WOODBURY— The last name Maki is one that holds a tremendous amount of prestige in the Nonnewaug community. For this year’s NHS baseball team, Don Maki, the father of three NHS alumni, is playing a pivotal role in helping orchestrate the Berkshire League’s most impressive pitching staff.
For Don Maki, his reason for returning back to NHS is about more than just baseball.
“Another reason is my desire to give back to this special, sports-minded community where we’ve lived for 29 years,” Maki said. “Our three children graduated from Nonnewaug and one of the primary reasons for their successful professional careers is their education at Region 14.”
In Don Maki, Chiefs baseball gets a word of experience from someone who has been involved in the game for more than half a century.
“ When he comes to practice, he always has a plan for our pitchers, and he’s always keeping some sort of data and stats,” says Kyle Tehan, head coach of the baseball team. “I think that’s really what he brings to our program: He always has a plan and is always really prepared for what he wants to execute.”
Nonnewaug senior Brady Herman works with Maki on the mound, and the advice that Maki has given has helped Herman in improving his craft.
“He’s very straight forward to his players, his tips are very thought-out and useful. It doesn’t just go in one ear and out the other,” Herman said. “You listen to him, and you know it helps because right after you take his advice, you can see progress.”
One of coach Don Maki’s primary goals this season: trying to turn the players from throwers into pitchers.
“My coaching philosophy is to empower the players with the ability to learn the fundamental skills needed to master and enjoy a sport,” Maki said. “But my specific philosophy as a pitching coach is to teach pitchers and catchers how to pitch smartly, not to simply throw strikes, and use analytical data to optimize pitch execution.”
While Maki’s philosophy shapes the way he approaches each day, it also guides him to the goals that he has for his pitchers.
“The team’s specific goals for pitchers are multifold and have been emphasized since the first day of practice: throw 2 out of three pitches for strikes, master two pitches which can be thrown for strikes at any time in the count and, players must understand their individual mental and physical strengths and weaknesses in order to succeed,” Maki said.
Maki’s focus is a clear reflection on Herman’s performance. Under Maki’s tutelage, pitchers like senior Brady Herman have seen a dramatic improvement in 2026.
Herman is 3-0 with a 0.75 earned-run average so far this season. He allowed only two earned runs on six hits and eight walks with 29 strikeouts over his first 18 ⅔ innings this season, including a five-inning no-hitter against Shepaug on April 22.
“When the season started, he asked me what pitches I had, and I told him I had two pitches, which was a fastball and a curveball,” Herman said. “He helped me start throwing my third pitch, which is a change up.”
It’s no coincidence that Maki is closely invested in Nonnewaug’s pitching staff. As a parent, Maki watched his two sons pitch for the Chiefs from 1998-2006. Currently, Maki’s oldest son, Pete is a third year pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins while his youngest son was a keen member of Nonnewaug’s 2006 state tournament team.
“His son is actually the pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins, a major league baseball team,” Tehan said. “So I also think that when he was introducing himself and telling our pitching staff about himself and his past experience and his experience with his son, I think that it just motivates our players a little more to listen to what he actually has to say and just try and be coachable through the process.”
As the season reaches its official midpoint, Tehan knows this year’s Chiefs are talented, motivated, and have a loads of experience. Having Maki on the sidelines gives this group even more confidence that 2026 could end similarly to the way 2023 finished: a year crowned as champions.
And with Maki, in tow, the NHS pitching staff is poised to do exactly that.
“I heard about his past and his experience and about how much he stays in contact with his son and the strategies that he uses for our pitchers,” Tehan said. “I value his opinion and what he has to say, and, I think we work really, really well together already.”
