Windham High varsity baseball welcomes new coach

By Matt Pascarella

When Windham High School’s varsity baseball team begins their season in a couple weeks, they will have a new head coach in Chris Doughty. Much of his experience comes from when he played baseball for St. Joseph’s College, but he first began coaching when his children started playing youth sports. Since then, Doughty’s also coached baseball, soccer, football, and basketball.

Windham High School's new varsity baseball
coach is Chris Doughty, who played the sport
in college for St. Joseph's College.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

Sports have always been a part of who Doughty is as a person. He played football, basketball and baseball at a young age and continued through high school.

“I consider myself very lucky for having so many great coaches throughout my athletic career,” said Doughty. “Coaching is about so much more than wins and losses, and I was fortunate enough to have people in my corner who cared about me as much as a person as they did as a player.”

Doughty’s father got him interested in baseball. Every night, his father would come home from work and Doughty would be waiting for him. They would either go to the field for batting practice or just go out in the yard and hit fly balls or field ground balls. The support Doughty received from his father and mother helped him to be successful on and off the field.

As a kid who grew up in Westbrook and later moved to Windham, Doughty said playing Little League with his supportive group of friends made it feel like the big leagues. After high school Doughty continued to play while he was majoring in business at St. Joseph’s College, where he had some very successful seasons.

“Chris was an outstanding player for us,” said Doughty’s former St. Joseph’s College baseball coach, Will Sanborn. “Chris is a smart guy who knows the game and has a passion for it. He works hard and has great leadership qualities that I feel will make him an excellent coach; I know guys will enjoy playing for him.”

Throughout his athletic career, Doughty said that he has had several great coaches who have helped him mature as an athlete and person. He said their guidance has left a meaningful mark on who he is today. For Doughty, being able to give back to the community through coaching while also having the opportunity to provide the same guidance to players is very important to him.

The varsity team is very lucky to have a dedicated coaching staff in addition to Doughty. It consists of Anthony D’alfonso, Cody Dube, Rob Hamilton, and Adam Kalakowsky. So many baseball minds committed to the team is a giant benefit to the program.

“I am very excited about the addition of Chris Doughty as the new varsity coach,” said Windham Junior Varsity baseball coach Kalakowsky. “Chris seems like a great leader with a passion for the game. His past baseball playing experience, focus on fitness/training, knowledge of the game and enthusiasm for the sport make for a great addition. With this coaching staff, great returning players, and a talented group of incoming freshmen, I believe Windham will be a very competitive team.”

Coaching at the youth level has taught Doughty a lot about patience and organization. These experiences coupled with his baseball background, knowledge and drive for competition will be very valuable.

For Doughty, seeing the improvement from the beginning of the season to the end is his favorite part. When he sees a player grasp a concept and become able to apply it successfully, it is very rewarding. Doughty loves to see his players have fun on the field.

Doughty says that his goal for the season is to put a team on the field each day that is respectful, disciplined, and skilled. The team’s ultimate goal is a state championship win, but along the way he would like to help these young men gain a further understanding of what it means to be a good teammate, classmate, son, brother, and friend.

At the end of the day, it’s a game and it’s supposed to be fun.

He’s a second-generation owner of a State Farm Insurance Agency in Westbrook with a new location in Windham. Doughty is married with two children, and they have a Bernese Mountain dog. In Doughty’s free time, he likes to ski with his family and friends, golf and spend time on the lake. <