Douglas baseball team is 2026 Leo Suarez/Walter Krietsch Courage Award recipient
You always need resilience in sports to achieve your goals.
The Stoneman Douglas baseball team showed it this past season both on and off the field.
Longtime head coach Todd Fitz-Gerald’s wife, Colleen, was diagnosed with brain cancer in recent months, and has been undergoing treatments.
And senior Reid Dadic, one of Douglas’ starting pitchers and a Daytona State College commit, also pitched this season while his mom was battling cancer.
Both became sources of inspiration for the Eagles on their way to winning their sixth consecutive state championship and extending their state record streak.
“We embraced an underdog mentality throughout the playoffs and that really helped us fight for Coach Fitz and Colleen and Reid’s mom, who is going through a tough time too,” Douglas senior Jake Rizzo said after the team’s state title win.
For both families, and the courage shown by the team overall, the Stoneman Douglas baseball team is this year’s recipient of the Miami Herald’s Leo Suarez/Walter Krietsch Courage Award.
The recognition, named in honor of two former Miami Herald editors who passed away far too soon, is awarded annually to an individual or individuals in the South Florida sports community who have exhibited extraordinary courage in the face of adversity.
Douglas’ players and coaches did so while members of their extended family dealt with the toughest of struggles.
Fitz-Gerald often missed time with the team in order to be at his wife’s side. He even drove back from Fort Myers to Broward County on the Friday night after the Eagles’ win over Oviedo Hagerty in the state semifinals, and then drove back Saturday morning to rejoin the team in time to coach them in the final.
“These guys wanted this one and I think we cemented our legacy in stone,” said Fitz-Gerald as he fought back tears after the state final when Douglas beat Venice, then the nation’s top-ranked team, 3-1, to win their seventh state title all-time. “I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. It’s been a tumultuous year. I missed a lot of time and these guys really picked up the slack for it, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Fitz-Gerald wore a wristband in her honor throughout the season, and the school supported his family in multiple ways including donating proceeds from concessions during games to help with her medical expenses, as well as a GoFundMe, which has to date raised over $128,000.
Members of the team carried with them a burgundy-colored banner ribbon, displaying a ribbon with the word “Fighter” on it, and placed it near the team dugout during games.
The Eagles also had moments where their motivation was clear such as the state semifinal in Fort Myers when, with the game tied at 8 heading into the bottom of the seventh, one of Douglas’ assistant coaches could be heard telling the players, “Let’s do this for Colleen, boys.”
“My wife is fighting, and she’s at home watching…I love you, babe,” said an emotional Fitz-Gerald after that game. “This means a lot.”
