By Mark Mitchell │ Utica Blue Sox Media Relations Assistant
Utica Blue Sox general manager Cooper Deck announced the hiring of Matt Marcewicz as assistant coach for the 2021 season Monday morning. Marcewicz, who currently serves as Niagara County Community College’s assistant baseball coach, was originally hired in March as an assistant coach for the 2020 season, but the PGCBL’s cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic delayed Marcewicz’s arrival in Utica.
In the meantime, Marcewicz has been assisting the coaching staff in recruiting, scouting and finalizing the 2021 Utica Blue Sox roster, and he will continue to do so up until the commencement of the upcoming season in June.
“Despite last summer’s season being cancelled, Matt has been a tremendous asset to our coaching staff and organization as a whole in prepping for the 2021 season,” Deck said. “We’re lucky to have such a knowledgeable and passionate coach for our players to work with and develop during the upcoming summer seasons.”
For every coach, there’s strong roots, and for Marcewicz, his passion for baseball is rooted at home with a grandfather who played semi professional baseball. That passion grew as it was passed down to his dad, who continued to pass it down to his four sons.
“I’m really excited to be a part of the Blue Sox,” Marcewicz said.
Marcewicz is continuing that tradition with his coaching career by passing along his contagious passion and knowledge of the game to every player and coach he works with.
“I’m from Oneonta, which is right next to Cooperstown, which is where the Hall of Fame is and baseball is a huge part of the community,” Marcewicz said. “ It just kinda came natural.”
Joining the Blue Sox staff was a no brainer. Marcewicz expressed his passion for competition and drive he has for not only coaching, but also winning a championship.
“After talking with Doug, Cooper and George, it felt right”, Marcewicz said. “I’m looking to have fun, win a lot of ball games, learn a lot along the way and make it something to remember.”
Marcewicz comes from the junior college baseball scene, coaching two years at Niagara Community College, where he has had the opportunity to develop and finetune his coaching style. Marcewicz is full of positive energy that will motivate every player day in and day out. He also knows the balance between being a coach and being a friend, which can be crucial in developing team chemistry.
“Your team becomes like a second family,” Marcewicz said. “During the off season or even a week after the season is over, I’m saying, ‘I miss the guys’.”
Marcewicz grew up with a baseball family and here with the Blue Sox, he plans to continue that family tradition that he was born into. He expressed that he knows what it takes to make an impact on a player, whether that means staying late after practice or helping a player out with a class.
“My favorite part about coaching is the relationships that you build,” Marcewicz said. “Also being able to reflect on how you made an impact on that player’s life.”
The Utica Blue Sox are set to return to Murnane Field in June of 2021. Stay tuned to UticaBlueSox.net for more information.