Letter: Summit's Will Schaffer Named Sportsman of the Year

By Coach Mike Vernotico

Summit Junior Baseball does an absolutely wonderful thing. Several years ago they created the Sportsman of the Year Award. Each Coach nominates one player from his team. This applies to every level. Then, the SJBB Board selects one player from each level as the Sportsman of the Year and then an overall SJBB Sportsman of the Year. Every sport should do this. As a Coach, I stress sportsmanship and respect. It means more to me than winning. This award is the highest honor an athlete can achieve.

In my 17 years of coaching, prior to this season, I had only named one young man Captain and that happened last year. I named Robbie Faris Captain of the Suburban League’s Summit Bulldogs. This year, I drafted Will Schaffer to lead the Bulldogs. I knew that the teams Will was on made the championship game every year except one (last year when he was out injured) since he started SJBB in 3 this could not happen just because Will is a great player; it had to be because he is a great leader.  

Before I drafted Will I did not know him personally, but I certainly knew of him. He is a very talented young man. In fact, this year, he pitched a no-hitter for the Summit Middle School team followed by two consecutive one-hit complete games. It took only a few practices for me to see his leadership abilities and his work ethic. He does not take his talent for granted. He works hard and was always committed to his team. I could also see the respect he naturally commanded from the younger players on the squad. He was an on-field mentor. The Bulldogs were the defending Champions and would go on to win 10 consecutive playoff games and the mid-season Tournament. But it takes more than talent to win. Will is a winner and clearly was our leader. The team was a different team when Will was on the field. It became clear to me that Will was our Captain.

I am not alone in my views about Will. I was told that at the Summit Middle School team dinner, after some comments by Coach Welsh about Will's stellar pitching and tremendous offensive season, he focused on Will's role and development as a leader as his true shining performance. Two years ago, Will’s SJBB coaches Matt Hayford and Herb Noss, also wrote a glowing essay when they nominated Will for the Sportsmanship Award during their championship season. They called Will a “reassuring voice to all in the lineup...encouraging to every player from top to bottom.”

This year, there was no question about who I would nominate. I had witnessed Will care about his team and give it all he had, 110%, no matter what obstacles he or we faced. When SJBB chose Will as the overall Sportsman of the Year, there was no question he deserved it. Congratulations Will.