WOODBURY – If you’ve ever dissected a heart from a frog at Nonnewaug High School, then you have had the privilege of having Toby Denman as your teacher. However, not many students have the privilege of having Denman as their soccer coach.
As of this year, Denman has coached the Nonnewaug Boys Soccer team for a total of 25 years, 20 as varsity coach. This has created many years of titles, indelible wins, heartbreaking loses, and lasting memories.
“He not only teaches how to play soccer but how to conduct yourself after becoming a young adult,” said Joshua Kornblut. Kornblut has been the assistant coach and colleague alongside Denman for the past seven years. “I think this can be shown with the multiple sportsmanship award and success on the field including winning state games and Berkshire League titles.”
Success on the Sidelines
When storied NFL coach Bill Parcells echoed the refrain “the greatest ability is availability,” perhaps the Hall of Fame playcaller had Toby Denman in mind.
A teacher who rarely misses a day (370 accrued sick days to be exact–Denman ruefully notes this), and a coach who prides himself for being present for his players, regardless of circumstance, is the son of a mail carrier and a former educator with his mom serving as a Connecticut teacher for over thirty years. His father, delivering the mail for decades regardless of how ruthlessly inclement the New England weather was, reflects in Denman, who similarly never misses a day–or in this case– an opportunity to work with kids whether it’s on the field or in the classroom.
Over the past 20 years boys soccer have won a total of eight Berkshire League titles, state qualifying games and multiple sportsmanship awards including two from the state officials.
“Denman has had a big impact on me as a player as he has helped develop my sports mentality,” said junior Max Nichols. Nichols has been coached by Denman all of his years at Nonnewaug. “He always says he doesn’t expect the execution to be perfect but those know Denman, they know his dedication is something that personifies his reputation on campus. He expects the effort to be perfect.”
A Coach. A Mentor.
Setting the example for his team, Denman doesn’t limit himself to only supporting the boys’ soccer team. For those who know Denman, they know his dedication is something that personifies his reputation on campus.
“I like to call him ‘Mr. Nonnewaug,’” said Kornblut. “He always goes out of his way to watch and support other Nonnewaug sports and events.”
20 is just a number. It’s impossible to quantify Denman’s impact. For instance, during the 2024-2025 swim state championship, the NHS swim and dive team found themselves without a coach. Who roamed the sidelines in the interim?
Toby Denman.
“The team [Nonnewaug Girl’s Basketball Team] needed someone to step in and help out coaching at the end of my first season as unforeseen circumstances created the need for a coach,” said former Nonnewaug Girls’ Basketball coach Adam Brutting. “Denman didn’t even hesitate to do so.”
Or, even when Denman filled in mid-season in 2014 for Nonnewaug’s baseball team. The team immediately won six straight and earned a trip to the state tournament: the Denman effect.
Regardless of the sport, or the mix of students in his classes, Denman’s positivity and can-do attitude is contagious. And with his team once again on the doorstep of yet another state tournament bid, the hard work Denman instills in his student-athletes is a consistent through line across his 20 years at the helm.
“A big part of what he instills on the team is not just skills and qualities that will do them well in sports but also just as human beings in high school and going onto college or the workforce, or even life in general,” Kornblut said.
Denman’s dedication to the Nonnewaug sports program goes past being a soccer coach.
Denman, a native of East Hampton, a small town at the edge of the Connecticut River, is known for its storied history in creating bells, a moniker that was forged during revolutionary periods. The bell, serves as a symbol of punctuality and consistency, qualities that personify what makes Toby Denman the coach and teacher Nonnewaug has come to revere.
Ultimately, Denman’s twenty years leading NHS soccer have earned him an inarguable label around campus: “Mr. Nonnewaug.”
