The Catcher on the Hill
MSA's Catcher on the HIll sharing a laugh with pitcher.
The dugout at Farina Field is an animated and raucous scene during a Miller School baseball game. Players lean over the padded wall, shouting encouragement to teammates at bat, yelling at the opposing team’s pitcher, and engaging in back-and-forths with players on the other team. It's all in good spirit and adds to the pageantry of the game and the excitement of play.
One constant in the dugout is the magnanimous leader, Dom Cafferillo, pacing up and down the line of players, shouting encouragement and firing everyone up. He reminds onlookers of William Wallace in Braveheart or Russell Crowe in Gladiator, motivating the troops before battle—his leadership is palpable. Dom Cafferillo is a leader’s leader and might be one of the best leaders ever to play on Farina Field.
Major League All-Star and head coach of the Mavericks, Billy Wager, remarked, “Dom Cafferillo is a 100% worker. There isn’t anything he does 80%. He is one of the best leaders to wear a Miller School uniform I have ever coached.” That is high praise coming from a coach who has seen seven of his players drafted into the Major League and a steady stream go on to play at Division 1 college teams every season.
Dom Cafferillo became a Maverick in his junior year of high school after observing the Miller School baseball team’s success while playing in youth leagues and then as a freshman and sophomore. Once on the team, he established himself as a leader on the field as the starting catcher and off the field in all aspects of life on and off the Hill.
Dom commented, “I have learned that to be an effective leader, I must lead by example in everything that I do. It's not enough to encourage and guide my teammates on the field and in the weight room alone. A leader must try to support and inspire their peers to be the best version of themselves as a student, a community member, a son, a friend, and in any other aspect of life.”
Dom’s mature view on leadership and life, in general, has been shaped significantly by his coach. “Coach Wagner has taught me the importance of consistency in everything that I do. Whether that be on the field, in the classroom, or in how I communicate with others, having the desire to be excellent in every scenario is what breeds growth and success.”
This excellence and consistency have led Dom and the Mavericks to great achievements this season. The team won the BRAC and finished second in the state championship. Dom earned a scholarship to play varsity baseball at Georgetown University next fall, where he will study finance at the McDonough School of Business.
For Dom, being a leader and a great baseball player has taught him lessons that extend beyond the diamond. “Baseball has taught me how to embrace challenges and overcome any obstacles that I may face. It is a game of constant failure and disappointment, which has taught me how to effectively assess situations and make the necessary adjustments promptly. Like in baseball, challenges inevitably arise in life as well, and so having the ability to practice these habits through a game has helped me apply them to the real world.”
The dugout at Farina Field won’t quite be the same without the exemplary leadership of Dom Cafferillo, but there is no doubt that the example he has set over the past two years will inspire his younger teammates to find their own form of leadership and keep the dugout roaring.
