(as stated by a number of female Dunkin Donut customers)
Some people join book clubs.
Some people join car clubs.
Some join coffee clubs.
I joined a sports club – and it hasn’t just been fun. For me, it’s become an addiction.
At the time, it was called the Dunkin’ Darlings (now the Dunk-N-Diamonds) and, as far as joining it is concerned, it’s the most interesting, diverse, and enjoyable group of men I’ve ever been associated with.
Though we come from a variety of backgrounds, there is a single reason why we’ve been together for so long.
While we have, at times, had heated debates over rule interpretations, coaches’ knowledge (or lack of it), parent/fan behavior, and more, our love of sports has always allowed us to weather the verbal storms and sometimes even strengthen our bonds of friendship.
Meeting for a couple hours every Friday, I assure you that I’m not the only “brother” that looks forward to it.
Read on and you’ll understand why.
First, a little history:
The brainchild of three men, Ray Valliere, Fred Jasinski, and Tom Monson, the re-named “Dunk-N-Diamonds,” was formed to provide a group of friends, comprised of umpires and coaches, an opportunity to get together on a weekly basis.
The expressed purpose was to discuss the calls they made while talking sports, especially the rules involved and how they dealt with them.
Because our membership has grown older (we’re now in our 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s!) our “involvement” as officials and coaches has now become more as evaluators of newer officials, assignors of games, and/or “Monday morning quarterbacks”, our literal on-the-field/on-the-court involvement has diminished.
Though age, limited mobility, and the passing of a number of our “brothers” has certainly had its impact on us, our love of sports remains strong, as does our bond of friendship.
Having begun in 2006, we were originally called the Dunkin “Darlings.” However, in 2018, a request was made by several members to change the latter part of the group’s name – for obvious reasons.
More than a dozen suggestions were submitted with the term “diamonds” (via Charlie Pierson – Captain MFD) emerging victorious because the members believed it related perfectly to the field on which the overwhelming percentage of us have spent our collective lives as players, coaches, instructors, trainers, and/or officials.
While we have certainly enjoyed our years as “darlings”, the name first coined by one of our founders, Ray Valliere, it is important to note that it was Ray who also added the following supportive words:
“Changing our name to diamonds will prove to be a gem of an idea.”
The group first met on Thursdays, but switched to Friday mornings to accommodate the growing number of participants and we are now in our 20th year of existence.
The initial members were the afore-mentioned three men as well as “regulars” Brian Troupe, Nick Gabardina, Bob Pelletier, Alan Heidenreich, Butch Joseph, Frankie O’Donnell and, occasionally, associate members Mark Cherbonneau, Mike Ryan, Paul Daum, Ed Flanagan, Ted Gatsas, Goose Gosselin, Beaver Jutras, Mark Letendre, Mike Paquette, and Joe Sullivan.
They met at the South Willow Street Dunkin Donut Shoppe then moved to the Dunkin Shoppe on Hanover Street (formerly the home of Angelo’s Spaghetti House). That was followed by our transition to the current Candia Road Shoppe.
Meetings take place @ 9:00 a.m. & last until around noon with the “diamonds” showing up & departing whenever we wish.
The only “rule” we have is that politics and religion are not to be discussed.
Though we range in years of membership from “rookies” (under a year) to “veterans” (9 years or more), we definitely have combined to form an interesting group bonded by our love for sports. While “heated” debates periodically take place, perhaps that’s why we enjoy each other’s company so much and why the diamonds’ existence has lasted for more than two decades.
The Membership’s Early Years
During our collective childhood, we dreamed of becoming anything from a cowboy to a train engineer to a professional baseball player and for six of us, our childhood dreams became our careers. While none of us ended up with a career involving a rodeo or becoming the engineer of a train, one of us did wear the uniform of a minor league baseball team.
Our childhood introduction to the work force was definitely blue-collar. We received “paychecks” as dishwashers, paperboys, shoe shop workers, magazine deliverers, lawn mowers, store clerks, movie theater ushers, and more.
While we are all high school graduates, a significant number of us didn’t stop with that diploma, choosing instead to further our educations by collectively attending a total of 14 different colleges in the personal quest to earn a degree in our chosen area.
Thirteen of our membership have served in the military (seven in the army, four in the navy, one in the air force, and one in the marines) with one serving as a gunner/radar operator on a submarine hunter and another as a gunner handling 5-inch/38 caliber Anti Aircraft weapons during WW II. Additionally, a couple put in from six to nine years of duty and a number of them completed their tours in an another infamous battleground, Vietnam.
To a man, and not surprisingly, the careers of each and every one of our members have been spent working with people. Importantly, it should be noted that the jobs we have held were of definite value to our society. When you read through the list of careers you’ll understand.
Our members have spent the majority of their work lives in a variety of different professions (some have worked in more than one area).
counselor – teacher – retail sales – sportswriter – guest services – postal worker – insurance – fire captain
cop – coach – administrator – food broker – international paper – sales manager – computer tech – buyer
tannery – auto business – diesel/auto mechanic – business owner – self employed – public relations counsel – now Santa Claus – on-line retail sales (ebay)
Our Commitment To Sports
It should also be noted that, as much as we liked our jobs, we have loved our involvement in sports equally. As kids, as teenagers, and as adults, we have immersed ourselves in them and, though all of us, no doubt, were “good” in our chosen sports endeavors, some of us were very good.
In fact, so good that several of us have been recognized nationally and internationally, so good that we have members who’ve been presented with special awards recognizing those capabilities, and so good that several members have been inducted into their respective halls of fame.
Our Officiating and Coaching Skills Speak for Themselves
As players, coaches, and/or officials, just how good were we/are we? Here are a few examples.
* good enough to strike out 21 batters in a single legion game
* good enough to win at least 20 league or state championships
* good enough to umpire 11 NHIAA baseball finals
* good enough to umpire 10 NCAA baseball regionals
* good enough to umpire the prestigious Cape Cod League finals
* good enough to umpire a Red Sox spring training game (with Curt Schilling on the mound)
* good enough to be appointed Umpire-in-Chief for U.S.A. baseball
* good enough to be picked for UIC at Babe Ruth Softball World Series in 2001
* good enough to be umpire-in-chief for the IBA – International Baseball Association
* good enough to win a state championship first as a baseball player & then as the baseball coach at the same high school
* good enough to umpire in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona Spain & the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga.
* good enough to receive state and/or national awards for their special capabilities, not to mention induction into halls of fame
The Impact of Our Mentors
For this to happen, our respective roots have no doubt been “influenced” by some extremely gifted mentors…and we certainly have had our share. Twenty-three to be exact.
Reading through our members’ statements will reveal exactly how influential these men were…how important these men have been to our individual lives…and how that influence has served us well.
What Have We Learned From Them?
creativity – intensity – clean sportsmanship skills improvement – respect – self-control – responsibility discipline – personality – demeanor – style – team building – camaraderie – never quitting – working with others – humility – patience – accomplishing a common goal accepting the challenge – how to deal with adversity – development of a love/passion for the game – striving to be the best you can be – how to contribute your own skills to your team – and, my personal favorite, understanding that not everyone is an athlete
Members + Sports = Friendships
Every one of us has experienced both highs and lows as we’ve played, coached, and/or officiated sports, but the most important thing that our involvement in sports has brought us has been friendships – as stated beautifully through the words of three of our members:
“…how important the friends that I have made through sports have become in my life”
“…the fact that I’ve made so many friends over the years playing in various rec leagues after school & after military years”
“The best part is all the people we met & the friendships created along the way that will last forever.”
Forming a bond of friendship through sports remains the “chief” reason we’re still in existence more than two decades later.
The following are the highlights of our personal athletic careers.
14 members have been players on and/or coaches of state championship teams & 5 have been inducted into their school’s athletic hall of fame
* winning the state championship as a coach & player in baseball at the same high school
* getting up to bat
* struck out 21 batters in a legion game
* playing baseball for sweeney post during high school
* winning class l baseball championship (’61), pitching a no-hitter in american legion, winning American Legion district championship with Jutras Post
* winning state baseball championship (’87)
* induction into SNHU Hall of Fame (soccer)
* winning 4 Tri Mountain League baseball championships (Milford Orioles)
* winning 1 Tri Mountain League basketball championship (Ryder Mixers)
* winning 1 modified softball state championship (wilton terriers)
* being a player on 2 championship teams (Saddle Brook LL & Saddle Brook Babe Ruth)
* pitching the first 2 no-hitters in the history of Laconia LL baseball & being captain of the Plymouth State College baseball team as we won the NH Small College Baseball Championship and were inducted as a team into the PSC Hall of Fame
* being one of the founding members of NH School of Accounting and Commerce (now SNHU) basketball team and its first captain.
* staying healthy
* intercepting three passes in one game
* selected to NH All-State football team
* co-captain of my high school’s undefeated football team
* winning many tennis tournaments in doubles with my partner
* high school soccer playoffs, coaching junior high basketball team to three championships
* YMCA house league championship
* pitching batting practice for the Boston Braves – then the Red Sox grabbed me & sent me to Vermont to play in the equivalent of “A” ball where I won 15 games my first year there.
* owning a hockey team and going to the finals of the Memorial Cup in Canada
Our Playing Days
Our members have been or still are participating in 16 different sports
baseball football hockey basketball
track soccer softball volleyball
tennis golf pool ping pong
fishing bowling skiing wrestling
The following people were the most memorable/impacting coaches that we ever played for:
23 different coaches influenced 24 different members
Frank Vieira – John “Doodie” Healey – Nick Gabardina – Jimmy Copadis – Jim Haley – Hubie McDonough Sr – Norton Tuffy Phelps – Dick Lynch – John King – Mr. Truex – Woody Stone – Soc Bobotas – Wally O’brien – Archie Allen – Bill Hall – Jim McKenna – Tom Ebol – Matty Stemka – Charles Quinn – Steve Gordon – Larry Mitchell – Tom Padden – Hubie McDonough Jr
And this is how they impacted us:
* His fatherly influence and teaching the importance of clean sportsmanship.
* Taught me how to be respectful and responsible
* Taught me how to play and be disciplined in baseball and basketball
* Taught us discipline and built my character
* He, along with my dad, taught me fielding & provided me with batting tips
* He taught me discipline
* His love & passion for the game & how he used that love to encourage the youth of laconia
* Life lessons he taught us thru sports
* His demeanor
* His patience
* Never give up and don’t bitch all the time
* His knowledge of the game and his ability to communicate with his players.
* His toughness, fairness, and competitiveness
* He was the only one who believed in me as a player
* Made us play sports at recess then put teams together – teams that competed against other city schools (baseball-basketball)
* Taught me how to play improve my skill as a pitcher, respect my teammates, and still have
fun doing it
* Taught us to control what we can control and to play and not disrespect others including the officials. it was always respect, respect, respect…
To give you readers an idea of the “inside” of our careers as players, officials and coaches, a number of our members have volunteered to share their “experiences”.
For instance:
“The play I’ll never forget.”
“Something a player or coach said to me that I’ll never forget.”
“The greatest heartbreak I ever experienced as a coach.”
“The most important thing I learned from sports & how it affected me.”
“The biggest blunder I ever made as a coach.”
In fact, that’s exactly what it’s called “Experiences” of the NH Dunk-N-Diamonds.
Look for them in coming issues of MIL.
All that and more, thanks to three talented officials, Ray Valliere, Fred Jasinski, and Tom Monson, who “created” the Diamonds – and BTW – each of whom were damn good athletes during their playing days.
Ted Menswar Jr. is a life-long resident of the Queen City and a retired member of the English Department of Memorial High School who has been involved in local sports for 70 years as a player, a coach, a mentor and a fan. He can be reached at tedmenswar@outlook.com