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Where are they Now? - Jenn Piazza Laffin
4/12/2020 6:34:00 PM | Softball
Jenn Piazza Laffin wasn't an athlete but the athlete at Lyman Hall High School in Connecticut. A five-sport star, Piazza Laffin led her softball team to a Class LL State Championship as a freshman and won Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior.
Those lofty accomplishments earned Piazza Laffin a basketball scholarship to the University of New Hampshire in 2001.
But soon after arriving to Durham, New Hampshire, Piazza Laffin knew she needed a change. Piazza Laffin missed the warm weather she "fell in love with" on cross-country trips with her AAU basketball team. And she wanted to return to her "fun" sport, softball, as basketball was always her "serious" sport.
"Back in New Hampshire, I missed softball," Piazza Laffin said. "I missed the warm weather, getting outside. And I picked up the phone [to call Florida Atlantic University] and was like, 'Can I play softball?' Because I knew FAU was looking at me the year prior."
Piazza Laffin transferred to FAU ahead of the 2002 softball season, finding the sport and sunshine she desired. Leaving New Hampshire, a "great" school, wasn't easy for Piazza Laffin, but she knew it was the right move from the moment she stepped foot in FAU Softball Stadium.
"You go to FAU and you're standing in the outfield and you've got the palm trees next to you," Piazza Laffin said, "it's great."
Piazza Laffin's impact on the Owls was as great. The infielder's first season with the team, in 2002, was its best ever: 62-13, 16-2 Atlantic Sun. FAU won the ASUN Tournament Championship and made the NCAA Tournament in three of her four seasons (she earned ASUN Tournament MVP honors in 2003).
The Owls' softball program was under a decade old during Piazza Laffin's run but was already a powerhouse with seven ASUN Tournament Championships to its name. Being a part of that growth, and playing under legendary coach Joan Joyce, made a lasting impact on Piazza Laffin.
"Playing in this program, you really have to uphold the traditions and the work ethic," said Piazza Laffin, whose mother was Joyce's softball teammate in the 1960s.
A criminal justice major, Piazza Laffin graduated from FAU in 2005 and returned to Connecticut. She then pursued teaching and coaching because "I love kids and I love to play," taking classes to qualify. Piazza Laffin eventually spent time as a softball head coach at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School and basketball/softball assistant at her alma mater, Lyman Hall High.
In 2014, Piazza Laffin left Lyman Hall – which "felt like home" – to become the softball coach at Mercy High, one of the top teams in the state and her former school's rival.
"In the beginning, I had to come to terms that I'm at a new school, this is who I am now," Piazza Laffin recalled thinking. "I'm a Tiger now.
"It was a little intimidating in the beginning, but then as you get to know the girls, I'm like, 'These girls aren't the ones we perceived them to be back in high school.' We're all the same," Piazza Laffin added. "All the girls are the same. They wanted to compete, they wanted to do their best and it became really, really fun."
Fun equated to success for the Tigers. Piazza Laffin's team reached the State Tournament multiple times during her five-year tenure, advancing as far as the third round. Mercy, which Piazza Laffin began to consider "my team," played Lyman Hall in 2019 and won both games.
Piazza Laffin developed into an excellent coach at Mercy but recognizes she didn't do so alone. Joyce and former FAU assistant John Stratton, she says, helped mold her to that level.
"Their knowledge of the game is just unbelievable, and that I think is what I took most from FAU," Piazza Laffin said. "Because now, as a coach, I get to pass that on to the kids I coach."
After five years at Mercy, Piazza Laffin left to spend more time with her children: 12-year-old J.J., 10-year-old Liam, seven-year-old Hunter and one-year-old Payton.
But Piazza Laffin is more than Mom to J.J.; she's Coach. This past fall, Piazza began working with his "elite" AAU baseball club, the Connecticut Bombers. Piazza Laffin says the job is a great fit: She gets to follow her passion and watch her son develop in the sport he loves simultaneously.
"I'm still coaching, I'm still able to pass on my knowledge of the game and everything," said Piazza Laffin, who coaches the Bombers' outfielders. "But I'll be able to see my kid play, so I'm excited about that."
Piazza Laffin's athletic résumé, from claiming Connecticut Player of the Year in high school to winning three conference championships at FAU, is tough to follow. But with all three of Piazza Laffin's sons already competing in baseball with or against each other, they're in the perfect environment to follow suit. Â
"All three of them, to be able to see them all grow as baseball players, it's wonderful to see," Piazza Laffin said.
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Those lofty accomplishments earned Piazza Laffin a basketball scholarship to the University of New Hampshire in 2001.
But soon after arriving to Durham, New Hampshire, Piazza Laffin knew she needed a change. Piazza Laffin missed the warm weather she "fell in love with" on cross-country trips with her AAU basketball team. And she wanted to return to her "fun" sport, softball, as basketball was always her "serious" sport.
"Back in New Hampshire, I missed softball," Piazza Laffin said. "I missed the warm weather, getting outside. And I picked up the phone [to call Florida Atlantic University] and was like, 'Can I play softball?' Because I knew FAU was looking at me the year prior."
Piazza Laffin transferred to FAU ahead of the 2002 softball season, finding the sport and sunshine she desired. Leaving New Hampshire, a "great" school, wasn't easy for Piazza Laffin, but she knew it was the right move from the moment she stepped foot in FAU Softball Stadium.
"You go to FAU and you're standing in the outfield and you've got the palm trees next to you," Piazza Laffin said, "it's great."
Piazza Laffin's impact on the Owls was as great. The infielder's first season with the team, in 2002, was its best ever: 62-13, 16-2 Atlantic Sun. FAU won the ASUN Tournament Championship and made the NCAA Tournament in three of her four seasons (she earned ASUN Tournament MVP honors in 2003).
The Owls' softball program was under a decade old during Piazza Laffin's run but was already a powerhouse with seven ASUN Tournament Championships to its name. Being a part of that growth, and playing under legendary coach Joan Joyce, made a lasting impact on Piazza Laffin.
"Playing in this program, you really have to uphold the traditions and the work ethic," said Piazza Laffin, whose mother was Joyce's softball teammate in the 1960s.
A criminal justice major, Piazza Laffin graduated from FAU in 2005 and returned to Connecticut. She then pursued teaching and coaching because "I love kids and I love to play," taking classes to qualify. Piazza Laffin eventually spent time as a softball head coach at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School and basketball/softball assistant at her alma mater, Lyman Hall High.
In 2014, Piazza Laffin left Lyman Hall – which "felt like home" – to become the softball coach at Mercy High, one of the top teams in the state and her former school's rival.
"In the beginning, I had to come to terms that I'm at a new school, this is who I am now," Piazza Laffin recalled thinking. "I'm a Tiger now.
"It was a little intimidating in the beginning, but then as you get to know the girls, I'm like, 'These girls aren't the ones we perceived them to be back in high school.' We're all the same," Piazza Laffin added. "All the girls are the same. They wanted to compete, they wanted to do their best and it became really, really fun."
Fun equated to success for the Tigers. Piazza Laffin's team reached the State Tournament multiple times during her five-year tenure, advancing as far as the third round. Mercy, which Piazza Laffin began to consider "my team," played Lyman Hall in 2019 and won both games.
Piazza Laffin developed into an excellent coach at Mercy but recognizes she didn't do so alone. Joyce and former FAU assistant John Stratton, she says, helped mold her to that level.
"Their knowledge of the game is just unbelievable, and that I think is what I took most from FAU," Piazza Laffin said. "Because now, as a coach, I get to pass that on to the kids I coach."
After five years at Mercy, Piazza Laffin left to spend more time with her children: 12-year-old J.J., 10-year-old Liam, seven-year-old Hunter and one-year-old Payton.
But Piazza Laffin is more than Mom to J.J.; she's Coach. This past fall, Piazza began working with his "elite" AAU baseball club, the Connecticut Bombers. Piazza Laffin says the job is a great fit: She gets to follow her passion and watch her son develop in the sport he loves simultaneously.
"I'm still coaching, I'm still able to pass on my knowledge of the game and everything," said Piazza Laffin, who coaches the Bombers' outfielders. "But I'll be able to see my kid play, so I'm excited about that."
Piazza Laffin's athletic résumé, from claiming Connecticut Player of the Year in high school to winning three conference championships at FAU, is tough to follow. But with all three of Piazza Laffin's sons already competing in baseball with or against each other, they're in the perfect environment to follow suit. Â
"All three of them, to be able to see them all grow as baseball players, it's wonderful to see," Piazza Laffin said.
Â
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