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01/18/2017 11:00 PMBasketball has been a part of Jeff Petrillo’s life for as long as he can remember and, throughout that entire time, both his father and best friend Frank Lyon have been by his side. Jeff grew up playing Sal Tinari Biddy Basketball, after which he competed for East Haven in middle school and high school. Now, things have come full circle for Jeff, who’s been coaching biddy ball with his dad for the past decade, and is now in the midst of his first year as the freshman coach for the Yellowjackets’ boys’ basketball program.
“I like working with them every day and trying to make them better. Every day, I want them to get better. That’s the first goal, whether it’s in the classroom or on the basketball court,” says Jeff, who still lives in East Haven. “I also want to get as many of them to move up to play at the JV team next year.”
Getting the nod to coach in high school came as a bit of a surprise to Jeff. Initially, he was asked by East Haven’s varsity Head Coach Ricky Narracci to coach the middle school team. However, when one of last year’s assistant coaches accepted a different position, Lyon moved from coaching the freshman team to JV, leaving the freshman position open.
“It was a little overwhelming at first as the kids are little older than the kids I coach at Sal Tinari, so it was a challenge,” Jeff says. “Coaching with Frank has been great, too.”
Now that Jeff is knee deep in the season, he’s excited to work with the Easties every day. Although his freshman team dropped two of its first three games, Jeff notes that all of the contests have been close.
“The kids are adjusting to the transition from practicing once a week to every day in high school,” says Jeff. “We’re playing pretty well and I’m proud of them. They’re working hard and we’ll turn this around.”
Looking back at his high school basketball career, what Jeff remembers most is competing in the State Tournament and bonding with his teammates, many of whom he’d played with since he was five years old. Having played for the Yellowjackets from 2005 to 2008, Jeff is familiar with Coach Narracci, who feels that Jeff is a perfect fit for his program.
“Having been a former player of mine, he brings the knowledge of what type of effort it takes on a daily basis to be a successful team,” Narracci says.
Jeff remembers many of the lessons he learned from Narracci—most importantly, his rules about being on time and being a good citizen. Jeff tries to instill those values in his players, including the ones he coaches in the Sal Tinari program.
“I have all the girls I coach now on my 8th-grade travel team participate in the Saturday morning clinic, teaching the younger kids,” says Jeff, who studied sports communication at Albertus Magnus College. “I am teaching them to give back because they had people to teach them and it keeps the cycle going.”
Jeff also learned a lot about giving back from his parents. Jeff’s dad coached him when he was young and, as soon as Jeff started playing biddy basketball, his mother got involved. Now, Jeff and his father are coaching together at the biddy level, while his mom is still involved as the league secretary.
“My mother is just as big a role as my father and she’s been there for me since day one, supporting my goals,” Jeff says. “Me and my father are pretty much best friends. We always bonded most over sports, whether watching on TV, playing basketball in the backyard as a kid, or coaching together. It’s one area we had in common that we always bonded over and brought us closer together.”
Although basketball takes up most of his time, Jeff, who played baseball growing up, also competes in a men’s softball league. He also works the third shift at United Aluminum, a steel plant in North Haven, and that schedule affords Jeff the time he needs for coaching.
Jeff knows the impact that sports have had on his life and feels honored that he gets to help his athletes have that same experience. Jeff hopes that they’ll grasp the importance of giving back to a community that provides them with the opportunity to play basketball.
“Playing sports has shaped who I am, from being able to work with people every day to always striving to be the best I can be. It also helped me make so many friends over the years from rec, travel, AAU, and high school,” says Jeff. “Sal Tinari is the league I played in and I want my future kids to be in. It’s good to be down there, getting involved, and giving back, because you want to keep that league going and you need dedicated individuals to keep the league going.”