Balance and Camaraderie

Patrick Boen ’89, the head coach for the Stonehill baseball team, cemented his 600th career win in a 17-6 victory over Bloomfield College on March 8. This monumental statistic only begins to tell the story of Boen’s dedication to Stonehill and his players.

Boen first came to the College in 1985 as a basketball recruit from Brockton High School. He chose to attend Stonehill because the basketball coach encouraged him to play baseball in addition to his main sport. Shortly after graduation, Boen accepted a job as an assistant athletic director in the College’s Athletic Department with the hope that his position might lead to a full-time coaching job. In 1997, he was hired as the baseball coach and has never looked back.

Boen attributes his record of excellence to his players. “We recruit athletes who have Stonehill’s best interest at heart,” he says. “My teams have been successful because the players buy into a culture of hard work and dedication. We work together to build character and set priorities: family and friends, school and academics and of course, baseball.”

Although Boen considers himself a naturally competitive person, he works to instill a sense of balance in his players. The college baseball season, which runs from September to May, can feel like a grind at times. “I motivate my players by making practice interactive and enjoyable for everyone,” Boen says. “It’s important to keep the guys loose and help them to appreciate the four years that they have to play on a team.”

Boen admits that the players from his early career might find his current coaching philosophy “soft” in comparison. His teams in the 1990s and early 2000s used to practice six days a week, starting at 6 a.m. In particular, he laughs as he recalls the time when he made his team come to that early morning practice on the Monday after the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2001. “I don’t think I would do that anymore,” he admits. As Boen has learned, it’s the balance and the camaraderie—rather than the intensity—that keep his teams running.