In his four years as a baseball student-athlete at UConn, Paul Funk learned and showcased great leadership skills as a hard-nosed player and team captain, while at the same time keeping a good balance between his athletic and academic responsibilities.

This work ethic has helped him succeed not only as an athlete in college, but today in the teaching and coaching world as well.

Funk graduated from UConn in 1993 with a degree in marketing with a focus on sports management, and then went on to receive his master’s degree in exercise physiology at the University of New Mexico.

After receiving his master’s, he spent five years teaching and serving as an assistant coach at Everett High School in Everett, Mass. He is currently in his seventh year as a physical education teacher and a coach of the varsity football and baseball teams at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

In 2007, he coached the football team to a 10-1 record (the most wins in school history) and a tie for the league championship -- the first for the school since 1960.

In recognition of the team’s accomplishments, Funk was named the Massachusetts Division 1A Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe and was named the New England Patriots High School Coach of the Week, for which he was given a tour of Gillette Stadium and the Patriots’ training facility.

Funk went to high school in Wakefield, Mass., where he played football, hockey, and baseball for all four of his years as a student.  He was recruited by UConn baseball head coach Andy Baylock, and when asked why he decided to attend UConn for baseball, he said, “I just thought it would be a place where I could get a good opportunity to play and it was.”

Funk was a four-year starter at the shortstop position during his time at UConn and he was the only freshman to start during the 1990 season.  In his freshman and senior years, the team went to the NCAA regional rounds of the tournament. When asked if he had a favorite moment during his playing time, Funk referred to his freshman season, when the team captured its first BIG EAST Championship.

“Pete Walker was pitching for us – he later ended up in the big leagues – and I squeezed in Tim Cain for the only run in a 1-0 win over Villanova in the BIG EAST Tournament.  The next day we beat Seton Hall for the championship.”

Funk was one of the most respected members of the team during his playing days, setting an example for the other players with his dedicated work ethic and aggressive, never-give-up style of play.  For his leadership skills, he was awarded the team “Unsung Hero” award during his senior year, the same season that he served as one of the team’s captains.

He showed great dedication to the team and improving his individual game by sacrificing his summers to play in various college leagues, including an elite Alaskan League in 1992 and was named to the All-Star team.  He played for the Mat-su Miners in Pomare, Alaska under coach Mark Martinez from the University of New Mexico, for whom he went on to be a graduate assistant while earning his master’s in exercise physiology.

Funk currently resides in Harwich, Mass., with his wife, Heather, and two daughters – Marley, two and a half years old, and Madison, seven months.    

-Stephen Byrne