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Kirk Gordon's sport was football. You'd never know it by the way he coaches Mathews Restoration team in the Norwalk Little League.
Gordon, 42, played defensive back at Southern Connecticut State University after a high school career at Truman in the Bronx. He also played after college in Canada. He moved to Norwalk in 2002, and has been coaching Little League in Cranbury and Norwalk. His 8-year-old son, Kyle, plays for his Mathews Restoration team.
"Games like this are what I enjoy about it,'' Gordon said after a dramatic extra innings victory when I asked him what he likes about coaching. "To see the change in these kids, to see their development is rewarding."
Gordon's team is comprised of players ages 8-10. There is a diversity of skills in the players, but he loves teaching the game. "We love the fact that we can get a kid who never played the game and get something out of him by the end of the season,'' Kirk says.
Before devoting his attention full-time to football, Gordon also played baseball. "Maybe at my size, I should have played baseball,'' Kirk laughs. He enjoys teaching the game, but he also builds a great rapport with the kids. "It's the best thing in the world,'' Gordon says. "Especially at this age. Maybe when they get a little older it'll be different, but for now, it's a great age."
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