Bridgehampton AD Mike DeRosa has community in corner after brain cancer diagnosis

Mike DeRosa is affectionately known as Bubba.

The 41-year-old wears many hats at the Bridgehampton School: athletic director, physical education teacher, assistant varsity baseball coach and dean of students.

In a nutshell, he is someone who is always there for others in need.

So when DeRosa was diagnosed with stage IV Glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, it was no surprise to see the overwhelming support in response.

“I keep telling him, ‘You've done so much. You always give,’ ” said Dyana DeRosa, his wife of nearly three years and a first-grade special education teacher at Remsenburg-Speonk Elementary. “He's just always been such a loving person, sweet person, who wants to help everyone and bring so many smiles to so many people because he's just such a happy, positive person.

“I feel like right now, you can really see how much people love him. They just want to be there for him and show him love.”

The support not only speaks to the tight-knit communities in Bridgehampton and Hampton Bays — where DeRosa is from and currently resides — but what people think of the type of person he is.

“Mike is always someone who’s willing to give up himself, whether that’s through Section XI, whether that’s within his own school district,” said East Hampton athletic director Kathy Masterson, whose school shares numerous athletic programs with Bridgehampton. “He is the type of man who always has a smile on his face. He's always happy to see you. He always goes that extra mile.

“That's a testament to him, and that money got raised so quickly because of what an amazing man he is and the legacy that he holds.”

Bridgehampton UFSD superintendent Mary T. Kelly and Remsenburg-Speonk UFSD superintendent Denise Lindsay-Sullivan co-created a GoFundMe for the DeRosa family on April 7, 11 days after DeRosa’s world was shaken.

Kelly said the initial goal for the GoFundMe was $25,000, which they reached within 24 hours. As of Saturday afternoon, $165,125 had been raised, with over 1,100 donations. 

Among friends and family, there is no doubt: if anyone can beat this, it is Bubba.

Recovery

During his gym class on March 27, junior Tyler Fitzgerald, also a leftfielder for the Bridgehampton baseball team, was playing pickleball with a classmate.

DeRosa, whom his players often call “D-Rose,” was about to join in when he appeared to have a medical episode. 

The students promptly tended to DeRosa, called 911 and grabbed school administration. Emergency technicians from the Bridgehampton Fire Department quickly arrived. DeRosa was taken to Southampton Hospital, where they immediately suspected a brain tumor and sent him to Stony Brook University Hospital.

He had a biopsy on April 1, and hours later had an emergency life-saving surgery to stop the bleeding from a blood clot in his brain. He had the whole tumor removed two days later.

“The care at Stony Brook was tremendous,” said Ralph DeRosa, Mike’s father.

DeRosa could not walk or talk after the incident, but he has been improving every day since being admitted to St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson on April 24 for rehab. He has three hours of therapy per day, one of each physical, occupational and speech therapy.

He can now walk with a cane and has uttered phrases like “yeah, dude” and “oh my God” when talking about and watching the Knicks’ playoff run. He has been conscious the entire time and visibly lights up when Dyana brings their eight-month-old daughter, Mia, to visit. Students have poured in get-well messages.

DeRosa will be at St. Charles until at least May 17, and the family is evaluating second opinions that will most likely include chemotherapy and radiation after he leaves.

“He really is so motivated during the therapies,” Dyana said. “When they ask him if he needs a break, he always says no. He just wants to keep going. He's very aware right now, and he knows. Sometimes he does become frustrated because it's a lot, but he is doing really, really well. Everyone here at St. Charles is amazing, all the therapists. They just go above and beyond, and they're just amazing and we're so lucky to be here.”

'A Killer Bee through and through'

Bridgehampton baseball coach Lou Liberatore arrived at the school as a fifth-grade teacher in 2018, 40 years since the last time the school had fielded a varsity baseball team. After getting hired, Liberatore, who previously was an assistant at Bayport-Blue Point, went into DeRosa’s office to inquire about bringing the team back.

“I said, ‘Hey, what do we think about building a baseball program?’ ” Liberatore recalled. “He was the one guy that believed in it and ran with it. He was like, ‘You want to do this? We can do this.’ Mike's the type of guy that the players and the students just gravitate towards. The coach makes the experience, and that's why he's the most beloved coach in Bridgehampton.”

Bridgehampton, a combined baseball team with the Ross School, in 2021 played its first season since 1978. The Killer Bees lost in the Class D state regional final each of the past two seasons.

This year, Bridgehampton has dedicated its season to DeRosa. The players wear eye black with DeRosa’s name and wear “Bubba Strong” T-shirts during warmups. The Killer Bees (10-5) will play in a Class C state subregional in Saugerties on June 5. The team needs to win four games to secure a state title.

“It would be amazing, honestly,” Fitzgerald said. “To make something happen after what happened with D-Rose and him being our assistant coach, it would just mean the world to us and the team and just be fully dedicated to him, honestly.

“Because without D-Rose, baseball wouldn't really be a thing at Bridgehampton.”

The revival of the baseball program is just one item on a list of many feats for DeRosa as athletic director. The school will have a new varsity boys soccer team this fall, and DeRosa has also overseen the building of a weight room and a new gym at the school.

“Mike is a Killer Bee through and through,” Liberatore said. “When you think of Bridgehampton, you think of Mike DeRosa.”

Fundraising efforts

DeRosa graduated from Hampton Bays High School in 2002, where he had quite the athletic career.

“He was a great athlete at Hampton Bays, just a spark plug of energy,” said Hampton Bays athletic director John Foster, a fellow 2002 grad and a lifelong friend of DeRosa’s. “Was great in soccer as a goalie, played football for a little bit. Was a solid basketball player, but excelled on the baseball field. Was a leadoff hitter, played everywhere over the diamond, and just was the epitome of what it takes.

“He always seemed to step up in the big moment. He never backed down when the times got big.”

DeRosa helped lead the Baymen to the 2001 Suffolk Class C baseball title.

“It was inspirational,” said Hampton Bays baseball coach Rob Pinney, a seventh-grader at the time. “It made you want to be a part of the varsity team at Hampton Bays, and you couldn't wait to get up there.”

Bridgehampton and Hampton Bays met in a Suffolk League VIII series from April 8-10. It quickly became a platform to raise money for the DeRosa family. Pinney created a pledge where supporters could donate a certain amount of money for each strikeout or hit.

The middle game of the three-game set was at Hampton Bays. Chris DeRosa, Mike’s younger brother, threw out the first pitch and both teams repped the Bubba Strong shirts. Around 200 people were in attendance for the eventual Hampton Bays walk-off win.

“The atmosphere was honestly crazy,” Fitzgerald said. “Personally, it felt like a playoff game . . . We just played our hearts out, each team. Hampton Bays and our team played our hearts out for him. It was a great experience just to have that love for the sport and the love for D-Rose.”

The GoFundMe, the series and the shirts, sold by both the Bridgehampton Teacher Association and Skidmore’s Sports, are just the start.

Scotto’s in Hampton Bays sold pizza last week and gave proceeds to the DeRosa family. The cornhole community, which Mike is an avid part of, had a monthlong fundraiser at The Backyard in Middle Island. Hampton Bays Little League named a field after DeRosa. And there were plenty more donations in between.

DeRosa is competitive in everything he does. His determination in prevailing against cancer is no different.

“Mike’s a fighter,” Ralph DeRosa said. “We’re going to fight it all the way, and then we’re going to defeat this.”

By Ben Dickson

[email protected]@bendickson__

Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.