John Honey Named FCIAC Tennis Coach of the Year

The following was written by John Cannon for the June 22, 2007 edition of the Fairfield Citizen-News. You may contact Mr. Honey at jhoney@fairfield.k12.ct.us to congratulate him on his outstanding award.

Mr. Honey taught at Andrew Warde and Fairfield high schools on Melville Avenue for 37 years before moving to rival Ludlowe in 2004. Read my interviews with him (Part I and Part II) from last Fall.

John Honey has pretty much seen everything in his 35 years at the helm of Fairfield's high school boys tennis teams.

He has won state championships, Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC) championships, and even coached a player who went on to become a successful professional in James Blake.

But, until recently, one notch had always been missing from Honey's belt. He had never been named FCIAC Coach of the Year. That all changed two weeks ago, when a panel of coaches named him the recipient of this season's award after his Fairfield Ludlowe squad went 13-2 and won the Eastern Division. Even more impressive was the fact that the Falcons achieved such success without their star player, Eric D'Elia, who suffered a neck injury early in the season and missed every match.

"This award is all about the kids, and not about me," Honey said earlier this week. "They are the ones who played their hearts out and went 13-2 this season. Even after Eric went down, he stayed around and helped the team out and served as our captain all season. This award is about the kids we have on this team, and the work they did this season."

The Connecticut High School Coaches Association named Honey its Connecticut Boys Tennis Coach of the Year five years ago, but he said that the FCIAC award means more to him. Because it was voted on by a group of his peers, many of whom he has become close friends with over the years, Honey feels the FCIAC award holds more value.

"It gives you a great sense of how other coaches feel about you when they know you personally and give you an honor like Coach of the Year," he said. "It's really a great compliment. But I feel it's more an indication of the great talent and chemistry we have on this team."

Honey said that the 2007 Falcons team may have been the most talented squad he's coached in his 35 years at Warde, Fairfield, and Ludlowe high schools. Five players were named to the All-FCIAC team, and three players were given All-State honors. D'Elia, Chris Curran, Giancarlo Lemmi, Brendan Lane and Hayden Stebbins were named to the All-FCIAC team, while Curran, Lemmi and Chet Milot earned the All-State award. D'Elia was a unanimous All-FCIAC selection despite not playing a single match this season, the first time in the history of the conference a player received such a distinction.

Honey said that D'Elia's commitment to the team he attended every practice and was a vocal leader at every match is a perfect example of why he has continued coaching after so many years. The players are supportive, smart, committed and, most of all, enjoyable to be around.

"I'm really dealing with a great group of kids," he said. "The juniors and the seniors run the team, and they do an excellent job. I'm very hands-off in my approach, because the kids are all good kids and they don't need me imposing a bunch of rules on them. We practice hard, but we also keep things in perspective. I've only had one kid go pro in my 35 years here, so it is important for these guys to keep up their grades and lead balanced lives."

Honey said that he continues to stay in touch with Blake, the program's prized graduate whom he coached at the Fairfield Warde campus. Blake has been on the ATP Tour for nine years, winning nine singles titles and five doubles titles as a professional. He is currently ranked ninth in the world, but that doesn't stop him from looking up Honey every time he's in town.

"He's a phenomenal friend," Honey said. "Whenever he's around we'll go out for a coffee or he'll stop by the school to chat for a little while. It's fun to see him because he's a great young man, and I'm very close with his family. He causes a little chaos when he comes by the school all the kids will cut class and mob him for his autograph but it's always great to see him."

Honey says that Blake's desire to look the coach up when he returns to Fairfield is what he defines as a successful relationship with a player. He doesn't want to be an overbearing coach and doesn't think he is but he wants to be fun and let the kids enjoy the sport of tennis without stressing wins and losses.

"Some coaches are all about their records, and they'll maybe compromise some things to add a couple extra wins," Honey said. "For me, success is measured by the fact that kids are disappointed when the season ends. That's my criteria; I don't make the kids run excessively or anything. I just want them to have fun. Of course we want to be competitive, but I'm a teacher first and a coach second. A lot of coaches say that, but not all of them follow through on it."

Honey said that he has no plans to retire from coaching anytime soon. He has the whole routine of springtime teaching in the mornings, coaching in the afternoons down so well that he can't imagine what life would be like without it.

"I love these kids, and I don't even have to do much anyway," he said. "They run the team themselves, and they're all such great kids that I don't have to worry much about them. It's been a long time since someone didn't fit in on the team. They're a great team and a great group of guys, and I love coaching them. It's a pleasure, it really is."

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