OCTOBER 9 , 2003
Collegiate league baseball team names coach
By BRETT ORZECHOWSKI
orzechowski@poststar.com

Published on 10/9/2003 - Local Sports - THE POST-STAR

GLENS FALLS -- Charles Adams remained consistent with his plan to build a New York Collegiate Baseball League team with local flavor Wednesday, naming the first manager of the Adirondack Golden Eagles.

John Mayotte, once a Hudson Falls resident and St. Mary's Academy graduate still with local ties to the area, was named the team's manager for the summer of 2004, Adirondack's inaugural season in the NYCBL. Adams, the Golden Eagles' owner and general manager, hired Mayotte after the semi-retired, well-traveled coach contacted Adams from his home in Madeira Beach, Fla.

The hiring comes at a crucial time in the recruiting process for the NYCBL season. Adams and Mayotte, who has experience coaching a handful of current major leaguers along with a managerial stint in the Cape Cod League, have designated the early autumn and spring as prime recruiting seasons for the summer.

"Our goal is to bring in the best possible player. It's conceivable that we will recruit on a national level to put out a good team," said Mayotte, who retired last season from Troy State University in Alabama after 12 years as head coach. "Remember, this is a developmental league. We want a good team, but we're also preparing young players for their next jump."

Before coaching Troy State, Mayotte built a formidable program at Division II Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., compiling over 400 wins while the team was annually ranked in the Top 10 in national polls.

His experience extends to the Cape Cod League, the country's premiere collegiate summer baseball showcase, when in 1985 Mayotte was named coach of the year after spending five summers with the Chatham Athletics. This was a major selling point for Adams. Mayotte's experience dealing with college-aged players at the highest level of competitive summer baseball made the coach Adirondack's top candidate.

"John has roots here. We wanted a local connection and a coach with his experience was hard to overlook," Adams said. "With his connections, we are confident in him finding high-caliber players to fill our roster. He knows how to take a kid and improve him as a ballplayer."

At 60 years old, Mayotte doesn't see his age as a hindrance, rather a positive in a player's development. Before ascending to the collegiate level, Mayotte won a state-record six consecutive Section II titles at Coxsackie-Athens between 1965-1975. He's coached several current major league players including Jeff Bagwell and Joey Cora, and recruited Steve Balboni and Oakland's Jim Mecir at Eckerd.

Mayotte said his first obligation is to fill the 24-player roster after returning to Florida this weekend, where he anticipates a solid recruiting class formed with his southern connections.

He will remain there through the winter. By the spring, though, he will return home to help the day-to-day operation of the Golden Eagles.

"I still wanted to be involved with baseball, but not for 365 days a year," Mayotte said. "It will be a lot of work helping to build a new team. It won't take the entire year, but it will come close."