WASHINGTON, Conn. – It’s a truism in sports that you don’t want to be the coach who replaces a legend. Yet Dave Werkhoven not only replaced the man who built the Shepaug baseball program, he became an icon in the community in his own right.
And he began creating his own legacy under the most trying of circumstances.
When Werkhoven had to take the helm of the Spartans late in the 1984 season, it was immediately following the death from cancer of Ted Alex, his mentor, neighbor, best friend and the man whose name already adorned the storybook ballpark in Washington Depot.
“Coach Werkhoven had big shoes to fill and he more than did that,” said Mike Kersten, a catcher on Werkhoven’s early teams and a Shepaug assistant coach for many years. “He carried the torch of Coach Alex, and he made his own history.”
Werkhoven died of a stroke Tuesday, Nov. 3. He was 80.
In one regard, Werkhoven even outdid Alex, winning three Class S state championships to Alex’s two. Like Alex, he won more than 300 victories in his 20 years as head coach, finishing with a record of 342-103 to go with nine Berkshire League titles.
“When Mr. Alex passed, it had to be a challenge to pick it up and carry it forward,” said Scott Werkhoven, who succeeded his father as head coach in 2005. “But it was always about this is the way Ted did it and this is how we’re going to keep doing it.”
A native of Ellington, Werkhoven arrived at Shepaug in 1970 with his new wife, Susan, to teach chemistry and biology. They expected to stay only a year or two, but instead spent a lifetime.
Alex enlisted Werkhoven as an assistant coach at their first meeting. He also lined up the young couple with the house across the street from his, which was a strategic decision in more ways than one: The Werkhovens became convenient baby-sitters for Alex and his wife Ruth’s five children.
In their 15 seasons together, Shepaug won state titles in 1973 and ’83. After Alex, who finished with 385 victories and 16 BL titles in 28 seasons, died on the eve of the 1984 state tournament, Werkhoven, assisted by Gerry Carbone, ran the team in the postseason. He took over as head coach the following spring.
“The first three or four years, I’m sure he felt enormous pressure,” said Gary Alex, Ted’s son. “He would joke himself, ‘Well, I may have screwed that one up.’ But you’re not an assistant for 15 years without learning something.”
Werkhoven not only taught the same brand of baseball, but the same code of conduct.
“He was an extension of Coach Alex, not only in winning, but in doing things the right way. You wear your uniform correctly; you take the field the right way. You win with humility; you lose with grace,” Kersten said. “He had a quiet intensity. He would dispute a call, but he never crossed the line. I don’t recall him ever swearing or using profanity.”
Shepaug won its first state title under Werkhoven in 1987, beating Ansonia in the final, 2-1.
“We didn’t have any Berkshire League all-stars,” said Scott Werkhoven, a sophomore that year. “It was just a bunch of guys willing to do the little things that needed to be done. It didn’t matter who got the credit. That’s something Mr. Alex and my father stressed.”
The Spartans nearly repeated the next year, falling to Portland, 4-1, in the final. And they nearly went back-to-back in 1995 (beating Lyman Memorial in the final 6-1) and 1996 (losing to Derby in the final 8-5). Werkhoven’s final state championship came over Cromwell, 2-1, in 1999. He retired as both teacher and coach following the 2004 season.
“He was never braggadocio,” Gary Alex said. “It was always about the kids.”
After his retirement, Shepaug dedicated the home dugout at Ted Alex Field to Werkhoven, affixing a plaque that honors his 342 victories. Just because he wasn’t head coach anymore, that didn’t mean he stayed away from the diamond or stopped helping youngsters learn the game.
“He coached my father, me and my son,” said Shepaug assistant coach Jason Conway. “He was a great role model to all of us. We’ve been fortunate to have his influence for three generations.”
“His presence was felt almost as much after he was head coach,” said Shepaug athletic director Matt Perachi. “My sons knew him very well, and they didn’t play for him. They played for Scott.”
Werkhoven’s death occurred with Shepaug already grieving the loss of another local legend, Ray Reich, a longtime assistant baseball coach and team scorekeeper, who died Oct. 20 at 88.
It was also one last, closing tie to the original legend: Werkhoven passed on Ted Alex’s birthday.
“How fitting is that,” Kersten said.
This article originally published at He replaced a Connecticut baseball legend. Then Dave Werkhoven built a legacy of his own.
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