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Coach's Bio
George DeMaio Jr., better known to sports fans throughout the state as "The Coach", was born and raised in West Haven, CT. Coach attended West Haven High School, where he lettered in basketball and baseball. For his contribution to West Haven athletics, Coach was named Athlete of the Year in 1966. Coach proceeded on to Southern Connecticut State University where he helped found the University radio station. He graduated from SCSU in 1970 and received his Masters Degree in 1977 from Southern as well. From 1970 to 1974, DeMaio taught fifth grade at Thompson School in West Haven. In 1983, while working for Southern New England Telephone, DeMaio was hired by KC101/WAVZ as their Sports Director. It was here that DeMaio started his immense coverage of high school girls and boys athletics. "The Coach" has received numerous honors for his coverage of high school sports. Among them, honorary inductions into the Connecticut Scholastic and Collegiate Softball Hall of Fame in 1995, and The Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001. He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association for his work at North Haven and also received New Haven's Tap Off Club's Distinguished Service Award. Presently on News/Talk 960 WELI and ESPN Radio 1300, "The Coach" continues to give high school girls and boys the coverage he feels they deserve. He has orchestrated state-wide Friday night coverage of high school football in the fall on WELI for the past several years, including a radio record of all 68 scores of high school games on Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day in 2008. The Coach hosts Saturday high school football games, on ESPN Radio 1300, as well. Since 1997 he has covered basketball and hockey on ESPN Radio 1300. Of course, 960WELI gets daily coverage of high school athletics by "The Coach" throughout the school year. "The Coach" was involved in East Haven Biddy Basketball from 1979 to 1999. He has been a Little League and softball umpire. He was involved in Team Connecticut Girls AAU basketball from 1994 to 2001, coaching two teams to the National Tournament. He coached North Haven High School Girls Basketball as an assistant to his son Jeffrey for 10 years. He retired as an 8th Grade Social Studies teacher at East Haven Middle School in December 2008, "The Coach" resides in North Branford with his wife Brenda. He has 2 sons, Matthew and his wife Debbie and their daughter Rebecca living in Old Saybrook, and Jeffrey, who lives in Wallingford with his wife Cory and sons Samuel and Nathan. The Coach received the Gold Bat Award from the West Haven Twilight League in 2005
On September 27, 2007, "The Coach" was inducted into the New Haven Gridiron Club's Hall of Fame. In March of 2008, he was honored by the Connecticut Association of Athletic Directors with the Distinguished Service Award - Outside the Field of Athletic Administration. On March 13,2009, the Coach will receive the Alumni Appreciation Award from SCSU and on March 29th, he received the Chapter Merit Award from the Gene Casey/New Haven Chapter National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.
Coach George DeMaio holding the plaque he received at the Walter Camp Breakfast of Champions from the Walter Camp Football Foundation; the Coach was also the emcee for the event on January 16, 2010
Also, on November 3, 2008, Coach was honored by the March of Dimes as an Elm City Legend at the Omni Hotel in New Haven. |
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Regular Season Winding Down
Sunday 02-05-2012 10:39pm ET
Regular Season Winding Down
The regular season of girls and boys basketball and high school hockey are winding down. If
anyone thinks they can predict the winners in either sport is crazy. The parity among the teams in both sports is amazing. Teams are knocking each other off daily. I guess that will mean a great post season CIAC State Tournament.
In Hockey, Division I, Fairfield Prep seems to have a leg up on the other teams, but you never know. Division II and III are wide open and right now there are several teams who can make it to the Ingalls Rink in March.
The best part of the end of the regular season is how many big games are left, which teams are on the bubble, who needs 1 more win to get in, which team misses out by 1 game. The possibilities are endless - jump aboard 960WELI and we'll find out together. Not Much Change
Monday 01-23-2012 6:42am ET
Not Much Change
We are a little more than halfway through the hockey and basketball seasons and there hasn't been much change in the Top 10 Polls in any of them. It seems in HS Hockey even if a team loses, they stay in the Top 10. As a matter of fact, all 10 teams in the Poll are from Div. 1. Most of the time they're losing to each other. There are some teams with 3 losses in the Top 10. At 1 time, one newspaper had 2 Polls, a Div. 1 Poll and a Div. 2-Div. 3 Poll. Maybe we should do that again. After all there are some very good teams in those Divisions.
The same can be said for Girls and Boys Basketball. Basically, the same 10 teams, give or take 1 team, have been in the Poll all year. They just switch positions each week. Obviously, the only Poll that means anything is the Final Poll in March. And it doesn't matter if they finish in the Top 10 or not(because some teams that win State Championships will not) they'll have a State Championship and that - can't be taken away. A Busy Time
Monday 01-16-2012 7:01am ET
A Busy Time
This time of the year is a busy one in the sports world. The NFL Playoffs, NBA, NHL, College Basketball, College Hockey and of course High School Basketball and Hockey. The High School Hockey season has been wild. It seems this year is as unpredictable as ever. On any given day 1 team can knock off another and as the season progresses, it will be interesting to see which teams emerge as the front runners. Coaches will tell you it starts between the pipes. Which goalie will step up to the plate and take charge? The Road to Ingalls Rink in my mind is wide open in all 3 divisions.
In Basketball, the games continue to be close and exciting. Many times, the records of the teams don't seem to matter. The Road to the Mohegan Sun Arena is still open for many teams in both boys and girls.
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© 2012
