Best Coach

In the looming, elephantine shadow of NCAA Division I colossus Cal State Fullerton—and the somewhat-more-elongated, bushy-tailed shadow of the emerging UC Irvine program—Tom Tereschuk has quietly built his non-scholarship baseball squad into a pint-sized powerhouse. A former star pitcher and quarterback at Lakewood High and Long Beach City College, Tereschuk went on to pitch at University of San Diego. After building a stellar reputation as a high-school coach at Servite and Villa Park (he was honored as California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002), he debuted as Chapman University's coach in 2003 and promptly led his team to a national championship that same year (its first in 35 years). In 2011, his squad made it all the way to the final game before succumbing to Ohio's dreaded Marietta College. (Fucking Pioneers.) During that campaign, Tereschuk topped the 300-win plateau. That's exactly the kind of performance that got him named this year's American Baseball Coaches Association's NCAA Division III West Region Coach of the Year—to go along with the six other times he's earned that title. He has a reputation for toughness, but he also knows when to be supportive. "I remember as a freshman, during regionals, I struck out, and I was afraid that [Tereschuk] was going to be upset," infielder Tyler Hadzinsky told The Panther newspaper this year. "Instead, he gave me the confidence to keep going and was very encouraging. . . . I ended up hitting a home run that game." Good job, coach. And get those Pioneers next year.

Source: OC Weekly

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