Jeff Abel fills the spot as Don Lugo’s new Varsity Head Coach after former Head Coach, Joe Marcos, retires from position. Coach Marcos announced his departing from the team in early July. Coach Abel, an assistant coach for the team at the time, then applied for the job and was granted the position at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year and now feels he has “big shoes to fill”.

Coach Marcos was the head coach for Don Lugo Varsity Baseball for about 25 years and even made history by picking up his 500th win during the 2015 baseball season. “This in some way will always be his program and this will always be his field,” expressed Coach Abel. As the new Varsity Coach, he has already set goals for his first upcoming season with the team.

With the baseball program now in his hands, Coach Abel has set goals for not only on the field but off the field as well with his players. Making playoffs, taking a shot at winning a championship, and receiving scholarships are the goals for the new coach and his team. But the general goal for the program itself is to, “ Develop good, hardworking young men who can be successful in life, “ explained Coach Abel.

As great as everything seemed with the new coach, a undisclosed source mentioned that a couple of players were not enjoying the new transition and rumors surfaced that some players even planned to leave the team. The rumors questioned if Coach Abel was a good coach or not.

Most players had good feedback on the current coach. Current pitcher, Nolan Fernandes, seemed fond of what Abel had to offer concluding with “Coach Abel tries to get us to work hard for not only the program but mainly for ourselves and our futures.”

Coach Abel is not new to how everything runs within the program considering he was an assistant coach for the Varsity Baseball Team. Don Lugo students and parents await to see what Coach Abel has to offer. The pressure is now on to continue the legacy that Coach Marcos left behind.