ADSL executive director Joe Cloherty, right, with longtime coach Jim Collyer at Town Field.

By Jackie Gentile
Special to the Reporter

He's a busy man, but ADSL Executive Director Joe Cloherty makes the time (and arrangements for field locations, equipment, meetings with coaches, etc.) for local athletes to play the sports they love.

For almost two years, Cloherty has run the ADSL as a full-time staff member at the program's Fields Corner headquarters on Dorchester Ave. He has also connected kids with other Boston area sports leagues through his recreation unit position at the Boston Centers for Youth and Family on Tremont St.

"It's a challenge to balance both things," he said. " It's very rewarding…basically daily, I'm working with kids." From office tasks to catching games on the field, Cloherty does it all, but emphasizes the importance of the children.

"The satisfaction we see on the kids' faces &endash; that pretty much determines if we're doing a good job," he says.

Cloherty himself was first exposed to the ADSL when he was a kid playing baseball, which prepared him for high school hardball. He came back to the program as a volunteer and then, when the position opened up, served as acting director and eventually executive director. Of his fairly new position, he said, "It's a great learning process. Working with these kids, I learn even more."

Cloherty also coaches when a fill-in is needed.

"It keeps me young and in shape for one thing," he mentioned with a laugh. "I feel like a kid."

On Saturday, June 24, Cloherty and former commander of C11, Capt. Frank Armstrong, were awarded the Pope's Hill Neighborhood Association Persons of the Year for their outstanding service to the community.

"It was an honor, it truly was," Cloherty said. "The show of support was amazing &endash; my friends, my entire family."

The McKone Street block party, hosted by PHNA, featured not only the awards, but also a smorgasbord of food and pony rides. "I wanted to go on one of those, but my niece went instead," Cloherty kidded.

With the baseball season in full swing and occasional weeks of rain, many ADSL games were postponed, making it difficult for the rest of the season.

"It's a very challenging year in that respect," said Cloherty. "It's a lot of phone calls, let's put it that way," he laughed. The kids, he said, also suffer from the torrential downpours because games need to be rescheduled to later, and possibly hotter or rainier, dates.

With the coaching staff usually out on the fields around Dorchester in the afternoons, Cloherty and his office staff take care of morning chores that include day-to-day tasks and others such as balance sheets, quotes, equipment orders, and checking in with vendors. Meetings are also sprinkled into both the morning and afternoon regiments. In the afternoons, one can also find Cloherty on the fields, sometimes in the coaching position.

"All the emotions and frustrations of the office, it gives me a chance to unwind," he said of being able to wear different hats as coach and physically get on the field. "God knows the kids need an outlet…it keeps them off the streets," he said.

With the help of his staff, which includes baseball coach Jim Collyer, Cloherty stresses the importance of academcs. A wall of fame that is dedicated to ADSL alums who went on to become teachers, scientists, doctors, and lawyers hangs in the office. Hiring college juniors and seniors as coaches allows the kids to learn about the delicate, but very important, balance between scholarship and athletics. There is a "wow" moment, Cloherty added, when the kids realize that it isn't all about the sport, but it takes the coaches' urging to guide them in the right direction.

"I've a great staff here and it helps immensely," he said.

Of course, it's always nice, too, when a local athlete makes good, as ADSL-alum Will Blaylock did when he was selected in the NBA by the Detroit Pistons last week.

The ADSL, founded in 1983, has expanded through the years and through collaborations with the city's programs, has grown to offer a substantial list of sports. Baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball are all available to local kids. In addition, the baseball league offers an ages 18 and up program for college players and former pros. Dorchester Youth Soccer is under the ADSL umbrella, as is Dorchester Youth Lacrosse, a sport that has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years for all playing levels (youth, high school, college, and professional). Dorchester Youth Lacrosse features various travel teams and usually plays at the Garvey Park.

Softball has expanded this year as well from one team of nine- to 12-year-olds to six teams this year. With a boost of 30 more players than last year, T-Ball is also on the rise, teaching younger children the ways of the diamond. Volleyball will kickoff its second year on July 18 and run through the end of August. For more information, visit theadsl.com.