Going to bat
for their coach

By Colleen Boyle Sharp
For the Times

With final cuts to be made this week, the new lineup for Archbishop Ryan High School’s varsity softball team is starting to take shape. The Ragdolls, who hope to improve on last year’s notable 18-5 record, have been working hard to prepare for the season.
But this year, someone important is missing.
Ryan will be taking the field without the guidance of longtime head coach Andy Hafele. Diagnosed with lymphoma late last summer, Hafele has taken a temporary leave from his position at Ryan as he undergoes treatment.
In Hafele’s absence, the job of readying the softball team has turned over to assistant coaches John Kidwell and Maria Miller. Holding five-day-a-week practices, Kidwell and Miller agree that even though Hafele cannot be there, to run the day-to-day show, they have tried to make it business as usual.
They feel it’s the way Hafele would want it.
"The team really misses Andy and is concerned, but we are trying to keep the team on track," said Kidwell. "I’m here doing what Andy would do, and until he comes back, I’m just saving his spot."
In 15 seasons with Hafele at the helm, Ryan’s varsity team has had significant success. Showings in 14 Catholic League playoff series, two semifinals and a 1995 championship win against Archbishop Prendergast all add up to an impressive coaching career for Hafele.
"Andy is an excellent coach," said Miller, a Ryan graduate and former softball player. "The girls look up to him because he gives it his all when he is out on that field, and that is exactly what he expects from them in return."
Off the field, Miller said, Hafele gives a lot of his time to help players prepare their college applications, in addition to writing letters of recommendation and taping them so they’ll have a game tape to show prospective schools.
"He really gives his time to help his players any way he can," said Miller.
Now, after his years of dedication, it is the Ryan community that is going to bat for a favorite coach. Red lanyards are being worn by students, faculty and staff to show their support of the ongoing Coaches vs. Cancer fund-raiser, and especially to honor Hafele.
"Students at Ryan are required to wear lanyards holding their picture ID at all times," says athletic director George Todt. "We thought making special lanyards and selling them would be a great way to let Andy, who has done so much for Ryan, know that we are thinking about him, and at the same time raise money for a very worthy cause."
The idea came to Todt after it was suggested at a PIAA board meeting that area high schools get involved with Coaches vs. Cancer. A nationwide program that is a partnership of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign has raised more than $40 million to help fund the battle against cancer.
Since the program’s start in 1993, more than 500 Division I, II and III college basketball coaches, along with 100 high schools like Ryan, have volunteered to help.
The lanyards, which have Coaches vs. Cancer printed on them, are being sold for $5. At this point, $1,000 already has been sent to the American Cancer Society in Hafele’s name.
The fund-raiser, which began in mid-January, will receive support from the girls softball team at Ryan. Members will sell the lanyards at home games this season, and Marinucci’s Deli is promoting the effort in their store.
Although it may be unlikely that Hafele will be able to participate in coaching this season, his family feels that he will spend his recovery working on other projects to benefit the team.
Since last spring, Hafele has been busy raising funds to illuminate the girls softball field on the north side of Ryan’s campus on Academy Road. The campaign — Hafele named it Let There Be Light — has raised more than $10,000.
"Andy has worked hard on this project," said Kidwell. "He feels that not only would night games give the parents who work the opportunity to see their kids play, but the field could also be used by CYO and other local teams."
With the help of alumni donations and the contributions of local businesses, Hafele’s mission already has reached about one-third of its projected $35,000 goal. The permanent lighting would make Ryan one of the first teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League to be able to play and practice softball at night.
On March 27, the Ragdolls will play their opener at home against Bishop McDevitt. Although the players wish their head coach would be standing at his usual spot on the third base line, they know that, win or lose, they have to give it their all — just as coach Hafele would expect. ••