DYBSA Proudly Honors Homegrown Coaches with Community Awards

Written by Paul Chanan, DYBSA Co-Director of Publicity

At its monthly board meeting on Wednesday, January 15th, DYBSA honored three of its veteran coaches and homegrown Warriors with its annual awards.

Current DHS Head Softball Coach Lara Ritchie and DHS Head Baseball Coach Mark Januszewski were awarded the DYBSA Community Impact Award while longtime travel baseball coach and former board member Mike Irvine was the recipient of the prestigious Harry Steindler Award for his dedicated volunteer service to DYBSA.

Following opening remarks from current DYBSA Commissioner Matt Goode, Past Commissioner and Co-Director of Publicity Paul Chanan presented the 2025 DYBSA Community Impact Awards to Ritchie and Januszewski.

Both varsity coaches reflected on their lifelong commitment to Deerfield baseball and softball, from their playing days to overseeing the next generation of young Warriors coming through the program.

"Forever cemented in my memory is a t-ball game, played on the field off of Pine Street," Ritchie recalled of her young playing days. "I remember hitting the ball and feeling the excitement of watching it fly out onto the field."

"I can remember being so excited when I crossed the plate," Ritchie added, "running straight over to my dad. That moment nearly 40 years ago sparked the love for a game that has continued to fill my life in so many ways. I cannot possibly put into words everything I have gained from being a part of DYBSA; lifelong friendships, the absolute thrill of competition, and today, the joy that comes from sharing my love of softball with the girls I have the privilege to coach."

Ritchie took over the DHS Varsity Head Softball Coach this offseason after spending the past six seasons in an assistant role with the team. Deerfield Softball has been the one constant in her life, playing for DYBSA in the late 80's, before starring at both DHS and DePaul University. Since her playing days, aside from her contributions back to DHS, Ritchie has also served on the DYBSA Board of Directors and coached at the travel level.

Entering his fifth season at the helm of the program he once played for, Januszewski finished his travel baseball career in 2000, and went on to play for DHS and Carthage College. After his playing days finished, he came back to coach in the DYBSA travel baseball program before taking the high school's baseball program.

"[DYBSA] is where I found my love for baseball and I still have great relationships with people who coached me," Januszewski recalled after the award presentation.

"Coach [Dan] Mayer was my first real coach and he taught me that you needed to work hard to get what you wanted in athletics. I respect him and appreciate everything he has done for DYBSA and DHS. I enjoyed my time playing and coaching with DYBSA and am very excited about the connection that DYBSA and DHS is building"

To conclude the award presentation, former DYBSA Commissioner Michael Danielewicz presented Mike Irvine with DYBSA's prestigious Harry Steindler Award, honoring the former coach and board member for his years of service to the Deerfield community.

Irvine starred for the Warriors both during his youth travel days all the way through high school, before he moved on to play club baseball for his beloved University of Kansas Jayhawks. Upon graduation, much like his former varsity teammate Januszewski, Irvine came back to coach in the DYBSA program and also at DHS.

Aside from coaching, Irvine also served on the DYBSA Board of Directors for many years, in a number of different roles, culminating in several years as Director of Fields, where he creatively spearheaded a number of critical field improvement projects that are still taking place in the current offseason.

"Throughout my coaching career, I've won many tournament championships and never kept any of the trophies because winning was always enough for me. This award is different as I had my kids with me this time. To have my kids see what making a positive impact in your community looks like, and to see the pride in their eyes of this accomplishment of mine, is a core memory I want to remember forever."