Ryan Ulrich
Managing Editor
At the end of last year there was a gap in the athletic faculty, when Cassidy Olson, former head coach of the Mira Costa baseball program, announced that he would be leaving at the end of the 2016 season.
This year, stepping in for Olson is 11-year professional baseball player, and former coach at Harbor College, Keith Ramsey. On top of playing as a professional and coaching college teams, Ramsey also coached two little league teams which he lead to the Junior League World Series in 2012 and 2014.
“I’ve coached at both the community college level and at the high school level at Crossroads School,” said Ramsey. “ I was also fortunate enough to play 11 years professionally for five different MLB (Major League Baseball) organizations up to the AAA level.”
During his tenure, Olson lead the baseball program to three Bay League titles, and a Boras Classic Tournament championship. In terms of California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) games, Olson lead the team to the Southern Section Division 2 semi-finals in 2010, as well as the Division 3 championship in 2013.
“I don’t know what the team looked like in the past, but I want to implement a culture where the boys genuinely care about each other and love playing the game together,” said Ramsey.
Many of the players on the team have been coached by Ramsey in the past, either in little league or club baseball. Ramsey is making the team more like a family with his positivity and calm demeanor, according to junior catcher Chris Penna.
“I think he is going to change the program a lot,” said Penna. “He is a player’s coach and we all definitely love him because he is never negative to any of us.”
So far the team’s routine has changed in only a few ways. Ramsey has the players doing workouts in the pool, as well as much more team bonding compared to previous years, according to junior pitcher Jesse Storey.
“He is here to develop each of us as a player,” said Storey. “Right now we are working hard in the offseason in order to better ourselves when the real season starts.”
Ramsey has been grouping players together based on their positions to help the players learn from each other. Thus far the team is looking skilled in their ability to group and make good decisions defensively, according to Ramsey.
“I could not be more excited to come to work every day,” Ramsey said. “The administration has been terrific so far and I’m honored to get to wear these colors.”
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