The Foothill changeup

Prep baseball: Golden Valley baseball coach resigns

The summer of 2017 has been one of change for Foothill League baseball coaching staffs.

One day after Saugus High announced its new coach, Golden Valley head man, Steve Lombardi, told The Signal on Friday that he had resigned, effective immediately.

He said that he has “seen too many things transpire over the last few months that have taught me that being a head coach at the high school level is not what I thought it would be.”

“My passion is to coach baseball and to teach life principles through the game,” Lombardi, who plans to continue teaching English at Golden Valley next year, said via text message, “and too often those principles are overshadowed by outside factors that are beyond a coach’s control.”

Asked for more details on the factors outside a coach’s control, Lombardi said, “The constant ridicule of parents and lack of support from others that

causes players to not buy in to the overall direction of the program.”

Lombardi, a Canyon High graduate who played baseball at College of the Canyons, took over the Golden Valley program before the 2016 season.

The Grizzlies went 6-20 that year, and while they won only eight games in 2017, they were markedly improved.

“I enjoyed my time as the head coach at GV thoroughly,” Lombardi said, “and as I walk away, I leave behind a lot of fond memories, especially of this past year’s varsity team who overcame so many challenges to become perhaps the most successful varsity team in GV history.”

Lombardi said the rest of his varsity staff is also stepping down.

“We would like to thank coach Lombardi for his hard work and his commitment to Golden Valley High School and our baseball program,” said Golden Valley Athletic Director Mike Edwards via email. “We respect his decision and will look to post the position as soon as possible.”

In late May, Saugus High baseball’s coaching staff stepped down after then-head coach John Maggiora said “the highest levels” had said they’d be making changes to his staff after receiving complaints of verbal mistreatment of Centurion players.

Saugus announced Thursday that Carl Grissom, the program’s interim summer coach, would fill Maggiora’s position.