Housatonic Sports Hall of Fame inductees announced

FALLS VILLAGE — Ten athletes and coaches will be added to the list of 60 already on the Housatonic Valley Regional High School Hall of Fame. This year’s ceremony will be held at the school on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. Admission to the ceremony is free. There will also be a luncheon that day ($10 per person).

Former Athletic Director, social studies teacher and longtime coach David Bayersdorfer will be among those honored at the ceremony. There is a great deal of continuity in sports at Housatonic, he noted.

“We have lots of family tradition here, with generations of families playing on teams throughout the decades,� Bayersdorfer said. “It’s great to recognize the accomplishments of our athletes, including the earlier ones. It’s great to honor all of them.�

Bayersdorfer, who served as coach and athletic director of the school from 1992 until this year, will be among the honorees at this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony.

The event is held on an irregular basis, with the last one held in 2003. Bayersdorfer said that the school’s Hall of Fame is unique because it not only honors star athletes, it also honors coaches and fans.

The names of the inductees will be inscribed on a Wall of Fame in the hallway of the school, which already has names of professional baseball players Steve Blass, John Lamb and Tom Parsons, all graduates of the high school.

This year’s inductees, who will join 60 others were inducted in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005 are:

• Jacques Tompkins, class of 1956, who played football, baseball and basketball. He progressed from junior varsity to varsity games because of his ability and intensity. He was the co-captain of the runner-up baseball state championship team and later played football at the University of Connecticut.

•Thomas Atkins, class of 1959, who played football, baseball and basketball for all four years he was at Housatonic. He was a natural athlete who eventually joined the Marines. He currently resides in Gresham, Ore.

•Robert Segalla, class of 1965, who played baseball and  led the cross-country team to an undefeated season and the Northwest Conference Championship in 1964. He was a baseball All-star and was captain of the championship team in 1965.

•Karen (Chinatti) Koutsoukos, class of 1973, who participated in field hockey, basketball and softball. In 1972, she was instrumental in promoting the high school soccer club to become one of Connecticut’s first girls high school soccer teams.

•Michael Dodge, class of 1979, who played football and basketball and participated in track. Dodge was a co-captain of the football team in 1978 and named Most Valuable Player that year. He played four years of football at Southern Connecticut State College, where he currently is the defensive coordinator of the team.

•Francis Perotti, class of 1983, who played football and baseball for all four years he was at Housatonic. He was the captain of both teams in his senior year and also named the co-Most Valuable Player for both teams. He played football for four years at Western New England College, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He has been a youth football coach for the past seven years.

• Kyle Stelma, class of 1991, who played football, baseball and was an alpine skier. Stelma was the starting offensive tackle on the undefeated 1990 football team. He attended West Point and graduated in 1995. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant and worked in military intelligence for the National Security Agency.

• Colleen Gregory, class of 1992, who played soccer, baseball and basketball. She was named Most Valuable Player in all three sports during her senior year. She played for four years at Eastern Connecticut University, receiving All-star recognition in basketball and baseball.

• Steven Dodge, class of 1994, who played football, basketball and baseball. He was named Most Valuable Player in all three sports. In football, he holds most career touchdowns and pass records at the high school. He also has the record for longest field goal, 43 yards. He is a member of the 1,000-point club in basketball. He holds a strikeout record in baseball of 396 strikeouts and pitched three no-hitter games.

• David Bayersdorfer, coach and athletic director for the high school. Bayersdorfer started coaching at the high school in 1977 as an assistant football coach and varsity golf coach. His golf teams won six straight Berkshire League titles. He coached varsity basketball for eight years, during which his teams won 108 games. As athletic director, he brought boys and girls volleyball, alpine skiing and swimming to the school. He is still a full-time social studies teacher at the school.

The Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. at the high school in the Henry Burgess Auditorium. A luncheon will be held before the ceremony at noon in the cafeteria.

Luncheon tickets may be purchased for $10 per person and may be ordered by writing to: HVRHS Hall of Fame, 246 Warren Turnpike Road, Falls Village, CT 06031. Admission to the ceremony is free.