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Community Corner

Leo Redgate: A Memorable Coaching Debut

Leads his alma mater, Fairfield Prep, to 21 wins, state championship game.

I’ve encountered a multitude of high school basketball coaches across more than four decades as a writer, and many were first-rate players prior to becoming leaders of young men.

Barry McLeod, Charlie Bentley and Harrison Taylor – who have won a collective 12 state titles at Bridgeport’s public high schools – come readily to mind. Chris Smith of Kolbe Cathedral is another local coach of note; his skills as a player led to stardom at UConn and three seasons in the NBA.

Going back in time, Bob Saulsbury, late of Wilbur Cross, was a star on state championship teams at Cross’ New Haven rival, Hillhouse. Frank Crisafi, formerly of East Haven, was an outstanding high school and semi-pro player before he won six state titles as a coach.

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Which brings me to Leo Redgate.

His debut as head coach at his alma mater, Fairfield Prep, was nothing short of remarkable this winter. Few could have envisioned the Jesuits opening the season with eight straight victories or, much later, upending Crosby, Xavier and Ridgefield in the state Class L Tournament en route to a berth in the championship game at Mohegan Sun.

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Yes, they came up short that evening against St. Joseph, 79-53, but a 21-7 record and runner-up finish in the states placed the 2010-11 season among the finest in Prep history.

“He has made me look very good,” smiles Prep Athletic Director Steve Donahue. Turning serious, he says, “Before the season started, I told Leo, ‘If you don’t win a game, we’ve made the right move. You’ve done a great job changing the attitude of the program.’ ”

What sets Redgate apart from the aforementioned coaches – aside from his myriad business activities as a real estate investor, co-owner of the Old Post Tavern and head of the non-profit Community Film Institute – is this: He never played a game of varsity basketball at any level. Not at Prep. Not at Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and marketing.

In Redgate’s case, a lifelong passion for the game coupled with the “bits and pieces he picked up from great coaches” led to his own success. He names some names.

  • John Fenton. “I started coaching as John’s assistant when I was still a student at Assumption School.”
  • Jim Dobbs at Prep. “His son, Jim, and I became best friends at Assumption, and I always sat behind the bench on road games listening to him and became a student of the game.”
  • Pete Gillen and the late Skip Prosser at Cincinnati. “They were great guys and knew I loved the game. Pete happened to have Fairfield ties (he played baseball and basketball at Fairfield U). Skip Prosser was a young assistant at the time, and we became friendly. I became a volunteer assistant, assistant coach. I remember how they communicated with the players. I remember the culture.”

Redgate would parlay his love for the game into coaching elementary school kids at the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club. “I did this for many years, probably all the way up until I started the theatre (in 2001). I wanted to give back.”

Seven years ago, he returned to his alma mater as JV coach and assistant varsity coach. The Prep program, though, was floundering; when the varsity coach, Rich Lee, left following a desultory 9-13 season, Donahue approached Redgate and asked him to step in.

“I knew it would take a significant amount of time, but I told him yes,” Redgate recalls. “I wanted to make sure the boys were in the right hands.”

The rigorous strength and conditioning program he implemented paid dividends throughout the season. “We found ourselves getting stronger at the end of games.”

Some onlookers consider Redgate a strong motivator, and while he doesn’t disagree, he prefers to “give all the credit to the boys,” reeling off the names of 6-foot-4 junior Terry Tarpey, whose 18 points per game led the team, and seniors Robbie Biers, Matt Daley, Kevin Potter, Alex Heiman and Nick Hoin.

“I sold the kids, inspired a new atmosphere of winning,” Redgate says. “The boys knew I would fight for them and never let them down. The goal was to make the post-season. Even when we went through three straight losses, I told the kids, ‘We’re getting the kinks out. We’re going to make the tournament.’ ”

And so they did.

Redgate considers the early-season 63-60 victory at Xavier in Middletown (Tarpey won it with a jump shot in the final seconds) and the tournament wins over Crosby (86-69) and Ridgefield (60-55) as highlights of this memorable season. “Crosby and Ridgefield were in the top ten when we beat ‘em,” he says.

More to the point, Fairfield Prep finished sixth in the New Haven Register’s final poll of state teams.

Will Leo Redgate return for a second season?

“There probably wasn’t a day that I didn’t regret taking the job,” he says, alluding to his multiple business activities and his roles as husband and father (wife Lynne, children Leo Francis, 9; Shannon, 8; and Brian, 4). “I’d never coach anywhere else but Fairfield Prep...Yes, I’ll be back next season.”

It’s in his blood.

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