Goss: New Trier coach Napoleon says, 'There's still some Providence in me'

It felt strange to be at Slammers Stadium this weekend and not have a Joliet-area team in either the Class 3A or 4A state baseball tournament.

There was a local connection, however.

“I feel like there’s still some Providence in me,” said New Trier coach Mike Napoleon, whose Trevians finished fourth in 4A.

When you think of the coaches Providence has had since its baseball program began in 1964 – Tom Dedin, Jaime Garcia, Joe Rodeghero and current coach Mark Smith among them – Napoleon’s name probably is not the first that comes to mind.

Still, his tenure with the Celtics rated an A-plus. He was their head coach from 1992-96 before accepting the position at New Trier. During that time, they amassed a 139-38-2 record for a .782 winning percentage.

“Mike is a very good coach,” former Lockport Hall of Fame coach Jim Hall said. “He is one of the best I ever coached against.”

Of course, it works both ways. Talented players help make coaches.

“I remember so many of those guys who played for me at Providence,” Napoleon said, rattling off names such as Kenny Miller, Ken Mitera, Joe Schley, Chris Walker and Dan Dement, among others.

“[Current Plainfield East baseball coach] Adam O’Reel was on one of my teams, too,” Napoleon said. “He’s a good guy. I almost had Carmen Pignatiello. He came in the year after I left.”

Baseball has not been Napoleon’s only athletic interest, however. He doubles an assistant football coach at New Trier. He was coach Matt Senffner’s offensive coordinator in the heart of the era when Providence sported the most successful program in the state.

“Seff called me a couple days ago to wish me good luck,” Napoleon noted.

“I had Chris Orr at quarterback at Providence. He came out of nowhere my first year. He was a three-step guy, ideal for the short passing game that I liked to use. Bob Christopherson, I had him, too.”

The Napoleon family continued to live in Shorewood for a couple of years after Mike began coaching at New Trier. He not only coached his sons, Dusty and Dillon, for a while in youth baseball in and around Joliet, but also mentored one of the best female athletes this area has seen.

“When I was coaching the kids, I had Allie Quigley,” Napoleon said with a smile. “She was catching Dusty when he pitched. She was the only one who could catch him. She and her sister [Samantha] both were terrific athletes. Dusty was the male athlete of the year in Illinois in 2004 and Allie was the female athlete of the year.”

Dusty Napoleon played at Iowa. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics and spent four years in minor league baseball. He now is an assistant baseball coach at Northwestern. Dillon played at Heartland Community College and at Alabama-Birmingham and has been the pitching coach at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, for five years.

Meanwhile, this was Mike Napoleon’s 21st season at the helm of the Trevians. His teams won state titles in 2000 and 2009 and finished second in 1999 and 2007. The 0-2 record here this weekend makes his 32-year career record 853-302-6, including the six seasons he spent guiding Niles Notre Dame before coming to Providence.

He is third on the state’s all-time win list, and if the Trevians continue on a similar path under his leadership, he could become the state’s winningest baseball coach before he retires. Dave Swisegood, who coached at Plymouth and Augusta Southeastern, had 950 wins and the late Jack Kaiser of Oak Park-River Forest had 892.

“I don’t know about records, but I have seven to 10 years yet,” Napoleon said. “I have to figure it out with the TRS [teacher retirement system]. I’ve had 14 years in Catholic schools out of my 32 years total, so I still have some time left in the public school system.

“I really loved Providence, and when I left for New Trier, a lot of my friends said I would have to change my coaching styles, going from a private to public school. But I was very fortunate in that regard. I didn’t have to change.”

Napoleon said he still is coaching special teams, wide receivers and running backs for the New Trier football team, and he is enjoying that as well.

The semifinal loss this weekend to Crystal Lake South was a bummer, but otherwise, life is good.

• Dick Goss can be reached at dgoss@shawmedia.com.