WESTON—When the Weston High softball program lost its varsity coach following a three-win season, senior Sarah Lawler knew the perfect person to take over.
So, she asked her dad to apply.
Last week, Tim Lawler was offered the job and accepted, becoming the Trojans’ next head coach for his daughter’s final year.
“I was just standing back, watching her whole career,” Tim Lawler said. “I wasn’t that ex-coach who knew everything or was making waves. When (Sarah) heard the other coach was leaving, she talked to one of the other captains and she approached me and said she thought I should apply.”
What Weston athletic director Mark Berkowitz found in his new coach was a leader with the perfect demeanor and ideas in rebuilding the program.
The last time Weston made the state tournament was 2021 when it made the second round before losing to Watertown, 3-1.
“Tim is the perfect personality and coach for our program, and we’re excited to see how he can help continue to move this program forward,” Berkowitz said.
For about a decade and a half, as his children were growing up in town, Lawler served as a volunteer in a number of capacities with Weston Youth Baseball and Softball, including as a coach.
“It just started when my kids were super little,” Lawler said.
Lawler saw the number of players moving up the ranks but by the time they reached Weston High, numbers were down and some of the top players at the youth level never finished their varsity careers.
Fixing that disconnect between the town’s youth softball program and the varsity program is a high priority for him moving forward.
“I want to see this program continue on in a direction I thought it needed,” Lawler said. “I couldn’t put my finger on it (why players were leaving the sport once they got to high school), but one of my first moves now is to reconnect the programs and make them aware of each other and starting building for the future, from second and third grade on. I want kids to see they can have a future in softball.”
Some Weston High players have gone back to the youth level as coaches and umpires, but Lawler would like to see even more of his players do that in the future, as well.
Lawler grew up in Brewster, N.Y., attending John F. Kennedy Catholic Prep in nearby Somers, N.Y., where he played baseball and football.
Once his family settled in Weston and got involved in baseball and softball, Lawler gave time to his community and his kids’ teams.
“This opportunity just happened to be in the town I live and a town I love, so I just think it’s great,” Lawler said.
And he’ll also have an up-close look at this daughter’s final season as a Weston Trojan, as well.
Lawler has no plans of leaving Weston when his daughter does, however.
“I’m here to do it for as long as they’ll have me,” he said. “I loved doing it for the years I did at the youth level. I’ve always enjoyed it.”
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