Batting a thousand at 72

If you take a drive to Malverne High School on any Sunday morning — with few rainy and snowy exceptions — you will likely find Ed Farrell on the baseball field.

The 72-year-old Malverne resident will be in the center of the field, shouting instructions and encouragement to the group of septuagenarians he coaches in softball. It’s what he’s been doing for 40 years: teaching.

Farrell calls himself “The Ledge,” which is short for legend, and proudly admits he’s earned the title. He was a health and physical education teacher in the Lawrence School District for 35 years before retiring in 2000. Shortly thereafter, Farrell and his wife moved from Valley Stream to Malverne and he took on a position as an adjunct professor at Molloy College.

“I’m living the dream,” Farrell told the Herald during a recent interview, noting he loves learning as much as teaching. “I’m still learning; I love what I do. How many people do what they really love?”

Farrell, who earned a master’s degree in physical education in 1967 from George Washington University, said he gets more out of teaching than he puts into it. But he certainly puts a lot into — so much so, in fact, that he was honored by the Amateur Softball Association on Nov. 3 at its Long Island ASA Hall of Fame/Honor Induction Ceremonies. The commissioner of the local ASA district presented Farrell with the Doc Linnehan Memorial Award for his “outstanding contribution to amateur softball on Long Island,” according to Commissioner Vin Donnelly.

“He’s good,” said Terri Tomlinson, one of Farrell’s players, on a recent Sunday morning. “His methods work for me. He’s got his ways, but it’s all for positive reinforcement.”

The 74-year-old Long Beach resident has been training with Farrell for 12 years. He used to drive out from Brooklyn to play with The Lege, who also coaches in Lawrence, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Valley Stream and surrounding communities. Tomlinson and three other players were cracking light-hearted jokes at Farrell’s expense that Sunday morning, quickly following up their quips with praise.

“He’s a hard guy to know,” Tomlinson said.

“You gotta take a little criticism,” added 75-year-old Ted Dejmek, of Lynbrook.

“You gotta take a lot of criticism,” Tomlinson quipped.

After a quick chuckle, Dejmek added that Farrell is tough because he wants his players to succeed. “He gets satisfaction watching you do good,” he said.

Farrell said he is humbled not only to receive the ASA award, but by his players’ praise. “I am very, very thankful that they think that much of me to ask my advice on hitting,” he said. “But we are all teachers and coaches when we play the game.”

As one of 14 children, Farrell said he found many teachers and coaches in his siblings. In the days before cell phones and video games, they were always outdoors, engaged in physical activities, including baseball, basketball and softball. “We had the best of times,” Farrell said of his siblings and his youth. It was the enjoyment he took from those days that inspired him to become a teacher and coach.

Today, his three daughters and 11 grandchildren continue to inspire him. “They are my heroes,” Farrell said.