Padres honor La Jolla High’s Gary Frank as Coach of the Week

La Jolla Excessive College alumnus and longtime Vikings baseball coach Gary Frank has been chosen by the San Diego Padres as a Coach of the Week, placing him within the working to be Coach of the Yr and earn $10,000 for the baseball program.

“The choice committee was unanimous in its alternative of Gary on account of his lengthy dedication to the varsity, the baseball program and his gamers, each on the sector and within the classroom,” mentioned Invoice Johnston, Padres vp of neighborhood influence.

“I’m actually honored to obtain the award from the Padres,” Frank mentioned. However he added he doesn’t view it as a person honor “however moderately a validation of all of the fantastic folks we have now working behind the scenes to assist our youngsters develop each on and off the sector.”

“We’re very pleased with this system we have now constructed up at La Jolla Excessive College, and it’s positively a gaggle effort,” Frank mentioned. “As a coach, I notice I can not do all the things by myself. We’ve got excellent student-athletes, a terrific teaching employees and intensely supportive mother and father. Our purpose is to have all of these entities working collectively to provide the children a optimistic expertise. We’re proud to characterize the neighborhood of La Jolla and we do our best possible to provide again to the neighborhood and be a optimistic reflection of … La Jolla, and I feel we do a reasonably good job of that. I’m very humbled to obtain the award from the Padres and I’m excited to simply accept it on behalf of your entire La Jolla Excessive College baseball household.”

Frank performed for La Jolla Excessive throughout his time there as a scholar within the Nineteen Eighties and has been concerned with the baseball program ever since.

Baseball has been part of Frank’s household since he was an toddler. The Chicago native had moved to San Diego by the point his love for the sport developed, so his favourite workforce is the Padres.

Frank performed for the Vikings, then in faculty and some years in impartial minor leagues. Then he began teaching for La Jolla as an assistant 28 years in the past and have become its head coach in 2004.

Frank was nominated for Coach of the Week by La Jolla Excessive Athletic Director Aaron Quesnell, who mentioned within the nomination type that “Gary has a ardour for each the sport and the event of student-athletes. Along with instructing and creating baseball expertise, he places within the work each out and in of season to verify his gamers are doing their greatest within the classroom. He works on creating character and sportsmanship. He develops student-athletes which have a respect for the sport and its historical past, teammates and opponents and everybody that makes taking part in baseball doable. We’re lucky to have Coach Frank at La Jolla.”

The Padres began the Coach of the Week program in 2018 to “acknowledge the dear contributions coaches make to our youth and student-athletes as coaches, educators, mentors and position fashions,” Johnston mentioned.

Every week for eight weeks starting March 25, the Padres acknowledge one native baseball or softball coach. Every Coach of the Week receives a $1,500 grant to help the coach’s program or league. On the finish of this system, one of many coaches will probably be named Coach of the Yr on the sector at Petco Park on Monday, June 10. The winner will obtain a $10,000 grant for the coach’s program.

Frank beforehand advised the La Jolla Mild that “it’s not about how massive you’re however how massive your coronary heart is. We [had] a man on our workforce who’s 5-foot-7 and 120 kilos and one other man who’s 6-foot-5 and 300 kilos. There aren’t loads of sports activities the place you may have that massive a distinction and, as long as you’re prepared to work at it, you may have a reward.”

“It goes together with life — you get out of it what you set into it,” he mentioned. “That’s an enormous factor we attempt to instill in them. Management what you may management. You possibly can’t management whether or not I put you within the lineup, however you may management how prepared you’re if you get that chance.” ◆