At the risk of paraphrasing a cliché’, the basketball instead of the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

That’s the case with Michael Raffa, the newly-appointed head coach of the Barrington High School boys’ basketball team.

Raffa’s father, Michael, coached basketball at the old Barrington College, St. Andrew’s School, Roger Williams and Salve Regina.

Now his son is picking up the reigns of the Eagles, for whom he played before graduating in 1989. He replaces Greg Graham who resigned after the 2021-22 season.

“I grew up as the son of a basketball coach,” said Raffa. “Since I was little I always was around basketball teams.

“It always was in the back of my mind at Barrington High. Some of us coached YMCA teams. That was enjoyable. When I graduated college (Bryant University ’93) my father asked if I would be interested in joining his staff at Salve Regina. That was something I really wanted to get into as a sport I love. I wanted to see what I could do to help my father and the team and take on any responsibilities that I could.”

Barrington High School Director of Athletics and Student Activities George Finn was as pleased as anyone that an alumnus will be walking the sidelines.

“We are pleased to have Mike Raffa continue in our basketball program, now being elevated to the head coaching position,” Finn said. “He comes with experience coaching at the youth, middle school, high school and collegiate levels.

“Mike has a solid knowledge of the program being an alumnus, a resident of Barrington and coaching within the community for a number of years.”

Raffa, who was Second Team All-Class B as a junior and lettered for three years, couldn’t hide the fact that this was a position he had dreamed about longer than he cared to remember.

“It’s a dream job because I grew up in the town and played for Barrington High School,” said Raffa, who was the assistant coach of the boys’ team at the Barrington Middle School and the junior varsity/assistant varsity coach each of the last two seasons. “It’s something special that you can come back and take the learnings you’ve had over the years and impart them to the student-athletes of today.

“I went from excitement to being ready to get going and putting a staff together as well as making sure the boys do some off-season work to get ready for the season. It went from excitement to planning.”

Planning, indeed, for again the Eagles will compete in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s toughest division (Division I) which means they’ll be tested by the likes of Central, Classical, Mount Pleasant, Hendricken, La Salle, etc.

The last thing Raffa considered was dropping down to Division II.

“We’re staying in Division I,” he said. “We’ve shown our ability to compete over the last few years. A lot of that has to do with our travel program.”

Unlike private and parochial schools, Barrington draws its players from the town with many boys playing on AAU travel teams.

Raffa’s father was one of two people who had an immense influence on him not only as a player but also as a person.

“Obviously, he had a great influence on me,’ he said. “It’s about working hard. It’s about passion. It’s about competing. Those are some of the things I’m trying to instill in my team.”

The other person who left his mark on Raffa was his coach when he played for the Eagles.

“Mike Topazio was my head coach at Barrington,” Raffa said. “As a player, coach Topazio pushed me to get the best out of me as a person and a player.

“He trusted me with the responsibilities of being a point guard and a leader.”

Raffa graduated from Bryant with a degree in business administration with a concentration in business science.

That’s served him well in his full-time job as the Vice President/Team Leader at Embrace Home Loans.

Among other things he’s responsible for a team of 12 loan officers to originate, process and close first mortgage transactions.

The challenge will be to balance his time with his responsibilities at Embrace Home Loans with his position at Barrington High.

“Fortunately my employer has been very understanding,” Raffa said. “We have a schedule of practices in the evening to minimize that. It’s something I really enjoy.”

Eagles fans may “enjoy” their team’s style of play this season.

“I always want to attack whether it’s on offense or defense,” Raffa said. “I want to push the ball and play at a fast-paced level.”       

Raffa was selected from a number of candidates who applied for the position.

“We were glad to have a high interest in this position and our committee selected the best person to fit the needs of the basketball program at this time,” Finn said. “We look forward to having coach Raffa lead this program for years to come.”