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09/05/2020 12:00 AMWhen Dan Boudreau was playing in the Majors Division of Max Sinoway Little League, he competed in the Home Run Derby. Dan watched as various teammates and other athletes hit one home run after another. As he saw the baseballs clear the fence, Dan knew that this was the sport he wanted to play.
“Seeing my friends hit home runs made me more proud. To see everybody hit home runs and come away smiling made me so happy,” says Dan. “I realized that this sport was actually enjoyable. There was a whole lot of potential to the sport.”
Dan, a junior at North Haven High School, started playing baseball in the Max Sinoway league at age five. Dan’s brother Nick and several of his friends were already playing, so Dan decided to join. Dan was always one of the biggest kids on the field and quickly settled into the catcher’s position.
As he started learning about how to play catcher, Dan received a lot of help from his brother, as well as his friend Kyle Signore and his friend Sean Murray’s father Paul. Signore would help Dan with his blocking by throwing balls to him in the backyard.
Murray would both hit baseballs to Dan to improve his fielding and throw tennis balls to him to improve Dan’s blocking. Dan also did a lot of lifting with his brother. He credits all of these people for helping him become the catcher that he is today.
“The love for the sport comes from everything,” Dan says. “I give full appreciation to Paul. He showed me how to do everything. He showed me how to move. My brother showed me how to go to the gym and how to lift, how to use my full potential.”
Dan played Little League ball until he was 12, after which he joined an AAU team called Northeast Clutch. This summer, Dan competed for North Haven’s U-17 squad in the Connecticut Elite Baseball Association (CEBA). Dan had played for the freshman team at the high school last year, but lost his sophomore season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a difficult transition for Dan to adjust to a new league under unusual circumstances. However, at the end of the day, Dan just wanted to play baseball.
“It was kind of hard. Family comes first, and I had to be with them, but baseball is one of my most important things,” says Dan. “It’s my best ability. I try to put the most into baseball. I tried to keep my mind off of the virus and worked hard to improve myself.”
Dan started the summer season batting seventh in North Haven’s lineup, but moved up to the three hole by the end of the campaign. Although Dan primarily suited up as a catcher, Head Coach Matt Coyle often asked him to play other positions, and Dan was happy to oblige.
“If coach needs me to be anywhere, I’m going to be there. Whatever he needs me to do, I can do for him,” Dan says. “I also wanted to be a role model for everybody else and show them this is how you do this, this is how you do that.”
This CEBA season marked the first time that Coyle served as a head coach of a high school level team. Coyle says that Dan’s willingness to play multiple positions helped him transition into his new coaching role, while also helping North Haven succeed on the field.
“It was awesome. He is truly something,” Coyle says of Dan. “He is one of those kids that when we have a 5:30 game, he’ll call me at 12:30 and ask what the game-plan is and who is pitching. You can tell his mind and heart are into the game of baseball.”
Last year, Dan spent his first season of high school baseball competing for North Haven’s freshman team. Dan mostly played second base and shortstop for North Haven. While doing a solid job defensively, Dan also learned a lot about the mental side of the game by playing for the freshman squad.
“It was difficult at the beginning. I was really, really nervous,” says Dan. “I wasn’t really mature, but I realized I needed to make sure I was set for each game and perfectly ready for it. I need to put all my potential into the game that I really want to play.”
Dan wants to continue improving his skills as he enters his junior year at North Haven and is already thinking about playing baseball in college. Dan plans to continue putting “110 percent” into everything does on the baseball diamond. In turn, Coach Coyle has complete confidence that Dan’s work ethic is going to take him places.
“If he keeps up this attitude and keeps up the heart he has for the game, the sky could be the limit for him,” says Coyle. “Dan puts in the work to do it. Wherever he wants to go, he could definitely go.”