffman believes that it hurts to lose the skills of both players, he doesn’t see their absence as a reason to be worried. “This program will never replace Andrew Casali or Casey Ouellette. But then again it will never replace Dan Rajkowski, Matthew Toth, or Erik Jager either,” he said. “Everybody’s an individual so yes, it obviously hurts, but other guys have got to now step up and be that person.”
Alex LaPolice agrees that filling the cleats of last year’s senior class is an important part of finding success this season. “The leadership we have in the older players definitely helps fill the void of Andrew and Casey’s absence,” Alex said. “I think the returning players can get that done again and hopefully we can try to get an FCIAC Championship along the way.”
While Hoffman understands the competitiveness and challenge that the FCIAC Conference can bring to any baseball team, he is sure that his boys will find success if they believe in themselves and their talent. “The key is that we believe how good we are,” Hoffman noted. “If they believe that they are as good as they are, they’re going to win more than they’re going to lose.”
Looking into the future, Hoffman believes staying consistent every year is crucial to the success of the baseball program. “Every year is important. What I want to make sure this town understands is that this is a very good baseball program. This is a good baseball town. And that these kids are good.”
