‘Coaching found me’

During his senior year of college, Jeff Sears suffered a gnarly injury during a baseball game when an outfielder missed his target and hurled a ball directly into Sears’ face.

That incident marked the end of his days as a third baseman and the beginning of his career as a coach.

In his college years, he thought pro baseball might be in his future. But that fateful game pointed Sears in a whole new direction.

“I didn’t find coaching,” he said. “Coaching found me.”

Now, with 18 years’ experience under his belt, Sears is embarking on his first season as head coach of the Laguna Beach High varsity team.

With his trusted staff and new approach to teaching, Sears intends to turn the baseball program around over the next few years and lead the team to a league title — something that hasn’t been accomplished at Laguna for 45 years.

The team, which now has a 7-10 record overall, and 1-3 in league play, is already showing improvement.

“We’re taking it inning-by-inning, and getting better every day,” he said. “We have a lot of talent. What the kids really need is to believe in that talent and what they can do with it.”

Born and raised in Eugene, Ore., Sears’ affinity for the “great American game” developed at the age of 5 and persisted through years of summer league and playing for the Churchill High Lancers.

Baseball would remain one of his greatest passions in life.

He moved to California in the summer of 1984 to attend Long Beach City College, where he played ball for two years and one of those years included a trip to the state championships. He then transferred to Cal State Dominguez Hills where he continued to play and would eventually graduate with a degree in kinesiology.

At Dominguez Hills, Sears played in the Division II College World Series in consecutive years. Those two teams finished in third and fifth place, respectively.

His coaching career began in 1989 when he returned to Long Beach City College, this time as a coach. In the following years he alternated between coaching at the high school and college levels.

He spent two years at El Camino High School, seven at Dominguez Hills and four years at University High School.

For the past three years, he coached at Chapman University in Orange and guided the program to the College World Series three consecutive years.

While they had no wins, Sears reflects on this time as a “great learning experience.”

Sears also coaches summer camp at the Mark Cresse School of Baseball.

He took the head coaching job at Laguna Beach High this year, where he also works as a full-time substitute teacher in earth science. Laguna was a desirable school for Sears because it was close to his home in Aliso Viejo and he was fond of the administration.

He is equally as fond of the players on his team.

“I don’t have any kids of my own,” he said. “My players are like my kids; I want them to succeed, not just on the field, but all around.”

In efforts to instill this balance, he pays just as much attention to their exam schedules as he does their performance on the field.

To help with the latter, he recruited Scott Zine, a trusted friend and former player at Chapman, who also coached with Sears at Mark Cresse for three years.

With Zine’s help, Sears said he is confident the players will grow into great people as well as very good baseball players.

“I know I will never have to look over my shoulder to re-teach any aspect of the game,” he said. “The knowledge he brings each day is outstanding.”

Sears said the hardest part of the season so far has been teaching the kids and parents to “live” baseball and helping them to accept change.

There was some resistance to the new coaching staff, especially by players who were fond of the old coaches, but Sears said things are moving at a new pace.

The team can now focus their energy on improving their skills, such as utilizing good pitching arms and execution at the plate.

“The kids don’t like to leave the field now, which is a great feeling,” he said.

For Sears, this was the first step onto a winning path.