Get to know Guilford baseball head coach Nick Merullo
GUILFORD, Conn. — Guilford High School varsity baseball Head Coach, Nick Merullo, is looking to have his second consecutive winning season in only three years with the Grizzlies. Nick is fourth in line of Merullo baseball royalty. His father, Matt, and great-grandfather, Lennie, both played professional baseball in the Major Leagues. Lennie played with the Cubs from 1941-1947 and Matt played for White Sox, Indians, and Twins in his respective career for six years.
“I was kind of born into the game as they say. As long as I can remember I was playing a sport. My dad retired when I was just 4 years old but I still have memories of spring training”. Nick states
Nick was always an active person from even a very young age. He played basketball in middle school, and football and baseball in high school. Yet would always find extra time to play some pond ice hockey when the weather permitted. However, baseball always came most naturally to Nick. As a Daniel Hand freshman in 2007, Nick became the starter on the varsity baseball team for the Tigers and held that position as a starter until he graduated in 2010. In his 4 years as a starter, Nick made 2x All-State and became an All-SCC player. At the same time that Nick was dominating baseball, he became the starting quarterback for the football team in 2008. He set records like most passing yards in a single game and is top three in Daniel Hand’s history for most passing yards in a career.
“Without a doubt playing both sports helped with the other. Baseball is a game of failure and football is such a team-oriented sport. I could’ve played football in college but I chose to play baseball instead”. Nick says
Nick then played baseball at James Madison University from 2011-2014 where he was a captain in his final year. After his career at James Madison, Nick played in the Minor Leagues for the Aberdeen IronBirds and the GCL Orioles. Nick knew his next chapter in life was to teach and coach. He became an assistant coach for his Alma mater Daniel Hand in 2015 and became a teacher in the Madison Public School system. Along with his assistant coaching, Nick became a trainer at Guilford’s BatterUp in 2019. A place for young athletes to get private training lessons from Nick himself.
“I think one of the few good things from COVID was the promotion of exercise with mental health. It helps channel the competitive energy, teaches hard work, how to handle failure, and even how to overcome some adversity”. Nick says
The Guilford varsity head coach job opened early in 2021 and Nick received the job in March of that year. Nick’s first year was a bit disappointing as the Grizzlies only won 2 games that year. However, after a full year under his belt, Nick helped the team improve to 10 wins and a playoff berth where they were able to win their first game against Masuk with a score of 4-1.
“Not many teams can improve to 10 wins from 2 like we did. We have some great players and kids that want to work hard” Nick states
Now coming off the team’s most successful year since Coach Merullo took over, they are looking to have their second consecutive winning season in the last three years.
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