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Brad Favreau was a familiar face around the Woodstock Academy softball program for a while.
He served as an assistant coach for Jay Gerum, starting in 2013 before stepping aside following the 2019 season. Gerum resigned as head coach last June and Favreau was tapped to replace him as head coach.
“I’m excited about the opportunity, excited about working with the players. It’s a good mix of returnees between experienced and youth. Jay did a fantastic job building this program back to where we are competitive, playing for championships in the league and being competitive at the state level,” Favreau said.
The Centaurs finished 16-8; won the ECC Div. II title; and made it as far as the ECC tournament semifinals and second round of the Class L state tournament.
Favreau has been a jack-of-all trades when it comes to coaching.
He was the head softball coach at Griswold from 1997-2000.
He has also coached Little League and summer ball.
He has coached boys’ and girls’ basketball - he currently serves as an assistant coach for the Centaurs girls program – boys’ soccer and girls’ soccer.
He likes the variety. “You can, kind of, shift gears and can focus on other skills and approaches. You’re focused on one skill set with basketball, then you change and softball is another level of skill set. Bottom line is that you’re still coaching kids and that’s where the consistency comes in,” Favreau said. “You’re dealing with adolescents who want to get better and want to perform at a high level. Although it’s all different, it’s all intertwined.”
“I’ve always learned that you learn a lot from your assistant coaches and from those coaches you have worked under. You also learn from the kids. You see a lot of different styles,” Favreau said.
Different voices are always good as athletes progress.
“It’s just when they become conflicted,” Favreau said. “I have always been one that if you can get instruction that will help you as a player down the road, I’m very supportive of that. If it’s a situation where the instruction one is receiving is counterproductive, I’m against it. As a whole, it’s OK to get other instruction dependent on the timing. Playing extra innings in the summer is beneficial as long as athletes are giving themselves time to rest.”
He’s also a firm believer that playing other sports is beneficial because of the different skill sets gained, different muscles used and the necessary mental break from the primary sport.
Pitching is still the key to softball success and the Centaurs will be ready in the circle come this spring.
“One of the nice things about coming in fresh is that you can make your own evaluations during the pitching/catcher conditioning and tryouts. Grace (Delsanto), who saw significant time last year, is back as a junior. Kaya Nichols and Lily Morgis can also throw.
Favreau doesn’t have to wait all that long to change from basketball to softball mentality. Conditioning for pitchers and catchers begins on March 9 with the first practice day a week later and the first games of the season can be played on March 30.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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