By Kim J. Harmon

When the moment finally arrived on Monday at 2:15 pm – the official opening of spring practice – John Larkins was more than ready.

Larkins, the new head baseball coach at Newtown High School, had started getting ready for that moment, in fact, a few months ago after he had learned the administration picked him to take over the program from Dan Winsett.

Three days after he learned he had been hired, Larkins packed himself – and his ol’ kit bag – into his Nissan and high-tailed it down to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to attend the largest baseball clinic in the nation.

After rubbing elbows with Boston Red Sox coach Joe Kerrigan – as well as other professional coaches – coach Larkins came back to Connecticut with coaching perspective, some new drills, and an April 1 scrimmage in New Hampshire.

Coach Larkins has hit the ground running in 2000. But he knew he had to because the Nighthawks are coming off a dismal 1-19 campaign in 1999 and he aims to rectify that situation as quickly as possible.

“Coming off the record we had,” said coach Larkins, who had been an assistant and head jayvee baseball coach for two years, “we really have to go back to the basics. We were putting ourselves in situations to lose games last year. Fundamentally, they weren’t playing to the level they are capable of.”

That’s why he started practices this week working on the most basic of skills – the foot work in the infield, the glove work, and the throwing. In the few weeks before the start of the season, coach Larkins hopes the players progress quickly while focussing on the importance of the little things.

“I’m telling the kids that this program is about basics and discipline,” he said. “I’ve told the kids and the parents that it will take everyone to help turn this program around.”

Coach Larkins has a large contingent of players in camp and despite the 1-19 record of a year ago, he sees a lot of talent on the team – much of it, he said, focussed in a solid junior class that saw considerable playing time in 1999.

“I have a bunch of very talented juniors,” said coach Larkins. “They had an opportunity to get a lot of playing time last year. We’re very fortunate to be junior loaded and this will be an opportunity for these kids to step up.”

To help him in his effort to turn the program around, coach Larkins has a talented coaching staff plus a number of other coaches who will be just a phone call away when he needs to advice or his players need a little specialized help.

Yogi Jones (assistant varsity), Carl Strait (jayvee), John Grimardi (freshmen), Jim Roodhuyzen and Frank Durante will help lead the program along with coach Larkins. But coach Larkins will also have Nick Seferi, a former player, a roving coach who will visit with all the programs periodically.

“This is a great group of kids,” coach Larkins said. “What we need to do is learn that players make mistakes. But don’t let one mistake lead to another. Baseball is fun and we’re out there to have fun.”