Tom Carcione simply can’t escape his love for helping people reach the next level, whether it be on the ball diamond, or in the classroom, nor does he want to. 

After helping the Ottawa Titans to the Frontier League Divisional Series, Carcione returned to Colorado, where he serves as a teacher's aide, or para-professional, for special needs students at a high school. It’s a role he has taken pride in for some time, after taking the same role in his native Illinois for many years prior. 

“The kids are always excited to see me, and that brings a smile to my face,” Carcione said. “They have a lot of needs, and sometimes, the workers I work with can get stressed out, but I don’t. The baseball side is stressful, but going to work with these kids isn’t.” 

It all comes after a lengthy career on the field, where Carcione experienced independent baseball firsthand. Selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 10th round of the 1988 MLB Draft, the Chicago native spent time in the A’s minor league system, before the Northern League was founded in 1993. 

Facing the reality of limited playing time in 1992, Carcione was given options by the Athletics organization; continue grinding out the lower levels, or try his luck in the brand new independent level of baseball. The choice was simple: he wanted to play ball. Carcione signed with the Sioux City Explorers, and spent a pair of seasons with Grand Forks Varmints, before heading back to Sioux City. 

Into his 30s, Carcione made the choice to hang up the cleats, and head for the end of the dugout, taking up a coaching role. Despite teams trying to talk him into playing for another season, his mind was made up. 

“I was traded from Sioux City to Schaumburg thinking I was going to coach,” Carcione recalled. “I found out they still wanted me to play, and I told them I didn’t want to. They traded me to Fargo to coach, so I got that opportunity [right away].” 

Carcione says that the roles, although extremely different in nature, share plenty of similarities, and the motivations behind them aren’t all that different. 

“You’re always teaching based on your past experiences,” he explained. “I’ve been there in baseball, and I’ve lived through high school, and whether it be good or bad, you’re using it to teach others.” 

Helping people, be it in the classroom or the ballpark, is something Carcione feels obliged to do. At school, it’s to provide an opportunity to kids, and in baseball, it’s all about helping people reach their dreams. People who are in the same position he was, once upon a time. 

Carcione was never fortunate enough to live out his Major League dream, but the chance to help even one player reach their is reason enough to come to the ballpark. 

“I had my dream, and I never got the big leagues, but now that I’m coaching kids that still have that dream, who knows? Maybe someday I say the right thing or something clicks and he gets out of independent ball,” Carcione said. “Those are the things that make me feel proud now.” 

It’s for that reason that the 56-year-old, who just celebrated his birthday on February 12th, returned to Ottawa for his second stint. A former manager of the Ottawa Rapidz, Carcione was informed that the team was folding, before the league contacted him asking him to manage a travel team that never ended up seeing the field. He was never notified by ownership that he was out of a job, but his love for Ottawa allowed him to set aside any grievances with the former team and return under Bobby Brown. 

“Besides coaching with him, we’re great friends,” Carcione said of Brown. “Not only that, but Sam and Regan Katz always care, and put winners on the field. With these guys coming in to run the Titans I said ‘oh gosh, this is a great opportunity.” 

With the focus now shifting to the 2023 season, and building on the success in the Titans’ inaugural season, the subtractions to the pitching staff have made an impact. Without the likes of Tyler Jandron and Kevin Escorcia, Carcione knows that he’ll have to rely on other players to pitch in the game’s biggest moments. 

Thankfully, Brown has been proactive, bringing pitchers Zac Westcott, Chris Burica, and Grant Larson back into the fold, and acquiring Trevor Clifton, who was a top-10 prospect in the Chicago Cubs organization. 

“It’s always hard with the kind of guys we’re losing, but I think we’re going to be experienced,” Carcione shared. “It’s about who will step up in the closer role for us, and then we have some young guys that we hope can take that next step.” 

Work has already begun for Carcione, but projecting how everything will work out is fool's gold, he says. 

“You’ll always look at it and project, but seriously, it changes constantly,” Carcione revealed. “Once you get toward April, you start to piece it together, but I’ll tell you, it never really works out that way. I don’t know why we try to do it that way. It comes down to seeing them and how they pitch.” 

Regardless, his excitement to get back to Ottawa is blinding, and he’ll continue to think about who slots where until he’s blue in the face. That kind of passion has kept him in love with the sport all these years.