Cooper Leaves Coaching to Spend Time With Family

After coaching high school baseball for 30 years, Hoover High’s Bob Cooper has retired to spend time with his children and grandchildren.

Cooper, 53, made the news official this week after 19 seasons as Hoover’s coach. He will continue to teach physical education at the school.

“I talked to (Principal) Don Duncan weeks ago about calling it quits because I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Cooper said. “I haven’t had Easter vacation in 30 years.”

Cooper coached at Harvard-Westlake, Elsinore and Lee Vining in the Southern Sierra before taking over at Hoover in 1976.

He led the Tornadoes to 13 league championships and 18 playoff berths. This season the team finished with an 11-5 record and lost in the first round of the Southern Section playoffs.

He won a Southern Section championship at Elsinore and his 1983 Hoover team was ranked No. 1 in the state. He compiled a career record of 465-255-2.

“I’ll still be around the game,” Cooper said. “I’m not going to absolutely cut myself from it. I love baseball.”

A leading candidate to replace Cooper is Jim Delzell, his assistant of five years.

Boys’ Volleyball

Matt Olsen of Royal High, a senior who led the Highlanders to the Southern Section Division II championship, has been named the divisional player of the year.

The first team also includes junior Eric Carlsen and senior Josh White of Royal, senior Brent Phillips of Canyon and senior David Sotolov of Thousand Oaks.

Seniors Toby Sides and Mac Wilson and junior Ryan Millar of Highland, which lost to Royal in the final, also made the first team.

In Division I, senior Matt Sebree of Harvard-Westlake made the first team.

Seniors Sean Farrel of L.A. Baptist and Brodie McClain of Village Christian made the Division III team.

Baseball

Cal Lutheran pitcher Marc Weiss, drafted in the 26th round pick by the Cincinnati Reds, signed with the club on Friday and has been assigned to Class-A Billings, Mont.

Weiss, a junior right-hander, posted a record of 10-2 for the Kingsmen last season. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Soccer

An exhibition match between Cameroon’s World Cup team and the L.A. Salsa originally scheduled for Santa Paula High will be held at Oxnard College at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Youth Swimming

Class Aquatics of Calabasas has scheduled tryouts and registration for June 18 from noon and 1 p.m.

Tryouts are open to boys and girls between the ages of 4 1/2 and 18. A birth certificate is required.

Information: 818-725-3585.