Printer Friendly Version - Binkoski Named Head Coach for North Haven Senior Legion Baseball

Indians’ baseball alum Tim Binkoski was recently named the head coach of the North Haven Senior American Legion squad. Tim, who lives and works as a police officer in Wallingford, thanks former Senior Legion Head Coach Charlie Flanagan for his help and support; along with Pete Katynski, who worked alongside him as an assistant with the Post 76 Seniors this summer and is also co-head coach of the Junior Legion team; plus Pete Civitello, who was the Junior club’s other co-head coach. Tim also extends thanks to Prep Legion coaches Jake DeRosa and Vin Cretella, Jr., as well as Greg Pacelli and Brett Bradanini, who coach with Tim on North Haven’s fall baseball team. Photo courtesy of Andrew Lucey

Tim Binkoski heard some news that was both surprising and satisfying at the North Haven American Legion baseball program’s postseason awards dinner. Tim, who coaches fall baseball in town and joined the Senior Legion team as an assistant this summer, learned that he’d been named the new head coach of the Post 76 Seniors. Tim takes the reins from Charlie Flanagan, who stepped down after a 20-year run.

“I’m definitely honored that Charlie thinks I’m fit for taking over the responsibility of the program,” says Tim. “Both of us have the same thoughts and opinions on everything we want to program to have to in order to have success and it’s an honor to be in the position to accomplish this…It caught me off-guard, but I was very excited and appreciative at the same time.”

Tim brings a wealth of experience to Post 76 after having played baseball at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. For the North Haven Indians, Tim won four games in the 2003 Class L State Tournament and pitched a shutout when they beat Seymour to take the title. After that, Tim started in center field for four years at Division I Quinnipiac University and helped the Bobcats make the NCAA Tournament in 2005. Tim was then signed by the Philadelphia Phillies and reached the Single-A level in the minors, after which he played independent ball in the Frontier League, starting in the All-Star Game while helping the Lake Erie Crushers win the league title in 2009.

Tim had done some coaching with the AAU’s Connecticut Bombers during his playing days and, when that part of his career concluded, Tim became a coach with North Haven fall ball.

“There’s nothing in this life I love more than playing baseball and, if I couldn’t play anymore, my decision was definitely to try and coach,” says Tim, who also played for North Haven Legion. “Not every player makes a great coach and sometimes it’s hard to relate to the younger kids, but I found it easy to build relationships and be able to teach and help them…The most important thing is that it’s baseball and, just being out on the field with the kids every day, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Earlier this year, Flanagan asked Tim if he wanted to join North Haven Senior Legion as an assistant and Tim says there was “no hesitation at all.” Flanagan knows he made a wise decision based on Tim’s hands-on approach in all phases of the game.

“Tim will work with hitters and critique a hitter immediately on what’s wrong and the work that needs to be done and he will encourage repetition until a problem is alleviated,” Flanagan says. “If we were doing infield and outfield drills, everyone knew where they were supposed to be and where they had to rotate until it was second nature. With our pitchers in the bullpen sessions, he’d count the type of pitches they were throwing, looking at their arm angle, release point, and finishing point. Everything we needed to address to get better, Tim was on top of all those things and, once a kid understands what’s expected of him or what he needs to fix, the player gets better and the situation gets better from a coaching standpoint. There was a lot of that this year.”

Tim, who will be inducted into the North Haven High School Sports Hall of Fame in November, says that he “absolutely enjoyed every minute” he spent working with the Legion team’s athletes and adds that he likes the way baseball continues taking shape in town. Of course, the high school squad is a contender every season and claimed its fifth state crown in 2015. Meanwhile, Post 76 made some nice strides this year, highlighted by a Junior Legion club that won 18 games. Additionally, Tim’s fall ball team went 18-7 last autumn.

Tim is also encouraged with how the Legion program is striving to develop a partnership with Max Sinoway Little League and Babe Ruth to provide resources that will increase the chances of kids staying in North Haven to play. Tim has been working with Sinoway’s Bob Powers and Rob Manzo to achieve this goal.

As he begins his tenure as the skipper of the Post 76 Seniors, Tim feels pleased about how all three Legion teams took a step in the right direction this year and looks forward to further cultivating a culture in which its ballplayers will constantly keep their noses to the grindstone.

“From here on out, I want anybody to know that if they play North Haven, they’ll play a team that works, plays the game hard, plays with respect, and are a tough bunch of kids to beat and will fight on every play,” Tim says.