25-Year Coaches Say Game Keeps Them Forever Young : The Times May Change, but Baseball’s Allure Remains for Lavalle, Ross and Sedoo

That worn-out baseball cap. That wrinkled, sun-dried face. That Walter Brennan-like hitch in the stride.

No doubt about it. Hi Lavalle, Canyon High School coach, is the Casey Stengel of Orange County prep baseball.

He’ll never manage a team to a World Series championship, but Lavalle has led two schools (Dominguez in 1972 and Canyon in 1983) to CIF Southern Section titles.

He’ll never be honored in Cooperstown, but his contributions on the high school level are no less significant than Stengel’s were on the major league level.

Lavalle has been a varsity baseball coach for 28 years--15 at Dominguez High in Compton and the past 13 at Canyon.

Twenty-eight years. That’s longer than Stengel, who spent 25 years as manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and New York Mets, served in the majors. That’s longer than Vince Brown, 25-year-old Tustin coach, has been alive.

Maybe some day, when Lavalle is finally through waving runners around third base for Canyon, they’ll erect a bronze statue of the coach somewhere beyond the outfield fence.

It would be a fitting tribute to a man who has served his profession for so many years.

The only question is when to start making the mold.

Lavalle, 59, has no plans to retire.

“I won’t quit until the last day I teach,” he said. “I have sometimes thought that if I do have to quit at Canyon, I’d be a walk-on coach somewhere. It would be better than sitting around.”

That’s exactly how Bill Ross, who is in his 28th year as Santa Ana’s coach, and Gerry Sedoo, who has been coaching for 27 years, the past 22 at Foothill, feel.

Both are 52 and going strong. They have as much zest for the game today as when they began coaching. This is no time to quit, they say. You can keep those rocking chairs in storage.

“When you play the game for a while, you hate to have to stop playing, and it’s the same thing with coaching,” said Ross, who led the Saints to the 3-A title in 1982. “I think it will be a traumatic thing when I get out of it.”

Said Sedoo: “I’ll stay in it as long as the game is fun, and there aren’t really any signs of it not being fun right now.”

The three Century League rivals are the only Orange County high school baseball coaches with more than 25 years service. Throw in Villa Park’s Dave Ochoa, an 18-year varsity coach, and the four combine for 101 years of varsity coaching experience.

Almost every game in the Century League could be billed as an Old-Timers Day.

“There’s a mutual respect for the coaches in our league,” Sedoo said. “I feel they’re all high-caliber people. They’re all good men.”

So, what keeps these guys going while others in their profession complain about burnout? First and foremost is their love of the game. All three played baseball in college--Lavalle at Notre Dame, Ross at Pepperdine and Sedoo at Fresno State. All three said they probably would not have become teachers without the opportunity to coach baseball.

The simple nature of the game is another reason they’re still coaching.

Baseball coaches don’t spend their weekends breaking down films of their next opponent. They don’t have to send in plays from the sideline during the games. They don’t have to worry about stunts, blitzes or fullcourt presses. There is no game clock working against them.

“I might have a hard time being a basketball coach,” Lavalle said. “They’re constantly fidgeting and the game moves so quickly.”

Said Ross: “There is a lot of preparation, but once the game starts, there are so many things you can’t control. The game’s outcome is more up to fate, and you can resign yourself to that.

“I also don’t think there’s as much community pressure on us as there is in football or basketball. We don’t get the publicity they get. We don’t have to worry about losing our jobs after a losing season. I think that’s why baseball coaches are more mellow (than football or basketball coaches).”

For a longevity comparison, there were only three high school basketball coaches in Orange County this year who had coached more than 20 years--Corona del Mar’s Jack Errion (36) El Modena’s Bill Ervin (25) and Brea-Olinda’s Gene Lloyd (24).

But all three resigned following the season, leaving Katella’s Tom Danley as the only 20-year coach.

Four football coaches had served for more than 20 years--El Modena’s Bob Lester (28), Loara’s Herb Hill (25), San Clemente’s Allie Schaff (25) and Tustin’s Marijon Ancich (21). Lester resigned at the end of the season.

Lavalle, Ross and Sedoo are outlasting most area coaches, but another reason they remain has nothing to do with the sport they coach.

“I really enjoy the kids,” Sedoo said. “They still want to learn. Over the years, they’ve basically remained the same.”

Save for a few minor changes, that is. Sedoo thinks kids are influenced more by major league players today because of television.

“Nowadays, if a major leaguer does something, you’ll see a Little League or high school player doing it, even if it isn’t correct,” he said. “I remember back in the ‘60s, a pro player had a bruised index finger, so he kept that finger outside of his glove. Now, every high school player does that.”

Lavalle said there have been a few adjustments in the discipline department.

“When I was in school, we had no rules at all,” he said. “I was never told that if I drank or smoked, I’d get kicked off the team. We just didn’t do it. Today, even though it’s not a big problem, we have drinking and smoking rules.”

Lavalle noticed one more difference in the kids. There are more of them, which means there is less of a demand for his services during practice.

“The thing I don’t like is not being able to throw batting practice,” he said. “I used to throw a lot of batting practice two years ago, but now I have pitching machines and enough pitchers to do the job. I was still able to throw pretty well. I could get it by a couple of kids.” The 15-Year Club

15 Seasons or More as Head Coach

Coach School Years Bill Ross Santa Ana 28 Hi Lavalle Canyon 28 Gerry Sedoo Foothill 27 Tom Trager Laguna Beach 20 Dave Ochoa Villa Park 18 Ken Millard Estancia 18 Ron LaRuffa Edison 15