BC News

Inspired by a legend's legacy, BCHS baseball team shows winning character

Release Date: April 17, 2009

Several members of the BCHS Varsity Baseball Team were honored on March 18 with a Board of Education Character Award for their selfless actions to help volunteer assistant baseball coach Pete Dorwaldt as he battled cancer this year. They are:

• Mike Fish

• Alex Sobiecki

• Matt Branigan

• Randy Bowers

• Sean Quinlan

• Kyle Niehaus

• Chris Riedel

 

Text of Coach Robert Helm's letter to the Board of Education nominating the students for the award:

"Peter Dorwaldt was the volunteer assistant varsity baseball coach at BCHS for the past 5 seasons. Prior to Pete joining the BC coaching staff, Pete coached at The Albany Academy for almost 40 years. He coached varsity football and baseball at Albany Academy while teaching Physical Education to elementary students. He is one of the top 6 all time winning coaches in New York State. Beyond the wins, Pete coached young adults how to become successful men. The proof was the long lines of former players, coaches, umpires and friends that filed in to the funeral home on March 4th to pay their respect to Pete’s family.

"Among the many, was a group of senior BC baseball players that came to the funeral home as young men who lost a friend, a coach and a mentor. They all understand in an indescribable way that the mutual respect between them was fostered by baseball, but grew through compassion, empathy and teamwork. Pete fought cancer and the difficult treatments for 18 months before succumbing to the disease last weekend. Many of those seniors visited Pete at his bedside in his final months to laugh and tell stories. In the fall, some of the seniors showed up at his house to rake his leaves. Fox 23 news was so impressed with this group of seniors that Rich Becker came to Pete’s house to do a human interest story. The story was about more than raking a lawn for dying man. It was about a group of BC athletes coming together to help a friend – a friend who had given so much, to so many. 

"The BC players have learned a life lesson few young adults have the opportunity to understand. Pete’s positive attitude on the baseball field and never quit commitment dealing with cancer is now Pete’s legacy at BCHS.  

"I would like to nominate the following returning BC baseball players for the BOE Character Award:
Mike Fish, Alex Sobiecki, Matt Branigan, Randy Bowers, Sean Quinlan, Kyle Niehaus, and Chris Riedel."

 

 

 

 

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