When people talk about youth sports – you cannot get too far along without some horror story people that you meet along the way. There are certain parents who just end up being horrible people and no matter how nice their kids may be you are happy to see them go.
April and Jeff Candelaria from South Meriden are two of those people. After April has spent the last 8 months publicly trashing me and my program every chance she gets, creating fake Instagram profiles to bash me and stalking my Facebook page like lunatics – things reached a boiling point this week. Imagine spending the time to attack a volunteer to anyone who would listen.
But let’s step back a bit. I coached their son. As a volunteer coach. He spent time at my house and he was friends with my kids. He asked to be an Aviator. He improved as an Aviator. He paid 600 dollars to be an aviator and was coached for the fall season. He received a uniform, team gear, indoor practices and outdoor practices. The cost of the team is in excess of what I charge and where it falls short – I pay out of my own pocket. He played in games and he played the infield, got to pitch and consistently and regularly played ahead of my own son. He’s a good kid and I enjoyed coaching him.
None of that matters though – because Silas didn’t make the “A team” for 9u fall ball playoffs. As a result, April didn’t even tell him that we had a team party to celebrate, she blocked many of his teammates on Roblox and she started a public crusade against me. He found out about the team party from his friends at school. April decided he was gone though – and she started telling anyone who would listen how bad I am as a person. She’s on her third program in a year and no doubt wearing out her welcome there as well.
Let’s take a step back further and consider that Jeff is the President of South Meriden Little League. He coaches. He should get it. He makes a lineup card and oversees a league. He doesn’t and I also think that he has no ability to reign in this crazy person that he married.
I reached out to Jeff in November when I first started hearing from other parents how April was out of control talking about me and my program.
This is what I wrote on November 15.
Jeff – Chris Donlin here. I’m reaching out to you because quite frankly I am tired of people telling me that your wife is trashing me and my program.
To be honest with you – this was why I wasn’t going to take Silas at all because I had heard she was awful to deal with and had seen plenty to support it myself. I went against my better judgment because Silas asked and because I wanted him to be with his friends. In hindsight it was obviously a mistake. As I have been told “I was warned.”
Despite this I really enjoyed coaching Silas and he’s a very nice kid. He made friends and fit in. Since he didn’t get picked to play in the playoffs in the role he wanted – he has turned his back on many of those friends. That’s sad.
Your wife spouting Silas’s stats to anyone who will listen and calling me names for the last month is ridiculous. I am a volunteer but I am also the coach, two roles you know. I’ll ask you – would you want a parent like your wife on your team?
Her actions are harmful to him because you are teaching him he’s bigger than the team and if he doesn’t like something he should go to the next spot (3rd in 5 months). You are also ripping him away from his friends for your own egos. He didn’t even know about the team party, attended by all but 2 players. Again – you denied him a chance to be a part of a team and celebrate the team – choosing individual spoiled grapes over celebrating a team sport. Word is he didn’t even know about the party. You chose to not allow him.
When I get calls and messages from people saying that April is trashing me I encourage them to consider the source. People may listen but by and large – they don’t agree with her and they would prefer she move on.
I would prefer you guys move on too. It’s old. Can we part as friends rather than spending so much energy being mad at a volunteer for spending 3 months coaching your kid? Can you rein her in?
He read it (read receipts on for him) but never responded.
April continued with this nonsense all spring. She went to great lengths to celebrate her son’s Grind team, made up of some players who turned 10 in May of 2026, beating an Aviators team made up of league age 8 players on Facebook. She stoked animosity among the kids at school, undermined friendships and acted in a way that provoked problems between 9 and 10 year olds within the school system.
Somehow – April and Jeff remain in charge of the South Meriden Little League. As part of this, they control Habershon field in Meriden. The local baseball camp run by Paul Cambra has to get their approval to use their field. This year – April and Jeff’s approval came with strings. Paul could only use the field if he banned my two children – ages 8 and 10 – from baseball camp. If he didn’t agree, he didn’t get the field. Paul is a small business owner and should never be put in this position – to have his business threatened so that April could settle a personal score against me. To think that community resources, funded by tax payers, are being leveraged in such a way is beyond disgusting. To think that a person who has been so good to Meriden, the baseball community and to kids in general like Paul has been should have his livelihood threatened by a bully like April is a nightmare. The community needs more summer programs like Paul’s and no one should ever threaten a summer baseball camp for a personal vendetta.
When I found out about this – the mayor of Meriden was contacted who expressed his disgust and disapproval with April and Jeff’s actions. To his credit he emphatically stated that they had no right to condition use of a field on my kids not being allowed to go and to coerce a local business in this way. The mayor seemed to be rightfully appalled by this and I commend that he was addressing it within an hour of hearing about it.
From what I understand – April admitted to conditioning use of the field on my 2 kids being excluded and Jeff claimed that the reason why was because they didn’t want me “pouching players” from the camp. Mind you – in the past two years 95 percent of the kids under the age of 10 at the camp are Aviators and the remaining kids (over 10) – well we don’t have a program for anyway. Apparently – when some of the older players asked for Aviators shirts at the end of camp (12 and 13 year olds) this offended April and was me “recruiting.” Cruz (who was 13 and was awesome to our kids at camp – wanted a shirt) if your reading this – have a laugh at the idea that someone could be so dumb to think that I was recruiting you when you are literally 6 feet tall. Mind you – April’s kid was the only player that ever joined Aviators after camp (since most of the kids there were already Aviators) – the rest – already Aviators.
Let’s put aside that I have paid for and sent countless kids to this camp on my own dime and in some weeks – half the kids at the camp were consistently Aviators. Let’s put aside that when a kid from that camp had his house burn down I handed his family an envelope of cash. My kids are 8 and 10 years old and the adults in charge of a baseball league are bullying a local small business to exclude these little kids from playing baseball because they didn’t like how I filled out a lineup card.
I called Jeff twice to discuss what happened. He has chosen not to answer his phone. I’m not blowing someone up on Facebook without give them a chance to chat before. So I put this all here so people can see a few things.
We don’t need to agree to be decent to each other. I know I will ruffle a few feathers with how I am and I know half the baseball town of Cheshire thinks I am the devil because I donated about 6000 hours coaching since I started Aviators four years ago and spent in excess of 50k of my own money giving a baseball experience that is awesome to anyone who signs up. You don’t like me. Fine. Trust me, I’ll be ok. I hear that people don’t like how I coach third base and don’t like the way we steal bases. The Grind hates us. The Reds hate us. I hear it all and I don’t care in the least. I’m not perfect but I’m certainty out here trying to make the world a better place.
For the April and Jeff Candelaria’s of the world that feel the need to try to go after my kids because they don’t like where I put their kid on the lineup card or really, any other reason – you are exactly the reason that Aviators exists. You abuse positions of authority to inflict pain on little kids. To April and Jeff – you are awful people and I hope anyone signing their kid up for South Meriden baseball thinks about who you are.
So since this all happened yesterday morning – the Aviators program will be having our own “Camp” next week. We have fields. We have local restaurants catering lunches. We have paid coaches coming in (who will be paid by me) since the program is free to all Aviators travel players. We will have our own fun and I’ll take off a week of work to make it the best week of “camp” ever. Over 20 kids are coming. I cannot thank the local businesses that support us, no questions asked, such as Haven Hot ChickenViron Rondo Osteria and Southside Grill Cheshire because all I need to say is kids and baseball and they get it. That’s the way it should be. If any other businesses want to support or donate – these are a super group of kids.
In conclusion, I hope Jeff and April get to read this and maybe they do some reflecting. Since April has looked at every story my wife and I have posted in the last 8 months I am sure she will hear the news. April – you ran your mouth about me and went after my kids for long enough so now you get to be Facebook famous for being an awful person.
