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09/08/2016 12:00 AMWayne Mingle has impacted dozens upon dozens of up-and-coming ballplayers as head coach of the Branford Senior Babe Ruth baseball squad through the past 15 years. After his team claimed its second Pat Mirto championship in three seasons this summer, Wayne has decided to step down from his position as Branford’s skipper. It was a bittersweet decision for Wayne, but one he felt he had to make in order to attend to some family business.
“All my family and my wife’s family live in rural Pennsylvania and they’re getting up there in years. They have a small farm. I go down and do some work in August, but they need more help, so I have to make some weekend trips. With baseball, I was always tied down,” Wayne says. “Plus, there’s another father who is interested in taking over the team. This father wants to coach his son, which is great.”
Wayne grew up in Pennsylvania and played baseball for his high school team. He also played softball until he was 35. Wayne started coaching when his daughter was involved in the Challenger Program, a special education softball program, at East Shore in New Haven about 25 years ago. When his son started with Little League years later, Wayne began coaching his baseball team and immediately took a liking to it. As the years went on, Wayne developed a style in which he tailored his approach based on what each kid best responded to.
“When my son started Little League, you deal with the growing pains of each division as they grow up. I just had a lot of great kids and a lot of great parents,” says Wayne. “It’s not about baseball. It’s about the attitude, respect, and sportsmanship, which I preach from Little League on up. Working with their personalities, everyone is different. Some people need a kick in the butt, while some may need a hug. Over time, you learn the difference between who will need what and when.”
Rich Gogliettino has seen both of his sons play for Wayne. Gogliettino says that Wayne is a great coach who always made sure that every player got into the game.
“He was very good with the kids and very fair. He never played favorites and every kid got an opportunity to play. He was a real coach. Some guys just set a lineup, but he would instruct and teach the kids the proper way to do things to the best of his ability,” says Gogliettino. “I can’t say any kid or parent has anything bad to say about Wayne over the years. I think the kids all liked him because Wayne always had the kids’ interests at heart.”
Wayne says that he’s enjoyed working with so many wonderful youngsters in Branford and feels it’s important that they all got to see their time on the field.
“I’ve had great kids all through the years. We play for fun, but try to play the right way and win our share of games,” he says. “With me, all the kids play. It’s not like we have a starting nine or 10. Every kid plays. I make the innings as even as possible and it has worked out for us.”
Wayne also has a vegetable garden and would bring his produce to the games for his players’ parents to enjoy. On top of that, Wayne gave Branford baseball enthusiast Henry Bromley rides to and from the games.
“I just enjoy working with the kids. As they get older, you have less and less interaction with the parents,” says Wayne. “Old Henry, I take him to the games and he’s a riot.”
As he steps away from the dugout, Wayne says that he’s going to miss coaching in Branford, but adds he still may pay some visits to the field.
“I met a lot of the people I know in Branford through baseball—a lot of nice kids through the years and a lot of wonderful parents,” says Wayne. “I’ll go to watch some games. I told them I’m practicing to be Henry some day. If there’s a game in town, I’ll sniff it out.”