November 19, 2007

ETOBICOKE— Mr. John Feracutti SR was honoured at 2007 Etobicoke Baseball’s AGM as the recipient of the 2007 EBA VOLUNTEER OF EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNER.

19 Nov 07 — EBA President Tony Di Rollo presents Mr. John Feracutti SR with the EBA’s 2007 Volunteer of Excellence Award at November’s year-end general meeting.

John Ferracuti Sr grew up in Etobicoke, playing football, hockey, track and field (especially the high hurdles) and pretty much any other sport he could get involved in. His photograph still hangs on the wall at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute as BCI’s first ever “Athlete of the Year”. John has been involved in coaching kids in football, hockey, ski racing and baseball since the early 1970s and is still going strong. In addition to his year round volunteer baseball activities he still plays hockey twice weekly with the St. Michael’s Old Boys and is a Level 1Ski Race Instructor working with kids on the weekends throughout the winter! He decided to get involved in coaching baseball in 1974 and over the years John Sr. coached all four of his children, John, Jeannine, Dan and Vincent at Bloordale, Royal York, Queensway, Kingsway and Etobicoke Rangers Baseball organizations. He currently has had the pleasure of coaching grandsons Marcus, Michael and Nicholas for the last ten years.

John continues to provide great leadership at the grass roots level of the EBA (33 years to date). He began coaching at Bloordale Baseball Association in 1974 at the T Ball level. He has served on the executive committees of Bloordale, Connorvale Baseball Assoc., and the E.B.A. over the years. He has been actively helping to maintain Connorvale Park for the last 15 years. (Cutting grass, maintaining the field, etc.) He has coached at all levels of amateur baseball in Etobicoke, including: Bloordale T-Ball thru Midget, Etobicoke Titans, Etobicoke Rangers Midget, Juvenile and Junior, Royal York Bantam. By our best count, he has coached approximately 600 to 700 Etobicoke Baseball Players during his coaching career. He has convened numerous TBA "City Playoffs" and EBA Playoffs over the years at Millwood Park, Carmen Bush and Connorvale Park. He has participated in numerous houseleague players and coaches clinics in Etobicoke. John is certainly well known and well respected in the baseball community and everyone who has appeared in their life has a story to tell about John. John’s love for all the kids in Etobicoke and for the game of baseball will always be in his blood and his heart. John’s advice to every pitcher before they took the field was “ let’s go out there and get the leading lady”.