LA COSTA CANYON HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

North County Times - March 24, 2008

By Terry Monahan - Staff Writer

"Before the start of baseball season, La Costa Canyon coach Justin Machado was looking around the dugout one day and noticed something about his coaching staff. Of the seven guys coaching at the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen levels, six of them had graduated from San Dieguito High.  the other one played three seasons at San Dieguito before transferring to LCC when LCC opened and San Dieguito closed and later reopened as the San Dieguito Academy.  That means the Mavericks' entire staff played, and learned, the game of baseball under coach Matt Chess.  Chess, now in his third season at Torrey Pines, was reminded of his involvement with the Mavs' staff when his Falcons lost the Pirate-Falcon Classic Championship game to La Costa Canyon this year.

"Whenever we play LCC it's like old home week," said Chess, 47. "Seeing how they're doing gives me a great feeling and reminds me just how old I really am.  They tend to get on me first because I knew them back when they were just teenage imps.  That doesn't mean I want to lose to them."

Machado and pitching coach Tim Kechter, who has been with Machado since LCC opened, graduated from Chess' class in 1989. Jason Hill played at San Dieguito for three years before graduating from LCC.

"Kechter was just hanging around the field with nothing to do when I asked him to coach," Chess remembered. "San Dieguito had something like 25 straight losing seasons and no playoffs since Sam Blalock played second base for them."

Junior varsity coach Jet Cook graduated in '94, while Jose Balderas was a '95 graduate. Freshmen coaches Ryan Gold and Cole Liniak both graduated in '95.

"Matt made an impact on all our lives," said Machado, who coached for Chess at San Dieguito in '96 before getting the Varsity job at La Costa Canyon when it opened in the fall of '96. "I'd hang out with Matt in the dugout after college, and he got me excited about staying in baseball."

"Getting all San Dieguito guys was totally an accident.  I told Matt about it, but he already knew the connection.  He was just waiting for the kids to figure it out."

Chess, a 1979 graduate of Poway, had two different stints at San Dieguito.  He coached the JV for two seasons ('86-87), when Machado and Kechter were on the team, and the varsity for three seasons ('94-96), when he encountered the rest of LCC's staff.

Jeff Alexander was also in that group, but he now coaches the Torrey Pines freshmen team.

"It was a vein of baseball guys who came along at the same time," Chess said.  "To me, coaching is for the love of the game and to teach the game to kids.  Try to keep it fun and win too.  High school baseball is not a business yet."

One tendancy that Machado did not acquire from his association with Chess was his mentor's penchant for long--- very long, according to Machado--- postgame talks with his players.

"Im 30 seconds and out," said Machado, laughing.  " There were some of those talks that went on forever."

Chess admitted to that.  " I guess Justin sat through too many of those," Chess said. "In trying to make them better players and better people, I try to make sure my little humans know they're the most important people out there all the time."

Chess asked his current Falcons if any of them had an interest in coaching baseball.  He said 17 raised their hands.  So the Mavs may have even more future Chess-men coming down the road."

(However, playing at Torrey Pines may disqualify them from coaching at La Costa Canyon.)