“Lay the smack down!”
“Sick-nasty!”
“Sweet Vincent Moses!”
To Sandy Baranowski, those are just terms and phrases she picked up playing sports while growing up in Manville. “Manville slang,” as she calls it.
To the players she’s coached on the Bridgewater-Raritan High School softball team for the better part of the past three decades, they’re B-isms — weird things ‘Coach B’ says.
And they keep a list.
“Smoke some balls!”
“Meat and potatoes!”
“Left side’s a vacuum!”
“Play loosey goosey!”
“Sweating like Wendel!”
But after 28 seasons at the softball helm and 31 at the school, this year’s Panthers team will be the last to track those B-isms, with Baranowski retiring as a teacher and stepping down as head softball coach at the end of this season.
She has been bringing her brand of fun to the Bridgewater-Raritan softball program since 1998. It’s positive, there’s nobody more enthusiastic, and she’s had a major impact on the players that have worn the Panthers uniform, even long after their high school years.
“Her dedication to the team, game, and community has shaped countless athletes and families,” said Katie Winchock, a 2017 BR grad who played for Baranowski for four years and has served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Panthers for the past three seasons. “Beyond her wins and titles, what I will remember the most are her hilarious, one-of-a-kind sayings, her constant belief in us, and the way she gave 100 percent of herself in every game, practice, and moment. Coach B is the heart of Bridgewater-Raritan softball and will leave a lasting impact.”
“You have good years and you have bad years, and you just try and do whatever you can to make that team better and to make them have fun. That’s the only (important) thing,” Baranowski said. “You don’t always know what some of these kids’ family situations are – and I know a lot that are not good – and I call (being on a team) my happy place. From 3 o’clock to 5 o’clock every day, this is where we all want to be.”
That feeling of belonging and being on a team is what first made Baranowski fall in love with sports.
She grew up in Manville, playing Little League with her brother on a team her father coached. She then played four years of softball and basketball at Manville High School, and even a year of field hockey before the program was cut. Playing point guard, she’s still the school’s all-time basketball scoring leader, and the shortstop is, arguably, the best softball player the Mustangs ever had.
Graduating Manville in 1986, Baranowski went on to play shortstop and bat cleanup for four years at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, before beginning her teaching and coaching career. She spent that first year substitute teaching and coaching freshman softball at Hillsborough and, two years later, was hired at Bridgewater-Raritan, where she coached hoops, field hockey and boys volleyball before being named the assistant softball coach in 1995. In 1998, she took over as head coach.
She enters state tournament play Wednesday, May 28, with a career record of 363-342 — two wins from tying former Bound Brook coach Steve Kania for second on Somerset County’s all-time wins list, behind Hillsborough’s Cheryl Iaione. Baranowski has won three Somerset County Tournament championships, including one in her first year as head coach, and she took her 2015 team to the Group 4 state championship game, falling 1-0 on an umpire’s questionable call at the plate.
She’s also twice been named Courier News Softball Coach of the Year.
“I’ve been playing (or coaching) sports since the fourth grade, being part of a team. And a team is the coolest thing anybody can be a part of,” Baranowski said. “You don’t go out and pick the kids that are on your team. You’re playing with your classmates. When I played Little League baseball, it was the coolest thing in the world. All of our friends played, we were all on different teams, and there was such a competitiveness, but it was so much fun. And I think that’s where I got this love for being part of a team.
“I was part of some really bad teams in high school and some really good teams. My basketball team my freshman year was 2-18 hoops (then won the county title her senior year), and we were terrible, but I loved it. I loved everything about it. The relationships and friendships you form, and they’ve lasted for a lifetime.”
And they certainly have. And that’s been the most special thing. Even with many of her former players. It’s been 28 years of relationships. Baranowski counts a host of former players as friends.
“Going to their weddings or baby showers, or being invited to go on vacation, or they’ll reach out when they’re down the shore and say, ‘Hey. Coach B. Let’s hang out or go for a beer.’ That’s just cool,” she said.
Lauren Nolan (nee Fitzsimmons) is the best pitcher to come through the program, certainly during Baranowski’s tenure. She threw a no-hitter as a senior in the 2008 Somerset County final and helped BR to the state sectional final, winning CN Player of the Year honors. She also served as Baranowski’s varsity assistant for several years and still helps out as a volunteer at times.
“Sandy Baronowski is more than a coach; she’s a mentor, a leader, and a friend,” Nolan said. “She has this incredible way of bringing people together, and she’s helped countless young female athletes navigate not just the game of softball, but also their formative years. Her career has been successful in every sense — not just in winning seasons — but in the number of lives she’s positively impacted. As a high school teacher and coach, that is the true measure of success, and Sandy embodies it completely.”
Baranowski’s not only impacted players, but with some joining the coaching ranks after their playing careers, the lessons they learned playing for her impact their players, as well.
Lindsay Durant played four years for Baranowski before graduating in 2008 and then played four years at Marist. She is in her fifth season as the head softball coach at South Amboy.
“Coach B made such an impact that I knew the only way to pay it forward was to become a varsity coach myself, to inspire and uplift the next generation of athletes,” said Durant, who is scheduled to lead her team against Shore in today’s Central Group 1 first round. “Softball is such a mental sport, and Coach B was a master at managing the emotional side of the game. One trait I try to emulate is her unwavering positivity — I honestly can’t remember a time when she wasn’t clapping, cheering, or lifting us up.
“While some coaches let frustration show — especially after mistakes — Coach B always made her players feel supported. That’s her superpower. She pushes athletes to improve while creating an environment of encouragement and quiet, timely correction. Her leadership continues to inspire the way I coach today.”
“Coaching has been the greatest thing in my life,” Baranowski said. “I was a good player, but, to me, this is so much more. It’s being the leader of a team and trying to get them to perform. You get who you get. Some years are down and some are up. But getting kids to believe in themselves, it’s been the most amazing thing.”
Baranowski has known since the start of last school year that this season would be her last. She said she would have continued coaching if not for a rule that doesn’t allow retiring teachers to stay on with their teams if they’re under 60-years old, but she’s at peace with her decision.
And as she gears her team up for one final postseason run — the Panthers will host Baringer in the first round of the North 2 Group 4 Tournament, scheduled for Wednesday — she said she has had moments where she’s stopped to take it all in.
“It’s been so fun, but it’s bittersweet and super emotional,” said Baranowski, whose final time representing BR will come in the Skyland Conference All-Star Game, June 17 at Diamond Nation. “Every now and then I take a step back (to take it in) or if I visit a certain school. (Bernards softball coach and friend) Leslie (O’Conner) named it the ‘Farewell tour,” and I’ve been using that phrase. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m having a lot of laughs everywhere I go.”
And while, of course, there will be so much she’ll miss, and she’s not really sure what retirement has in store for her, she’s sure of the one thing she definitely will not miss.
“Everyone I talk to, all my friends who have retired, everyone loves it. And I know I will,” Baranowski said. “But this is sort of the only thing I know. I have some plans, but the thing I’m looking forward to the most is not being woken up by the freaking alarm at 5:30 in the morning. I love work. I still love work. But I don’t ever want to set an alarm for the rest of my life.”
Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at Co*************@*ol.com. Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: Bridgewater-Raritan coach wrapping up 28-year career