In the summer before the 2014-2015 school year, CHS baseball needed a new varsity head coach in addition to a whole coaching staff for the entire program. This occurred because the baseball coaching staff needed to be replaced due to the program’s overall league record. As a result, CHS decided that Ron La Chase was best qualified for the position of head coach and is a special addition to the Wolfpack.

La Chase came from the Los Osos High School varsity baseball staff, and also brought with him a few coaches from his former team. Rory Valasek, one of varsity’s assistant coaches, assists with hitting instructions and works with the infielders. John Ellis, another varsity assistant coach, works with the outfielders and catchers. In addition, Kevin Gross, a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for 17 years and CHS parent, also helps out with the varsity team to the best of his abilities due to his extensive knowledge of the sport. These new additions are all well-equipped instructors who provide assistance for all the various plays and offer knowledgeable insight in order to help the CHS baseball program thrive in the future seasons to come.

“As far as the school, I love the support that I get from administration. From the community, I love the support I get from the parents and the people surrounding the program,” La Chase said. “All of our advancements come from the support I get from the community, so the big thing is how the community has accepted me coming into the program.”

Since the JV baseball team also received new coaching staff, the new head coach position was given to Larry Nevarez. Nevarez believes his familiarity with the sport will help the JV team in the long run. Assistant JV coaches Mitch Ellis and Brendan Martinez are also new to the program, and are excited to see what is in store for their squad. Furthermore, the freshman team welcomed new head coach Anthony Fontana and assistant coach Dylan Donnelly.

“Coach La Chase has positively changed the team. The baseball program is very thankful for what he has done,” senior varsity baseball player Nate Moronez said. “He is trying to turn this program around by upgrading our facilities and giving us our best chance of winning.”

This year, La Chase has made some new improvements for CHS baseball. On top of providing the varsity team with new jerseys, he has added a brand new hitting station on the back side of the CHS dugout. The workplace includes three new hitting tees, along with three stand-up nets to hit into. All of the money for these new additions were raised by fundraisers. These additions help CHS baseball players by improving their techniques to help them in future games.

“The job Coach La Chase has done with our field proves he wants the best for the program, as well as for the players at CHS,” freshman baseball player Jack Noble said.

When it comes to using the baseball fields, La Chase utilizes all of the space that he has by having the JV team practice with the freshmen, except for when they want to use the varsity batting cages. La Chase is thankful for the position and wants all the baseball teams to have a successful season for the 2014-2015 year.