McCurdy to Coach Baseball at Royal; Westlake Hires Judd

Mike McCurdy, a baseball coach at Westlake High last season who motivated players by hustling as much as they did, was appointed Thursday to a coaching and teaching position at Royal High.

Replacing McCurdy at Westlake will be Dennis Judd, who has coached baseball for five years at Temple Christian High in Ventura.

McCurdy, a walk-on at Westlake this season, was not offered a teaching position by the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Earlier this summer, he said that he would not return unless hired full time.

Westlake Athletic Director Phalba Thomas said Thursday that there were no openings in the subjects that McCurdy is credentialed to teach. McCurdy, who can teach physical education, health and science, will teach life science at Royal, which is in the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Judd, 38, will teach English and French at Westlake in addition to coaching baseball. He compiled a 59-40 record at Temple Christian and made four trips to the Southern Section Small Schools playoffs. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he also coached at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, Wis., for three years.

Said Thomas: “We worked hard to get a coach who also taught at the school. Dennis Judd fit all of our requirements. He appears very organized.”

Royal was 6-6 in the Marmonte League and 8-14 overall last season. Its previous baseball coach, Tom Smailes, was named football and baseball coach at Big Bear High earlier this summer.

Westlake was 29-102-5 in six years under three coaches that preceded McCurdy. The Warriors were 5-7 in the Marmonte and 11-13 overall last season. They split two games with Royal.

McCurdy, a Pepperdine University graduate who coached at Beverly Hills High for seven years before moving to Westlake, was easily recognized on the field. He sprinted to the third-base coaching box between innings and to the mound to change pitchers. The coach, who expected the same hustle from his players, said he won’t change his style.

“I’ll still expect dedication and hustle,” McCurdy said. “Royal has a good nucleus coming back, so I’m excited about getting started.”

Judd is equally eager to begin.

“I anticipate great things at Westlake,” he said.