Farmington High School Baseball Coach Steps Down

The decision had nothing to do with the school, administration, coaches or players.

Rather, it had everything to do with being a dad.

That's why Pete Veleas – father of three young sons, ages 13, 10 and nine – tendered his resignation as 's head baseball coach just prior to Thanksgiving.

"I have three young boys and they all play baseball and they're getting older now," Veleas said. "I just wanted to be around a little bit more for them. Nothing happened at the school. I loved working there."

The choice for Veleas, who led the Indians to more than 80 wins and seven state tournament berths in his eight seasons as head coach, wasn't an easy decision, but a choice he nonetheless felt comfortable in making.

"It was a great experience for me," Veleas said. "I had a great rapport with the players, I thought the players were wonderful. I had players go on to play in college, a couple guys went on to play in the minor leagues after college. It just was a neat experience."

Veleas helped mold standout players like brothers Shawn and Jordan Haviland, both of whom played collegiately at Harvard University, and former Texas Rangers minor leaguer John Slusarz. Jordan is a sophomore at Harvard this year while Shawn posted a 9-6 record and 3.65 ERA last season with the Class A Stockton Ports in the Oakland Athletics' farm system.

Veleas guided the Indians to a 15-5 record in 2006 – the best in his eight seasons – along the team's first Northwest Conference title since 1981.

"He did a very good job for us," said Farmington High School Athletic Director Jack Phelan. "... He's a real gentleman and someone who was very dependable and hard-working."

Veleas, who is currently in his 13th year as a history teacher at Terryville (Conn.) High School, also coaches the Terryville wrestling team in the winter. The unforgiving grind of moving straight from wrestling in the winter to baseball in the spring and summer helped make Veleas' decision easier. Still, Veleas hasn't ruled out a return to coaching one day.

"I'm sure that I'd probably like to revisit it somewhere later along the line," Veleas said. "I can volunteer somewhere occasionally when I'm free in the spring time, but I just needed to spend more time at home."

Veleas was raised in nearby Berlin, Conn., where he played baseball for his father Leo Veleas, football for Al Pelligrinelli, and wrestling for current Berlin Athletic Director Jim Day. Leo Veleas, Pelligrinelli and Day are institutions in their own right in Berlin.

"I was around some pretty successful coaches," Pete Veleas said. "I had some good tutelage when I was younger. Three great coaches, [it was] just unbelievable. Most kids don't get exposed to people like that."

In what turned out to be Pete Veleas' final season as Farmington's coach, he turned in a vintage performance in the eyes of Phelan. The team struggled out of the gate to a 3-7, but rebounded to finish the season 10-10 and qualify for the Class LL state tournament.

"He was somebody that was consistent," Phelan said. "I would say that he's somebody that you could count on and he was someone that really understood the game and worked hard with the kids. Last year was a good example. ... Instead of putting our heads down, the kids put their heads up and we had a couple big wins and we finished the year 7-3. It was just a great indication of a coach that got things regrouped and got us going on the right track."

Pete Veleas said he wanted to give Phelan as much time as possible to seek an adequate replacement, hence the pre-Thanksgiving resignation for a sport that begins in April. Phelan said the job opening is officially posted and the school is accepting applications.

"I believe they'll be a combination of internal and external candidates," Phelan said. "The thought process is that we probably will not start interviewing for the job until the middle of January, and we hope to have a coach in place probably by the end of January."

Pete Veleas will continue to coach the Terryville wrestling team and, when he can, check in on his former baseball team.

"I'll probably stop by and see some games," Pete Veleas said. "They play some night games this year, so I'll be able to come check them out. They should have a very strong team this year. That's one thing that kind of left me in a good frame of mind in not leaving them with the cupboards bare. They have a very strong senior class. ... I think that they would be a team to watch if you ask me."

But before baseball season rolls around, Phelan expects to see him at Farmington High during the winter season. Farmington and Terryville are annual opponents on the wrestling mat.

"We'll see him around because we end up seeing him quite a bit during wrestling season," Phelan said. "They end up coming over to Farmington sometimes for events, so we'll run into him."