To the Lego Family:
It is with great sadness and heartache that the Hargadon (Joe, Casey, Kelli, Sonny and Jayda) and the Pierdomenico (Annette, Alyssa, Katie, Nikki and Ryan) families offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Lego family for the loss of Tom---aka Coach Lego. Words alone will never be able to capture and reflect the full impact that Coach Lego had on our lives.
I (Joe) first met Coach Lego when Tom coached Casey's sister (my daughter) Kelli in the upper division at Brookhaven Girls Softball (BGS). Kelli simply loved Coach Lego and his wife Loretta, who took Kelli under her wing while she was a student at Widener University where Loretta worked in the Career Services office at that time.
Coach Lego had such a patient, caring and easy-going personality that all of the girls who played for him truly adored and respected him.
In 2004, Jim Lapera, the Commissioner of BGS asked me to coach a newly formed U12 travel team for BGS. I emphatically told Jim, I would ONLY do so if Tom Lego would coach with me. Jim was thrilled when Tom agreed and as fate would have it our U12 Brookhaven HERicanes won the championship in 2004 with a record of
16 -1.
Once again Tom was loved by all the players, fellow coaches and parents. Casey was particularly close to Coach Lego as he regularly took the time to talk to her calmly and gently since her father (Joe) was extremely tough on her. In 2005 my girlfriend Annette started to help with the team and her daughters Alyssa and Katie became members of the HERicanes.
We coached together for four years and have stayed in touch even after we moved on from coaching.
We all learned many things from Coach Lego and some of his classic softball expressions were:
"Ball in the sky, hands held high" (when preparing to catch a fly ball)
"You dance with the girl you brought to the dance" (you go with the pitcher who got you to the playoffs)
"The game is for the players, practice is for the coaches." (This is where we have a chance to teach)
Coach Lego also taught us how important it is to stress the fundamentals and to always make sure the girls are having fun when they played. He always wanted to see them smiling and enjoying themselves---winning a game was never most important to Coach Lego. Making a young lady feel more confident and at ease is what mattered most to him.
Coach Lego and Loretta also helped our family so very much when Kelli passed away in 2009 and they both took a close personal interest in Kelli's daughter Jayda through the years. We are all forever grateful for their compassion, support and love.
Tom also had a humorous side that endeared us to him. One instance in particular stands out for me. In our second season of coaching I (Joe) met Annette and our first date was on a Friday evening and the HERicanes had practice on the next day. I met Annette when I helped her with her taxes. I shared that information with Tom when he asked me how the first date went and he said " I hope she filed the 1040 long from and not the short form". We laughed together as she did actually file the long form which made for a longer and wonderful date. Whenever I would run into Tom he would always ask, "how is Ms. Long Form doing?".
Coach Tom Lego is first class personified. He made everyone feel special and valued in his presence which is a wonderful legacy. We love him and will miss him dearly, We hope that knowing he is reunited with Loretta will offer some comfort to his family and friends.
Coach Lego---our heads will be held high and our hands to the sky as we will always remember you.
May God bless the Lego family at this difficult time.
With deepest sympathy and sincere love,
The Hargadon and Pierdomenico families
