Woodstock baseball community remembers 20-year-old who died in canoe accident
Northeast Connecticut is mourning the loss of 20-year-old Dominick Tocci, the College of the Holy Cross student from Woodstock who lost his life after his canoe capsized in Lake Hayward in East Haddam over the weekend.
Now, amid tragedy, the Quiet Corner baseball community is looking to honor one of their own in a big way.
“He could lift up a team with his spirit, with his energy,” said Mike Sampson, one of Tocci’s former baseball coaches. “He’s the type of kid you want to be around.”
“His personality is enormous,” said Patrick O’Brien, another former coach of Tocci’s.
The coaches, who have known Tocci since his T-ball days, are encouraging the community to honor Tocci Thursday by putting a jersey, bat, glove, or hat outside their front door.
“To honor Dom, his love of baseball, and really what a great kid he was,” Sampson said.
“We have kids the same age and we can’t imagine going through what the family is going through,” O’Brien said.
The coaches say Tocci brought leadership and enthusiasm to the field every day and is most known for his humor in and out of the dugout. They say he could turn any game around and remembered one time they put him in as a pitcher during game where they were losing by a lot.
“His flair, his enthusiasm… he just turned the whole team around. The kids were frustrated and upset and all of a sudden, they’re cheering Dom, and having fun and laughing,” sSampson said.
As the community heals, the coaches say Tocci’s legacy will always be alive at the Woodstock Little League field. If future players want to embody his spirit, the coaches say players can smile big, laugh often, and love the game.
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