June 24, 2010
Bill Lajeunesse has been named head softball coach at Siena College. Lajeunesse spent the past four seasons as the lead assistant coach for the program. He replaces Deanna Parks who resigned after this past season.
Lajeunesse enjoyed a long and successful track record at the high school level while coaching at nearby Waterford, Cohoes and Shaker High School. Before joining the Saints' softball staff in 2007, Lajeunesse gained a wide variety of experience while coaching scholastic soccer, football, wrestling, baseball and softball.
The highlights of Lajeunesse's high school coaching career included an undefeated Colonial Council Wrestling Championship in 1992 at Cohoes. In 1993 he helped the Cohoes football program capture the Buckley Cup Championship as an assistant coach. At Shaker High School in 2006, he led the varsity softball team to a 17-5 record and a #9 ranking in New York State.
Lajeunesse also successfully coached the Adirondack Magic 16-U and 18-U softball teams to the National Final Four in 2005 and 2006, as well as 10 Invitational Championships from 2003-2006.
Over the past four years, Lajeunesse helped develop 2008 MAAC First Team selection Jen Granato, the all time home run leader at Siena and most recently Shannon Jones who in 2010 gained All-MAAC Second Team status as a freshman, while leading the Saints with 56 hits and a .344 batting average.
Lajeunesse graduated from SUNY Brockport in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. He went on to receive his master's degree in health education from Russell Sage College in 1993.
Lajeunesse is a lifelong resident of the area having grown up in Cohoes. He now lives in Watervliet N.Y. with his wife Karen and has two children Karah and Bryan.
Lajeunesse is taking over a program has had limited success since joining the MAAC in 1990. The Saints have advanced to the MAAC Tournament just once (2003 as the #4 seed) in their 21 seasons in the conference. The team finished the 2010 season with a 14-37 overall record.
