By John Goralski Sports Writer Marc Verderame forced a smile as his players filed onto the field the day after the high school’s loss in the state championship game. The American Legion baseball coach looked unfazed by the recent heartbreak as he ran his summer hopefuls through the motions for preseason tryouts. Make no mistake. The former Blue Knight understands the emotions that are swirling through his players’ heads just a few hours after their season ending loss. But Verderame has a job to do, and the summer coach takes that job seriously. “Baseball is all about going through adversity. We went to the high school championship three out of four years. We went to the American Legion championship last year,” he said. “Baseball’s a game of failure, so sometimes it’s best to just go back into the fire right away. It’s a testament to the program that we keep getting to the finals, and we want to continue that.” So, let the healing begin. There’s no mistake that the rise of Southington’s legion team has coincided with the re-emergence of the Blue Knights. Three years ago, Verderame marshaled the summer team back into the state brackets just a few [...]
By John Goralski Sports Writer Marc Verderame forced a smile as his players filed onto the field the day after the high school’s loss in the state championship game. The American Legion baseball coach looked unfazed by the recent heartbreak as he ran his summer hopefuls through the motions for preseason tryouts. Make no mistake. The former Blue Knight understands the emotions that are swirling through his players’ heads just a few hours after their season ending loss. But Verderame has a job to do, and the summer coach takes that job seriously. “Baseball is all about going through adversity. We went to the high school championship three out of four years. We went to the American Legion championship last year,” he said. “Baseball’s a game of failure, so sometimes it’s best to just go back into the fire right away. It’s a testament to the program that we keep getting to the finals, and we want to continue that.” So, let the healing begin. There’s no mistake that the rise of Southington’s legion team has coincided with the re-emergence of the Blue Knights. Three years ago, Verderame marshaled the summer team back into the state brackets just a few [...]