Don LaValley
Office Phone: (413)-265-2433
Office E-mail: lavalleyd@elms.edu

Don LaValley was instrumental in launching Elms College's baseball program in 2003 and was its first coach. During his first three seasons at the helm, he has successfully recruited players from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Florida.

Under his leadership in 2007, the Blazers tied for fourth place in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) standings to earn the program's highest finish in its three-season history.

Coach LaValley has nearly 20 years of coaching experience, including stints at Chicopee High School, Holyoke Community College (HCC), and UMass-Amherst. In 1987, he led the HCC team to a ranking as high as second among New England junior colleges, and to the New England Junior College championship game.

He has also worked as both a high school and collegiate umpire for more than 20 years, and believes that experience will continue to serve him well at Elms College.

"Umpiring has allowed me to develop patience and better learn all facets of the game," Coach LaValley said. "My coaching style has always been to push fundamentals. We're going to do the little things: hit the cutoff men, throw to the right places, run the bases, and put pressure on defenses to make plays."

A native of Chicopee, Massachusetts, Coach LaValley was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) baseball umpire, and he currently serves several community organizations, including the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club. He is also a member of the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) and serves on the NEIBA all-New England committee. In addition to his coaching duties, he owns a business in Chicopee.

Coach LaValley studied physical education at Norwich University in Vermont, and played two collegiate seasons there during the early 1980s.