Matt LaCour is The Times’ baseball coach of the year
After the 2007 high school baseball season, Matt LaCour made a surprising job change.
He gave up one of the best coaching positions in the City Section at Woodland Hills El Camino Real to become coach at Studio City Harvard-Westlake, which was known more for its success in basketball, soccer, golf, water polo and tennis.
It took six years, but LaCour put the Wolverines’ baseball program on the map this season. Harvard-Westlake won the Southern Section Division 1 championship and earned a national championship plaque from Baseball America.
LaCour, the Los Angeles Times’ high school baseball coach of the year, is the first coach to guide teams to Division 1 championships in the City and Southern sections.
On its way to this year’s Southern Section title, Harvard-Westlake defeated Orange County powers Santa Margarita, Placentia El Dorado, Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach Marina in consecutive playoff games.
LaCour got his team to succeed behind strong pitching, near flawless defense and by training them to perform well in pressure situations.
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