Testimonials & Recommendations
I am writing on behalf of Dave Gray, who is a candidate for the Head Baseball Coach position at your school. I am recently retired from being Head Baseball Coach at Reading Memorial High School for 35 years. Dave was a former player of mine at Reading and has been our Freshman Coach for the last seven years. I am pleased to have this opportunity to recommend Dave for the position. Simply stated, Dave should be a head baseball coach at the high school or college level. He has everything a high school head coach needs to be successful, including passion for the game, passion for helping young people grow and learn, tremendous knowledge of the game and how to teach it, the ability to communicate with players, parents, colleagues, and supervisors, outstanding character, and a life as a true “baseball man.” I will address each of those qualities in the following paragraphs. Dave has great passion for the game and is what we call a true baseball man. He loves baseball and thrives on constantly learning about the game and then teaching baseball skills and strategies. Dave’s expertise comes from his playing experience (he was an outstanding player in high school and a Hall of Fame player in college and then played professional baseball) as well as his coaching experience (he has coached at the Little League, Babe Ruth League, High School, and Collegiate level). Dave has worked with players of all abilities and attitudes and has demonstrated the ability to help his players improve, succeed, and have a positive experience. He has truly dedicated his professional life to helping young people prosper through baseball. David’s knowledge of the game is second to none. He is a student of the game who deeply understands its strategies and nuances. In addition, Dave has the ability to teach all aspects of the game with equal skill: hitting, base running, pitching, infield play, outfield play, and catching (not many can teach catching effectively, but Dave was a professional catcher). I have been impressed with Coach Gray’s ability to communicate effectively. As Freshman Coach, he often gets “bumped” when inclement weather forces all spring teams inside and his team gets no practice time on the field house floor. This is where Dave initiates communication with me regarding what he would like to do (Dave is the master of finding any available space to have his players work on some aspect of their game when other coaches would cancel practice due to lack of space) and then he contacts his players to inform them of the plan. I have never heard Dave complain about getting less than optimum practice time, equipment, or uniforms (as the best of those goes to varsity, then JV first); he makes the best of what he is given and conveys that positive lesson to his players. Dave also does a great job of communicating with the Athletic Office completing and submitting regarding necessary paperwork throughout the season. Our Athletic Director and his assistant have told me how much they appreciate Dave’s prompt and thorough responses on such matters. Coach Gray also connects with parents and keeps them informed of what is going on with the team and their sons. Parents have repeatedly told me how much their sons “love to play for Coach Gray” and the positive experiences they are having with him. One criterion I used to measure the success of a subvarsity coach is to see what percentage of his players tryout for the team the following spring. Dave comes in at 100% year after year, which indicates the fun and success his players have had in their freshman season. Dave has been, for many years, a leader in the baseball community in Reading. He has been Commissioner of Reading Youth Baseball, has conducted numerous clinics, teaches private lessons, coached elite teams, been involved in fundraising for our program, and done everything a coach could possibly do. Each year when seniors from my team graduate, they tell me how Coach Gray has had a tremendous impact on their progress and success throughout their high school careers. You see, once someone plays for Coach Gray, Dave stays committed to helping such player for the rest of his playing days and beyond. In fact, one of Dave’s (and mine) players is now in the minor leagues and Dave stays in touch with the player, offers advice and encouragement, and goes to see him play 300 miles away. Most of all, Dave has a gift for connecting with his players. Beginning with Freshman Team tryouts (our freshmen try out separately from grade 10-12 players, so Dave supervises 35 players by himself. So, during tryout week, Dave creates practice plans that give every player and opportunity to demonstrate his ability, and Dave manages to see and evaluate each player thoroughly. This is an indication of Coach Gray’s organizational skills as well as his uncanny ability to evaluate and assess. When Coach Gray selects his team, he does so in a most comprehensive and fair manner. He meets with each player to tell him of his status and gives kind, tactful reasons to players who do not make the team. Once the season gets going, Dave’s enthusiasm and expertise shine through as he plans each day how to make his team improve. Again, working alone with our program’s youngest players is a formidable challenge, but Dave does so with ease. He gives responsibility to his players and develops leadership when groups of players must do a drill while Coach Gray is with another group. Dave’s practices are crisp and upbeat with nearly no down time (except for water breaks). His players run between drills and play with an enthusiasm that matches their coach’s. Here is why Dave is ready to be a Varsity Head Coach: besides the fact that he has already coached players of varsity ages in other settings, Dave coaches his Freshman team as if they were already varsity players. Players wear practice uniforms daily; they wear their uniforms correctly; they arrive on time; they respect the game, opponents, and umpires; they are self disciplined; and they routinely shake their coach’s hand and say “thank you” at the end of each day. Coach Gray teaches his players the value of hard work, effort, and discipline. It is amazing to see the growth in his players in just a few short weeks. There is no doubt that Reading has had a successful varsity team due to the work of its subvarsity coaches. I have always thought that freshman is the most important season, as players need to learn the expectations of a high school program and often shed some of the bad habits from youth baseball (not a criticism of youth coaches, just a comment on young players’ immaturity). For that reason, I chose to put my best coach with the freshmen, as opposed to being a JV coach for Varsity Assistant. As a result, Dave’s teams were consistently the best prepared and best coached teams in our league. Without detailing Coach Gray’s record, suffice it to say that 17-3 was a typical year. A side note: our league schedules just 14 games for freshman; knowing that is not sufficient for player development and playing time, Dave, with AD approval, would schedule six additional games, often paying the umpires out of his own pocket so his team could play the maximum 20 games. Last, but certainly not least, Dave Gray is a person of outstanding character. He is sincere, respectful, positive, and personable. He gets along well with everyone and serves as a superb role model for his players. Dave has been a loyal coach in my program and I am grateful for everything he has done. I am confident when I say that Dave Gray will be a great coach for you and that he will be a tremendous asset to your athletic program and to the entire community. He prepared, ready, and deserving, so now it is his time to lead a program of his own. He has my highest recommendation. Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me for further information. Sincerely, Pete Moscariello Head Coach Reading Memorial High School, retired 978 857-0560 petemosc@verizon.net
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RECOMMENDATION FOR DAVID GRAY HEAD BASEBALL COACH, READING HIGH SCHOOL As head baseball coach at Brandeis University since 1982, it has been my pleasure to work with highly motivated student-athletes. The academic environment here is of the highest quality, challenging students to produce outstandingly creative pieces of work in many diverse areas of study. Time management and an ability to prioritize one’s commitments are extra valuable and quite necessary for survival. David Gray, as a member of my first recruiting class brought to our program all the qualities necessary to succeed at Brandeis University as a student-athlete. David applied himself in the class room and on the playing field with equal vigor. As a player, his skills were recognized by professional scouts, and eventually he signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox, for whom he played for 3 seasons. After playing baseball he engaged in a successful private business, but he never lost his love for the game of baseball. He has been involved with the game for many years, on several different levels, high school, little league, and even on the collegiate level (he volunteered here at Brandeis University for a short time). David is continuously trying to accumulate more knowledge each day. When here at Brandeis University he had complete control over the catchers and each player developed enormously under his tutelage I have had the honor of seven of my former players becoming college head coaches. Several other players are head high school coaches. David understands and appreciates the balance between athletics and academics and will provide an atmosphere where every player will feel good about their experience. I strongly recommend David Gray to you as your next head baseball coach. Pete Varney Head baseball coach Brandeis University varney@brandeis.edu 781-736-3639
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Please accept this as my formal recommendation for Dave Gray for the position of Head Baseball Coach at Reading Memorial High School. I have known Dave over the past 7 years as a baseball colleague and as a administrator when we hired him to coach one of our Boston Rams Travel Teams. Dave is a very knowledgeable coach who can work extremely well with high school student athletes. He is respected by all, has great work ethic, and a passion for working with baseball athletes. In addition, he understands the college baseball recruiting process so his on field and off field knowledge are an unbeatable combination for a high school coach. I was impressed not only with Dave's work on the field with the players, but also with his performance with the other various responsibilities that baseball coaches must attend to throughout the year, i.e. game management, program development, field preparations, practice schedules, academic performance and behavioral issues. Dave has a great background as a coach and as a former professional player. It is my opinion that Dave would be a very successful head baseball coach. It is with no reservation that I highly recommend Dave. If you need to reach me to discuss further my direct line is (617) 573-8575. Thank you, Cary Cary McConnell Interim Athletic Director Baseball Coach Suffolk University 41 Temple Street Boston, MA 02114 (617) 573-8575
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To Whom It May Concern: It is a pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Mr. David Gray. I met David Gray when he was a valuable part of the Reading Youth Baseball program about nine years ago. My son Nicholas was a ball player and I was assistant coach at the time. While my son Nick was playing RYB, I began to notice he was struggling with confidence at the plate and pitching. I would have numerous conversations with David Gray about it and decided to have Nick work with him, one on one. David Gray conveyed his knowledge of baseball techniques to not only my son but to all of the ball players that reached out to him. He poured out his passion for the kids in everything that he did. By far the most patient instructor I've ever seen and who was fair regardless of ability. He not only taught my son the physical aspect of the game but also taught mental toughness, an area where I could no longer help Nick with. Personal discipline, encouragement, and professional advice are well balanced with David Gray, which makes him very successful with the ball players. In fear of my son possibly quitting baseball nine years ago, I’m very proud to say Nick finished his Reading Youth Baseball career with a World Series win and just completed his Reading Babe Ruth League career with a 2013 World Series win. Nick made freshman baseball at RMHS in 2012 and JV baseball in 2013. Nick was a huge impact in both World Series and has worked hard to make RMHS baseball teams. With that said, I don’t think any of my sons baseball accomplishments would’ve happened without David Gray stepping in nine years ago. Nick currently works with David Gray and will continue to do so. I am currently on the board of directors for the Reading Babe Ruth League and Assistant Coach for the RBRL. I not only speak with David Gray regularly, I see him regularly at any given baseball field in Reading, an asset to all ball players that reach out to him. I have reached out to him many times for coaching advice. His generosity to the kids and community goes beyond any words written. In addition to our professional relationship I got to know him as a close friend. I found him to be a man of the highest moral character. David Gray is an asset to any organization that he is a part of. I have the highest regards for this gentleman and offer him my highest recommendation and consideration. Sincerely, David Raucci.
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