Degre enters his eighth season as a member of the Bears coaching staff. He is responsible for coaching the catchers and outfielders for the Bears. In 2024, Eric was a member of the Coast Guard staff who won the NEWMAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
Coach Degre graduated from Lyndon State College with a degree in Physical Education, where he was a catcher for the Hornets baseball program.
Degre was a physical education, health teacher and athletic director for 16 years in Northern Vermont. During these 16 years he coached varsity baseball for North Country Union High School. He was selected to coach the Twin State Classic (Senior All-Star game) by his peers in 2007. He was also a volunteer/paid firefighter for the City of Newport (Vt.) for 13 years, then was elected to be the Chief of the City of Newport fire department for three years before retiring.
Degre then became the assistant principal, athletic director and head baseball coach at Lake Region Union High School for seven years. He had the fortune to be a part of a “perfect game” by Matthew Messier (SNHU) in 2014.
In 2007, Degre started to travel the country to many different baseball programs to perform motivational speeches, team bonding exercises and to teach the mastery of the mental game. Some of the baseball programs he has worked with in the past and continues to do so are; Vanderbilt University, Clemson University, University of Vermont Hockey, Cal State Fullerton, TCU, UConn Avery Point and many others.
Degre coached in the NECBL (New England Collegiate Baseball League) for six summers with the North Adams Steeple Cats, the Newport Gulls, and the Mystic Schooners.
In his career as a baseball coach and motivational speaker, Degre has worked with and still mentors many different player baseball players whom are playing in Major League Baseball from Single A to the Big Leagues.
Currently, Degre is a College Professor at Grand Canyon University. He is responsible for observing and evaluating student teachers in Connecticut.
He is also a current member of the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) as well as the NIAAA (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association).
He lives in Salem with his wife, Erica and stepson Paxton.
(updated Jun. 2025)
