But he’s sure glad he got there.
The Bayside native recently finished his fourth year as the Caldwell…
By Dylan Butler
Chris Reardon still isn’t sure how he got there, how a guy born and raised in Queens ended up at Caldwell College in a sleepy New Jersey suburb.
But he’s sure glad he got there.
The Bayside native recently finished his fourth year as the Caldwell baseball coach and enjoyed his greatest success to date. The Cougars advanced to the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional last month for the first time in the program’s nine-year history.
In four short years Reardon has built up Caldwell into one of the top programs in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
“I’ve been coaching since I was 15 or 16. I’ve always wanted to be a coach,” said Reardon, who will turn 30 in November. “I was a pretty good player but not a pro prospect. I just love the game; I love being around the guys and I love being part of a team.”
Reardon played at Cardozo in 1992 and 1993 with Major League pitcher Pete Munro. In fact, the two are best friends and Munro is scheduled to be the best man at Reardon’s wedding next month, although that may change since Munro recently re-signed with the Houston Astros.
Reardon went on to play at New Mexico Junior College and then at Queens College, where he was part of the Knights team that made the Regionals in 1997.
Two years later a friend helped him get a volunteer assistant coaching job at St. John’s and Reardon worked with Red Storm coach Ed Blankmeyer in the 2000 season.
“That gave me good insight on a top-notch program,” Reardon said of his experience at St. John’s. “It was a great bunch of kids. I learned as much from them as I did from the coaches.”
While surfing the Internet one day, Reardon saw there was an opening at Caldwell College. After first finding out exactly where Caldwell is (about 20 miles from Manhattan), he decided to apply.
And soon he’d become the Cougars’ new head coach at the age of 25.
“It was very overwhelming in the beginning,” Reardon said. “The opportunity was there, I was lucky enough (to get the job) and I was going to put whatever I had to into it. To do what I do and to get paid for it, I consider myself very fortunate.”
Part of the reason Caldwell has found success has been because Reardon has tapped into the CHSAA and PSAL for talent. He brought over Hasani Whitfield from Molloy, Fadul Bambino, who played at Queensborough and Aviation, and Landon Viessy from Cardozo.
“Being from this area, I have good roots with summer organizations,” Reardon said. “It gives me a bit of an edge because most of the teams in our conference are in New Jersey and they don’t come over here.”
Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
