The truth be told, Danny Suarez never envisioned himself becoming a baseball coach, even though many people who watched him grow up thought he was predestined to become one.
From his teenage days, when Suarez was playing at the now-defunct St. Mary’s of Jersey City and as a solid second baseman for the traveling Jersey City Stars of Tomorrow, it always appeared that Suarez was eventually headed for a life as a coach, because he was a take-charge kid who knew the game better than anyone.
Even though Suarez was coached by his uncle Julio Suarez at St. Mary’s, he never thought coaching was in his blood.
“Playing throughout high school and then college [first St. Peter’s College, then William Paterson], I never thought of coaching,” said Suarez, who has been the head coach at Dickinson for the last five seasons. “I never saw myself coaching. I knew the game and I loved to play it. I loved being around the other guys, but I never saw myself as a coach. It’s just something that came natural.”
Suarez got his break as an assistant at Dickinson in 2005 and 2006.
“When I first went to Dickinson, I went for the experience,” Suarez said. “But at that time, I had to be the head coach for a week when the head coach went on vacation. We played teams like Bayonne and St. Peter’s Prep when I was coaching. [Former long-time Bayonne coach] Phil Baccarella was someone who I respected. He told me after we played them, ‘This is for you.’ We played Prep and [former long-time coach] Joe Urbanovich said the same thing to me. These were two legendary coaches, guys I looked up to. That’s when I realized that I could do this.”
Suarez then moved on to became an assistant at Hudson Catholic in 2007. However, Suarez was quickly thrust into the position of head coach when former coach Dan Olear abruptly resigned before the start of the year, leaving the program to Suarez, who was just 25 years old at the time.
Suarez handled the transition smoothly and guided the Hawks to the HCIAA title that first year, earning Hudson Reporter Coach of the Year honors in the process.
In the article that named Suarez as the Coach of the Year, it stated that “Suarez has a bright future as a high school baseball coach.” That has turned out to be prophetic.
“I knew I was going to get the opportunity to be a coach,” Suarez said.
Suarez spent three years at Hudson Catholic before moving on to Dickinson in 2011. He took over a program that had won only three games prior to his arrival.
Last week, when the Rams defeated Ferris, 10-4, it was a milestone for Suarez, as he collected the 100th victory of his coaching career.
“I really wasn’t paying attention to it,” Suarez said. “The kids were the ones that told me I was close. One day last year, we were in the weight room and I was having a conversation with one of them and he asked me about my record as a coach. I then forgot about it. It wasn’t something I focused on. It just happened that it was the 100th win.”
Suarez was asked if the milestone meant a lot to him.
“It made me think of the good times, the good memories of the good kids I had over the years,” Suarez said.
Suarez said that his current group of kids “is an extremely special group.”
“We have a young team that is still learning the game,” Suarez said. “We’ve had times this year where we had seven sophomores and freshmen on the field. We’re going to take our bumps and bruises a little and learn a lot from our mistakes. A lot of these kids are playing varsity baseball for the first time, so it’s going to take some time. They’re learning and they want to learn. That will transcend into wins down the road. This group has it.”
One of the top hurlers on the team is Julio Suarez III, the second cousin of the head coach and the grandson of Danny’s high school coach at St. Mary’s. The latest in the Suarez lineage is a junior right-hander.
“He went from having a tremendous lack of confidence to being our ace,” Suarez said of his cousin. “He’s embracing the role and wants the ball. I know he wants the ball. He had a good win against a very good River Dell team [in the Weehawken Autism Challenge two weeks ago],” Suarez said. “He has a good fastball, changeup and curve. His best pitch is the change. He has a good knack for pitching. He’s a very smart pitcher and player.”
Another top hurler is sophomore righty Jose Fontan, who was the winning pitcher when the Rams defeated University Charter in the opening round of the Ed “Faa” Ford Memorial Hudson County Tournament last week.
Freshman righty Adam Swift already has three varsity wins. Sophomore righty Kelvin Araujo is the Rams’ relief specialist “who comes in throwing strike after strike,” Suarez said. Junior lefty Alberto Colon is another pitcher that Suarez can call upon in tight spots. Freshman lefty Adolfo Rodriguez has a very promising future if he could learn to consistently throw strikes.
The catcher is sophomore Modesto Sanchez, who is the Rams’ No. 5 hitter. Senior Brandon Vila is the first baseman, with freshman Timothy Bracero at second.
Senior Brian Peguero is one of the lone returning players for Suarez and he plays shortstop.
“He’s our captain and leader,” Suarez said. “He struggled early because he put too much pressure on himself, but he’s been guided into the process of being our team leader.”
Junior Jaime Jimenez is at third base, with sophomore Yonatan Dominguez in left field, sophomore Donovan Figueroa in center and Colon in right.
Not only does Colon pitch from time to time and man right field, but he’s also the Rams’ leading hitter, batting .438 this season. Colon had three hits in the win over Ferris that gave Suarez the milestone.
“He’s hitting every single game,” Suarez said.
Junior Ivan Rozado is the team’s fourth outfielder and part-time designated hitter.
“He comes off the bench and does all the little things for us,” Suarez said. “He embraces his role.”
Suarez said that he thought his team would be a little better than the 8-11 mark they currently own.
“I’m not disappointed,” Suarez said. “They need to be able to play through adversity and gaining character. I knew it wasn’t going to be a perfect season. Realistically, we are right where we need to be. I’m proud of where we’re at.”
Suarez credits his assistants in Jay Aguiar and former Hoboken High School and St. Peter’s College standout Josh Pineiro….
The NFL Draft came and went last weekend and unfortunately, neither Union City’s Josue Matias nor Secaucus’ Betim Bujari were drafted as anticipated. Matias was listed as a possible draft pick by several websites, but the former Florida State offensive lineman was not taken. Bujari, the former Rutgers center, was a long shot going into the draft, but was not taken as well. There is good news about Matias that we can report next week…
The Weehawken baseball team is on a complete tear right now, having won five straight games including two games where the Indians scored 17 runs or more. Brian Rodrigues had five hits and three RBI in the win over Saddle Brook last week. We’ll have more on the Indians next week…
Hudson Reporter High School Baseball Top Five: 1. St. Peter’s Prep (21-2). 2. Memorial (11-6). 3. Marist (12-9) 4. Union City (11-9). 5. Weehawken (13-5)…
Hudson Reporter High School Softball Top Five: 1. St. Dominic Academy (14-5). 2. Bayonne (14-3). 3. Hudson Catholic (13-4). 4. North Bergen (14-7). 5. Secaucus (11-8)…–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.