By Coley Alvis

Collegiate School recently added a new young coach to the baseball program. John Thomas Domalik, more commonly known as JT, is a student at Virginia Commonwealth University who graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Hanover, Virginia. Since graduating, Domalik has begun coaching at a local baseball program called RockIt Sports in Henrico County, volunteered at youth baseball camps, and plans on also finding an additional basketball coaching job. 

A tattoo on Domalik’s arm. Photo courtesy of JT Domalik.

Domalik has a strong passion for sports. Since the age of three, JT has been playing his two favorite sports, baseball and basketball. His father, Charlie Domalik, was one of the main reasons he fell in love with sports. Throughout Little League baseball and youth sports, his father was his coach. They both loved competition, and sports were a way to bring them closer together. 

Domalik emphasizes how important family has been to him his whole life, saying “I’m a momma’s boy.” He even recently got a small tattoo on his forearm that says “family” over “Everything.” His mom, Laura Domalik, is a math teacher in Collegiate’s Lower School. He says because of this he has always been familiar with the Collegiate community and enjoys coming to watch their various games. He appreciates his parents’ constant support for him and appreciates how they have always been there for him every step of the way. 

Throughout his childhood, Domalik continued to play baseball and basketball at a high level. When I asked Domalik what some of his hobbies were as a kid, he responded that, “sports were my hobby.” He talked about how all of his friends from Patrick Henry that he has known since elementary and middle school loved playing pick-up basketball games, wiffle ball, and talking sports. Domalik continued to play sports into high school, playing baseball and basketball his freshman and sophomore years at Patrick Henry. When junior year came around, Domalik experienced an injury to his knee that would result in an 8-10 month recovery. This was a disappointing setback for Domalik, but he was determined to get back to the athlete he was. Domalik never gave up and used his injury as motivation so that he would be able to play his senior year of basketball. After months of recovery, Domalik was back on the court at the start of his 2020 season. After the season, Domalik was excited for his last season of baseball. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The varsity baseball team. Photo courtesy of JT Domalik.

Even with all of the setbacks in Domalik’s high school career, he showed determination to never give up, which has translated to how he acts as a coach. Domalik is calm, patient, and always there to help out in any way he can. Varsity baseball player Hank Shield (23’) said, “When I have tough practices or games, I am able to turn to Coach Domalik to enlighten my mood and allow me to fix my mindset.” To the team, Domalik has been more than just a coach to all of us. He is always there to talk to and always has positive things to say. Senior captain Eric McDaniel (22’) shared with me an experience he had with Domalik after having a rough day of pitching. He said Domalik came up to him and told him, “There are going to be times when not everything will go your way, but it’s about how you react to the situation and learn from it.” Even in the hardest of times, Domalik is always there to encourage us with kind words. 

When figuring out what he wanted to study in college, Domalik picked out two things he loved, sports and kids. He decided that he wanted to study sports education in hopes of later being a P.E. teacher and coach. Domalik is still a sophomore at VCU and has two more years of college but is content with the decision he made. He cannot wait for his future in sports, and hopefully he will stay with the Collegiate community.