Edwards Turning Around Fortunes Of Fairfield Junior Legion Team

For the past few years, James Edwards,  or "JJ" as most people know him, has made a name for himself as a baseball player at Sacred Heart University.

Now, he is gaining recognition for the job he is doing as a first-year coach for the Fairfield Junior American Legion team.

Edwards' club is 8-9 heading into Sunday's game against Norwalk, which doesn't seem like a huge deal. Keep in mind, however, that Fairfield was 0-27 last season. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more improved team in the state.

"I can't believe what he has been able to do with this team," said one long-time Legion fan.

 Edwards said he was born to coach - even to a point where it has gotten him in trouble while playing.

"I get in trouble every now and then because I try to coach while I am playing," he said. "That's how much I want to be a coach Also, a lot of my college teammates come up to me and ask me questions about their swings and (other) baseball things because they now it's really what I strive to be."

However, Edwards  is more modest about his early success with the junior Legion team .

"The reason for our success is the idea that these young men that I coach want to get better and learn the game of baseball," he said.

Edwards recently graduated from Sacred Heart with a bachelors degree in history, although he has one year of eligibility remaining with the Pioneers while his pursues his Masters in education.

Edwards' goal after leaving college is to become a history teacher and high school coach.

A .300-plus hitter in each of his first three seasons at Sacred Heart, Edwards has a good mentor in Nick Giaquinto, the Pioneers'  baseball coach since 1988.

" Our two other coaches - John Servilla and Josh Henan -   and myself believe in keeping the game fun," Edwards said. "This way,  the young men feel like they don't have a great amount of pressure on them (because) we aren't really big fans of screaming and yelling at the players. Positive is our method and the players seem to work well with it."

Fairfield still has an outside shot for the Junior Legion state tournament, but a 15-12 record is required in Zone Four, meaning a 7-3 finish is needed, but even a winning record would be an impressive accomplishment after last year.