Tom Troy never gets tired of coaching. He started teaching kids on the art of hitting, throwing and pitching 31 years ago in Stamford, and he's still at it in the Cranbury Baseball League. He coaches his twin sons Matt and Tom on Crown Trophy.
"I still get butterflies every time I come to the game,'' Tom says. "When that feeling goes away, it's time to step down."
Troy first coached as a teenager in Stamford. He was 15, and the players he coached were 12 and 13. "The only stipulation was I had to have an assistant who was over 18 for insurance purposes,'' Tom says. He still enjoys working with children, but has seen kids' attitudes change.
"They need to be more coddled,'' Tom says. "I think everyone settles for mediocrity. I have no problem if a kid misses 100 balls. I'll hit them 200 more. The thing is, you can't teach desire. A lot of kids don't have it today."
Troy will take a Cranbury team to Cooperstown, N.Y., later this month for a wooden bat tournament at the site of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He seems as eager to go as the children. Troy, who owns Crown Trophy in Norwalk, coaches other sports but baseball remains his passion. "I'd play 12 months a year if I could,'' he says.
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