THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Back home as Lakeland baseball coach

When work took him out of the coaching ranks after leading the Lake City High baseball team in 2012, Al Bevacqua knew at a certain point, he’d be back.

Where and when, that’s a different story.

Now, as his work has shifted again, coaching again is as good as any reason to get out of the house.

BEVACQUA, 45, was recently named the head baseball coach at Lakeland High, where he is a 1996 graduate.

“It’s very humbling to come back to my alma mater and be back home,” Bevacqua said. “I never thought I’d have a chance to fill that void again. I’m really excited for it.”

He was 29-39 in three seasons (2010-12) as head coach at Lake City, where he was an assistant coach for years before that. He played at North Idaho College for two years before transferring to NCAA Division I Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa.

Most recently, Al coached alongside his brother Tony, and nephew Mitch, for the Northern Lakes American Legion baseball program in 2016. Tony coached the Mountaineers in 2017.

His father, Tony Sr., was a longtime assistant baseball coach at NIC. He passed away in 2014.

His brother, Tony Jr., passed away on Jan. 31, 2022, due to complications from a brain tumor. He was 57.

“Losing both of them had a lot to do with me coming back to coaching,” Al Bevacqua said. “We’re a big baseball family and after losing my dad, it took a little bit to fill that hole in my heart. Then when my brother passed away, I just felt that I needed to get back into it eventually. This was an exciting opportunity that came up.”

Al’s wife, Colleen — also a Lakeland graduate — stepped down after 17 years as the Hawks' softball coach in 2021.

“We’re Hawks through and through,” Bevacqua said. “So this was something both of us felt that we needed to do. When I started coaching, my oldest son (Nate) was 2 years old and he’ll be a freshman next year and my youngest (Josh) is getting into sports as well.”

Al Bevacqua played on state baseball championship teams in 1993 and 1996 at Lakeland High under coach Ken Busch, and was an assistant coach at Lake City when the Timberwolves won the state 5A baseball title in 2007.

“I started as a freshman at Lakeland and each game since,” Bevacqua said. “It’s very humbling to have this opportunity to come back home.”

Within the past year, Bevacqua was promoted from his job at Nestle USA to a senior customer account specialist, which allows him to work from home instead of visiting stores.

“Part of the reason I left Lake City was because I was away so much,” Bevacqua said. “Now, I get to coach more.”

THE LAKELAND High product takes over for Jason Bradbury, who stepped down after 20 seasons in May.

“I always had my eye on coaching again, but my work schedule never really fit coaching to what I’d like,” Bevacqua said. “Coach Bradbury and coach Busch are going to be some hard acts to follow. Jason is such a class act. I’m just going to try to build on the traditions that have been built by both of those guys.”

Bevacqua is an assistant coach for the Lakeland football team, a position he's held for several years.

“It’s been nice coaching football and learning from coach (Tim Kiefer) and coach (Mike) Schroeder,” Bevacqua said. “Both approach it with different aspects to the game, and I’ve learned a lot from them too.”

But it’s always been baseball that was on his mind.

“It was kind of divine intervention really,” Bevacqua said. “It just felt like that was the path that I was supposed to follow right now. I’m going to try to make things as fun as I can and try to win games at the same time.”

At Lakeland, Bevacqua played three sports — basketball, football and baseball.

“We’ve been such a baseball family for years, and it was time for me to come out of retirement,” Bevacqua said. “And what better place to do it than here. I was in Erie in college and never thought I’d come back. Now, I’m married to a girl from here, who teaches at the high school and I’m back involved in the community right now. Coming back as the baseball coach, I haven’t had time to wrap my head around it yet. I’m excited to see if we can go out and compete and try to get back down to basics.”

Lakeland went 4-19 last season.

“We’re going to see what we come up with,” Bevacqua said. “I know some of the kids from football, but it’s going to be getting to know them in a different scenario. It’s kind of like having a blind date in the sports world.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.