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07/19/2018 12:00 AMAlthough Chuck Hinckley likes to stay out of the spotlight, he’s been a member of the East Haven American Legion baseball program’s coaching staff for the past 14 years. Chuck joined the 89ers when his oldest son Michael signed up to play and he’s stuck around ever since, also coaching his other son Andrew. Chuck’s kids no longer play for East Haven, but he’s still a fixture at the field as an assistant coach with the Senior Legion team.
“I had no clue about Legion ball until my older son got into it back in 2004. I had no clue it existed,” Chuck says. “I started coaching Andrew in the Koufax League and moved up to the Junior and Senior teams.”
Chuck grew up in East Haven and has lived there throughout most of his life. Chuck didn’t go to East Haven High School, yet he still grew up playing baseball in town.
“I played in The Pit many moons ago,” says Chuck, who graduated from Whitney Tech in Hamden. “I was pretty much spread all over. I was an outfielder, a catcher, and pitched a little bit. I wasn’t quite the athlete my sons were, though.”
Chuck started coaching when his sons were little and really enjoyed working with kids at the tee-ball level. While he’s since moved on to higher levels of play, Chuck says that tee-ball was one of his favorite ones to coach.
“Getting started was great and probably the most fun I had all the way up,” he says. “It’s a great spot to start. You go home with your belly hurting from laughing the whole time. Now, it’s the competitiveness that I love watching.”
Chuck says that his competitive juices started flowing when he joined East Haven’s American Legion program. He likes seeing the 89ers’ athletes demonstrate their competitive side when they’re out there on the field.
“I think it’s a great program. It keeps the town kids playing all together and they’re a great bunch of kids,” says Chuck. “They’re great to work with and there is such a good kind of competitiveness. They fight every single game, so I just try to help out at practice and do what I can to encourage them. That’s the better part of helping coaching.”
Chuck has a vast knowledge of baseball as a result of being around the game for so many years. He loves passing on what he’s learned to East Haven’s current crop of ballplayers.
“I’m pretty much well-rounded, because I know a little bit of this and that. I picked up a little from my son’s past coaches,” Chuck says. “Most of my value comes from watching my sons play. I picked up a lot.”
Chuck typically serves as East Haven’s first-base coach when the 89ers are up at the plate. He says that being so close to the action takes him back to his playing days.
“That’s the best part of being on the field. I can be a contributor. I don’t get to do that if I’m just watching from the stands, so it’s nice to be involved,” says Chuck. “I can hopefully help steer the kids the right way. Encouragement is my main thing.”
East Haven Legion General Manager Lou Ciaramella appreciates having someone like Chuck on the 89ers’ coaching staff. Ciaramella hopes that Chuck remains with the 89ers for years to come.
“He’s done a lot for this program and the kids really like him. I’m glad he’s still around. Even though he’s an assistant, I feel like he’s the glue that keeps everything together,” Ciaramella says. “All the kids and parents like him, he knows the game, and he teaches the kids. Chuck is very dedicated to our program and I really appreciate it because, without him, we might fall apart.”
Even though both of his sons are years removed from playing in East Haven, Chuck continues coaching with the 89ers for one simple reason: He loves baseball.
“I have the itch and it keeps me busy and keeps me going,” Chuck says. “It all comes down to competitiveness. This is a great league and I have a great rapport with everybody.”