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04/09/2020 12:00 AMOn the mound, North Branford senior Bret Fee features a fastball, changeup, and curveball in his arsenal. On the court, Bret likes to fake left and then go to his right. However, whether he’s playing baseball or basketball, Bret’s leadership skills and positive attitude complement his athleticism as a two-sport standout for the T-Birds.
Bret recently competed his career with the North Branford boys’ basketball team. After he graduates from high school, Bret will continue his baseball career at the Division II level at Bryant & Stratton College in Virginia.
“It’s a lot of hard work. You don’t have a lot of time,” says Bret. “You’re pretty packed training for both sports, but I like to think it keeps me busy.”
Bret started playing baseball at the age of five. Bret and his father would watch New York Yankees’ games together and, one day, Bret’s dad asked him if he wanted to play. As soon as he picked up a baseball, Bret fell in love with the sport. In addition to playing for North Branford, Bret has also competed with the Connecticut Bombers AAU team, traveling all around New England for games.
While Bret’s favorite baseball player is Mickey Mantle, he finds himself on the other side of the diamond as a pitcher. Bret says the most memorable moment of his career came when North Branford hosted Coginchaug on May 8 of last year. The T-Birds were celebrating their Senior Night and notched a 6-1 victory on the strength of a complete-game one-hitter from Bret.
“I went into that game feeling good, knowing that I was going to pitch. Coginchaug is our rival. I always want to play my best when we are playing them,” Bret says. “It was a really good feeling. The last two innings, I threw six-straight strikeouts. It was a really cool experience.”
This winter, Bret was the starting center on the North Branford boys’ basketball team. Bret served as a senior captain for the T-Birds and was also named a captain for the baseball squad. Boys’ hoops Head Coach Cliff Yerkes says it was an easy decision to select Bret as one of his captains.
“Bret is a character kid. He doesn’t complain. He leads others and is respected in our building tremendously by faculty and peers,” says Yerkes. “He made connections with a lot of players. Bret was old enough to not only have a license, but be legal to drive people. He gave a lot of rides. One of the freshman parents said it was so nice having a kid they can trust. It was nice seeing freshman players looking up to Bret as a mentor. He did that better than anyone on the team.”
As a 6-foot-5 center, Bret was tasked with commanding the paint by blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. Bret relished the role of a big man and understood exactly what was asked of him.
“It’s fun. It’s a grind. You’re always working hard every game, because you always have somebody pushing you around, and you have to prove you’re stronger than they are,” Bret says. “The ball was always in my or my teammate Mike Sitro’s hands, because we were the big guys. It was fun.”
As Bret was working to become a better athlete, he found time to participate in a charity group called the Dream Team that’s led by North Branford teacher Nicole Lacroix. Bret would go to Totoket Valley Elementary School to read to 4th-graders while working with his former teacher Lea Distefano.
“I grew a really close bond with Ms. Lacroix. You can always talk to her whenever you need to. She’s super encouraging,” says Bret. “I knew she had a club called the Dream Team. You go to the elementary school and hang out with the kids once or twice a week. I loved it. I help them with class and go to recess, all that fun stuff. Going back and seeing everything from a different perspective is really cool.”
Bret has been playing with many of the same people on his basketball and baseball teams since he was eight years old. Bret’s favorite aspect of the high school sports experience is that he gets to compete alongside a group of people who have become his extended family.
The work never ends for Bret as a two-sport athlete. However, that is exactly the way Bret likes it.
“Whether I’m playing basketball or baseball, I’m always thinking about my end goals, wondering where I’m going to be, why am I working hard,” Bret says. “I want to play sports at the highest level I can. If you want to play two sports, you have to make time for both. Whether it’s waking up early in the morning to work out or staying late after school to work on your shot, it takes a lot of time and effort. But it always pays off.”