Baseball

Professional Experience:

• Southern Vermont College, 2007-Present, Head Baseball Coach (50-95)
  • 2011 18-22 (10-8 NECC) Most wins in SVC history
    • NECC Tournament Runner-Up finish
  • 2010 12-22 (6-9 NECC)
    • Led team to NECC Playoffs
  • 2009-2010 Assistant Director of Athletics & Scheduling Coordinator 
  • 2009, 12-26 (7-3 NECC) 
    • The team's batting average was 60 points higher than before his arrival. 
    • The team ERA dropped almost five runs from before Schaffer took over the program. 
    • Hosted New England Collegiate Conference Playoff Tournament
      • Led team to NECC semi-finals

Full Bio: 

Don Schaffer took over as the head baseball coach at Southern Vermont College in the summer of 2007. He served as the Interim Director of Athletics from Dec. 08 - July 09, he served as the Assistant Director of Athletics from Aug. 2009 - May 2010, and he is currently the Facilities Coordinator aside from coaching.

In only his fourth year at the helm, SVC won 18 games in 2011, which was the most in program history. The team also reached the New England  Collegeiate Conference (NECC) championship game. In the championship game SVC lost to Mitchell College 3-2 with the tying run on third base.  The team's batting average has consistently risen since Schaffer's arrival. In 2011 despite the new bat regulation the Mountaineers raised their batting average again.

Coach Schaffer recently served as a member of the NCAA Division III Baseball Regional Advisory Committee. Responsibilities as a member included: gathering and sharing results for teams within one's conference or geographic area, ranking of top teams in the region, input in the selection of umpires for the championship, input in the selection of sites for championship competition, and serving as a "sounding-board" for the NCAA Division Baseball Committee. 

Since serving his membership on the Regional Advisory Committe, Schaffer currently serves on the board of directors for the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA)

He came to the Mountaineers after being assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for eight years at Division II Post University in Waterbury, Conn. While there, Coach Schaffer helped turn around a declining program and coached seven all-conference players.

The SVC baseball leader has coached 37 seasons, including semi-pro, AAU Junior Olympic and high school varsity teams. A lifelong catcher, Don played high school and college baseball in his native New Jersey. Coach Schaffer's teams are known for their hustle, hard work, baseball smarts and passion for the game.

In his spare time, Coach Schaffer fulfills his second love as he has been a nationally certified umpire for 25 years. He has umpired at the high school, American Legion and semi-pro levels in both Vermont and Connecticut.

Coach Schaffer and his wife, Suzanne, live in Arlington, Vermont. His son, Jeff, a former college baseball player (New Jersey Tech. '06), is a mechanical engineer living in Bennington, Vt. His daughter, Stephanie, lives in Philadelphia, Pa. and is in the final stages of her  graduate studies. Stephanie will receive her masters degree in December.

For more information on the Southern Vermont College baseball program, contact Coach Schaffer at dschaffer@svc.edu or call 802.447.4662.