Still Coaching After All These Years

He's been one of the most successful high school baseball and volleyball coaches over the past 35 years. He was named the 1979 Connecticut High School Coaches' Association winner. However, even with a glowing resume, a state baseball championship, and Hall of Fame membership, Ed Bengermino is still involved with Fairfield Warde athletics.

This past season, Bengermino coached the Fairfield Warde freshmen boys' basketball team. His guidance was essential in helping to provide a solid foundation for the Mustangs' basketball program. The varsity squad finished the campaign winless in 20 contests, and it is still struggling following the split of Fairfield High School a few years ago.

"I thought, 'How in the world can a guy who was a head coach and AD (athletic director) be a JV coach?' He was tickled pink (to be able to coach again at Warde)," said former AWHS tennis coach and athletic director Ed Lominsky.

"Bengy" achieved tremendous success with his volleyball squads at Warde, which were perennial contenders in the highly-competitive Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference and in the state tournament. He was voted into the Connecticut Women's Volleyball Hall of Fame two years ago.

His legacy with the Warde baseball team was cemented with back-to-back Class LL state championship game appearances in 1981 and 1982, including the dramatic victory over Rockville to claim the crown in '81. The team dropped a heartbreaker to North Haven by one run in the title game the following year to prevent the squad from claiming back-to-back state championships. The Crimson Eagles won the FCIAC Eastern Division title in both 1981 and 1982.

Bengermino, who retired from his full-time post in 2005 and is one of the last links to our days at Andrew Warde High School, attended our 30th reunion last August. Bengermino remains one of the most recognizable faces in the history of Andrew Warde High School.

Share your memories of "Bengy" in the "comments" link below.

Paul

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