There certainly was a lot of success on the softball field in Newtown this past year; Newtown High School’s varsity squad won the South-West Conference thanks to a balanced lineup of players, some of whom perhaps owe at least a bit of their skill set and success to mom and/or dad.
Some of the parents — even a grandparent — of the conference champion Nighthawks played softball or baseball, including at the collegiate and professional levels.
Ian Thoesen, who runs the Newtown Thunder travel softball program teams and helps prepare future high school standouts, has a daughter, Maddie, who will be a junior on the NHS softball team next year.
Thoesen played hardball at Georgia College and won the Junior College National Championship at Norwalk Community College in 1998. He played professionally with teams in Waterbury and Massachusetts, as well as some winter league action in Puerto Rico. Thoesen, in addition to coaching the NHS baseball team, provides players with his game expertise at Integrated Sports Training in Norwalk. His dad, Guy, played minor league ball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, including at AA ball in Boca Roton, Fla.
Something Thoesen tries to impart to his daughter and those he continues to coach, is how to handle the mental part of the game of baseball or softball, that players have to overcome adversity and persevere despite only succeeding a small percentage of the time. A batter who gets a hit once in three plate appearances is considered well above average, for example.
“I think playing at a high level you learn a lot of beneficial stuff,” Thoesen said. “It’s life. You learn how to deal with people, you have failures and successes, and accountability, being on time.”
For Maddie, having her dad as a coach throughout the years has been a unique and beneficial experience.
“It’s definitely fun. We have a great bond,” said Maddie, who went on to become an instant contributor with the high school varsity team as a standout hitter, shortstop, and pitcher last year before continuing that success this past spring.
“He’s built me into the player I’ve become today,” said Maddie, who added she is hoping to exceed her dad’s on-field baseball success with a collegiate and pro softball career of her own.
“It’s definitely really cool,” she said of her dad’s impressive history on the field. “It gives me more motivation knowing I have his genes — he played professionally.”
Kevin Boughan, who played division I baseball at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., and has coached youth softball in town, has a daughter, Gilly, on the high school squad.
“I love watching Gilly play and go through her own journey on the diamond. It’s definitely a special bond we share. The really special times, though, are when we go to a field and I hit her grounders, or pitch batting practice to her, or even when we just have a catch in the backyard. I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Boughan said.
Boughan coached along with two other NHS softball player parents, Ali Cordova and Melissa Ansman — former Newtown High players themselves — in Newtown’s youth travel softball program, the U8 and U10 Hawks, and into the start of their Thunder careers with the U12 team. Their daughters are among a group of six freshmen who were on the roster this past spring: Addy Cordova, Gabby Ansman, Lila Accousti, Gilly Boughan, Olivia Doersch, and Elana Burdo.
“It was fun to coach together. We had a really good time. We all brought something to the table,” Melissa Ansman said. “It’s a lot of fun to see them here at the high school.”
Cordova (Class of 1995) and Ansman (‘96) played together under the direction of Coach Bob Zito. Gabby Ansman’s dad, Craig, played baseball at Stonybrook University in Stonybrook, N.Y. before going on to play minor league ball in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization. A former catcher, he went to Major League Baseball Spring Training a few times. Craig Ansman’s pro baseball travels took him to stints in Montana, Indiana, California, Texas, and Arizona, with travel throughout the country for games.
“Living out of a suitcase,” is how he summed up a four-and-a-half-years-long pro career from 2000-05. Of course, along with those travels a lot of experience was gained and Craig Ansman leaves the coaching to the coaches but shares some pointers with his daughter.
“There’s always a conversation on the ride home,” he said.
Craig Ansman was thrilled to see how the upperclassmen came together with this group of new high school athletes.
“It’s great to see how much leadership they’ve gotten from the older girls,” he said.
Coaching a son or daughter can be challenging — for the parent or young athlete.
Ali Cordova said after her daughter got to a certain age it was better to be a fan. “The best part is seeing them out there on the field where we were in high school,” she said.
For Addy Cordova and Gabby Ansman, both of whom stepped in and had key hits and locked up spots in the starting lineup right away, it is simply enjoyable to be out on the field playing this game with friends.
“It’s a lot of fun. I like being with my friends and the competition,” Gabby said.
Whatever the combination of natural ability, dedication, determination, current and past coaches, and family genes may be for these players, it has already led to some winning ways with more years of Newtown softball excitement to come. What’s more, this group of underclassmen is having a blast.
“It’s a good group of kids — they play well together,” Ian Thoesen said.
Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.
Some parents of Newtown High softball team members played softball or baseball themselves. Pictured are Ian Thoesen, Addy Cordova and her mom Ali Cordova (former NHS softball player), Gabby Ansman and parents Melissa and Craig Ansman. —Bee Photo, Hutchison
Kevin Boughan and his daughter Gilly during a break playing catch at the beach on vacation. Boughan played collegiate baseball and his daughter is on the Newtown High softball squad.
Maddie Thoesen drove in the lone run in Newtown’s victory over Shepaug Valley.
