He was on the field, hitting grounders and pop-ups to the infield – the same Holman Stadium infield he used to patrol nearly a generation ago as a high school standout.

The bat felt great in his hands. So did the ball. So did the uniform. So did the clipboard he was using to chart pitches.

Nate Goulet was back on a baseball diamond, and it fit. All seemed right with the world.

“I missed it,” he said. “I missed it. And just being in my hometown, to have my family here, it’s really been a pleasant surprise.”

The “it” is a job as assistant baseball coach at Daniel Webster College. Working under head man J.P. Pyne is nothing to sneeze at, as Pyne’s team is on track to perhaps get a second straight New England Collegiate Conference crown and NCAA appearance.

It sure would be nice for Goulet.

Two years ago, Goulet was guiding Old Dominion University as interim head coach to an improbable berth in the Colonial Athletic Association title game, and just missed taking the Monarchs to the NCAA tourney.

For his efforts, he was named the conference Coach of the Year and then rewarded by ODU with being told he was not going to get the permanent job.

Goulet was devastated. He and his family left Norfolk, Va., and headed back home to Nashua. Feeling like the infield tarp had been pulled out from under him, he kept his distance from baseball. There was too much pain.

Well, after he got to know Pyne, there was gain. Pyne told him he wanted him on his staff.

“I thought long and hard about it, believe me,” Goulet said. “Just after what I’d been through, I had made my mind up I was going to pursue something else, away from baseball.”

But Pyne was persistent, and after Goulet talked with his wife and family, why not?

“I’m not pursuing jobs across the country like I had been,” he said. “We’re settled here. If a door does prop open, I need to make sure I pursue it and push it open.”

How has this door been? Great, Goulet says. Pyne gives him some leeway for family time, which means Goulet doesn’t have to be on the road recruiting. He helps out with practice and games, and enjoys the low-key atmosphere.

“It’s a different animal than being in Division I, but that’s not a bad thing,” Goulet said, adding that Pyne’s ways remind him of how he ran his ODU program for one year: a close-knit, family style.

You had to feel for Goulet, right, J.P.?

“I don’t ‘feel’ for him, I’m excited for him,” Pyne said. “I think he deserved a better fate where he was. But you know, you can’t control that.”

This is just the therapy Goulet needed, though. Think about it: He has been surrounded by the game since he got back to Nashua. He has caught a few Silver Knights games – a team Pyne will manage this summer. There were a lot of high school teams with openings.

Finally, he gave in. The first day of practice last September for the fall program wasn’t easy because of what he had been through.

“It took me a little while to get my feet wet,” Goulet said. “When you lose that confidence, it’s tough to regain. … When you accomplished what I had accomplished at Old Dominion and my recruiting days, and it’s taken away from you at the spur of the moment, it’s like your boat’s sinking.”

Pyne threw him a life preserver. Goulet loves working with college athletes again. He said he was like a first-time Little Leaguer before the opener in Florida, as nervous as could be. But now the juices are flowing. That’s a great sign.

Pyne doesn’t want “yes men” on his staff, and he certainly doesn’t have one with Goulet.

“He’s been really beneficial to our guys and to me,” Pyne said. “I think the best thing about it is we don’t always agree. He has strong thoughts and I have strong thoughts, at least, and we communicate really well. We work well together. … He’s a good fit; our guys have benefited tremendously, I think he’s benefited by staying in it.

“He’s been a tremendous asset to this program already, and we know we’re lucky to have him however long we have him. We’ll be excited to keep him in the mix.”

Goulet walked into the stadium alone last week before the Eagles arrived for what would be a doubleheader sweep over city rival Rivier University.

“I love it,” he said. “I reminisced about the high school football days, the baseball days. The place looks beautiful.”

“He’s a baseball guy,” Pyne said. “And he’s found a place to be a baseball guy.”

That place for Goulet was right at home, and we all know there’s no place like that.

Baseball says welcome back, Nate Goulet.

Tom King can be reached at 594-6468 or tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

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