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08/19/2021 12:00 AMFor the past 17 years, Rob Manzo has been a key part of Max Sinoway baseball by serving as both a coach and a board member. After watching three teams win district titles and another club claim a state championship this summer, Rob feels grateful to be involved in the league as North Haven’s athletes flourish on the field.
Rob is the vice president of Max Sinoway Little League and the president of its Babe Ruth league. Rob got involved with Max Sinoway when his oldest son James was going into the age 5-8 division. When his youngest son Andrew started playing tee-ball, Rob not only became one of his coaches, but also a Sinoway board member. Rob was happy that his kids wanted to play, but soon realized that, as a coach, you become a role model for an entire group of youngsters.
“It was a sport that I loved, and they liked it, too. I didn’t have to push too hard, which was great. I was learning to coach when my oldest son joined. I just loved the game,” says Rob. “I was able to learn from other coaches he had and learned a little bit more about the organization. You don’t have one son. You have 12 or 13 sons on the team. It’s not just my kids. I do it for all the kids.”
Rob was a baseball player before he got into coaching. Rob grew up in New Haven and played ball at The Pit in East Haven as a child. Rob finished out his time playing Little League baseball in Florida, where he and his family lived for 10 years.
Rob remembers playing catch with his dad, George, Sr., and his brother, George, Jr., back in the day. He also remembers watching New York Yankees’ games with his grandfather Dominic and going to Yankee Stadium with his family during a vacation. Being able to share the sport with his family made Rob enjoy baseball that much more.
“Growing up, we had no cable TV. But once a week, the Yankee game would be on. He would sit down and watch it with me. Sometimes, we would just watch whoever was on,” Rob says about his grandfather. “He would talk about strategy and who his favorite players were. My first game was going to Yankee Stadium with him in the 80s. It was a blast learning the game from him.”
Rob felt that he something clicked for him when he started coaching. Throughout his time with Max Sinoway, he has been both a head coach and an assistant coach for numerous teams. This past season, Rob was an assistant for a 12-U team and a 15-U team, in addition to serving as head coach for spring and summer teams at the 13-U level. In the past, he has also coached his daughter Kelly’s recreational softball team in North Haven.
Rob is always learning as a coach. The biggest lesson that Rob has taken away from coaching is that each kid is different and that you have to form a relationship with every member of your team.
“Growing up, coaches just had one style. You’d listen and play the game. For me, I learned you have to connect with the kids individually,” says Rob. “There are 12 or more personalities. You have to connect with all of those personalities on some level and get them to love the game as much as I do and some of their teammates do.”
After spending 12 years as a board member with Max Sinoway, Rob became the organization’s president in 2016. He served in that role for three seasons before becoming its vice president for Little League and the president of Babe Ruth.
In his administrative role, Rob and his fellow board members hold monthly meetings, set up registrations and workouts for all the different leagues, put together teams and coaching staffs, and do everything they can to ensure that North Haven is a place where kids want to play baseball. Rob tries to make Max Sinoway baseball function like a family, and he trusts each and every coach to make game enjoyable for all of its players.
“You’re playing with your friends and your classmates. You’re making new friends. We strive to find coaches that know the game and want to coach,” Rob says. “If there is ever an issue, you can come to me. I try to make it like a family. It’s just about making memories.”
When Rob was the president of Max Sinoway, he was in charge of nominating and appointing coaches for each team. The first coach that Rob nominated was Angelo Romano, who guided the Sinoway 12-U All-Stars to district and sectional titles en route to an appearance in the state championship game two years ago. This year, Romano’s 14-U Babe Ruth team won the state title and then advanced to the semifinals of the New England Regional.
Romano said that Rob’s efforts have proved crucial in Max Sinoway’s recent success.
“Rob Manzo has been selfless during his tenure on the board for Max Sinoway Little League. He has always put the league first and has always put the best interests of the kids before anything else,” says Romano. “There is no doubt in my mind that Max Sinoway would not be where it is today were it not for Mr. Manzo.”
Romano’s 14-U team wasn’t the only North Haven squad to win a championship in 2021. Max Sinoway’s 10-U, 11-U, and 12-U All-Stars all claimed their respective District 4 titles this summer. Rob enjoyed seeing North Haven’s players achieve so much success and wants them to experience more of that as they move up the ranks.
“Every year, we open up registration and hope to have as many kids as possible and hope that they have fun. You’re making sure that they’re in a good environment. I’m fortunate that these teams stay together and play well together,” Rob says. “The coaches treat everybody equally. There’s no favoritism. This 2021 season has been a blast with the success we had. I just hope we can keep it going forward.”
Rob loves being involved with Max Sinoway baseball. Rob has made a lot of memories and friendships throughout his tenure, and that’s exactly what he’s hoping North Haven ballplayers will do as they compete in the league.
“It has been very rewarding for me, being a part of the program. I learned a lot. I made a lot of friends,” says Rob. “The kids have a lot of fun along the way. They continue to make memories. Hopefully, they’re making memories and friendships that last a lifetime. We’re fortunate North Haven is a baseball town.”