Schulhofer’s New Challenge

Adam Schulhofer is a U.S. history teacher at Canyon High with a wife, two young daughters, two dogs and a mortgage.

If you followed high school baseball in the Valley in the 1980s, you might remember Schulhofer as the winning pitcher for Canoga Park in the 1987 City Section final against Poly at Dodger Stadium.

Never before and probably never again will Canoga Park win a City baseball title. The Hunters’ home field was Lanark Park, one of the worst diamonds in the Valley, with no mound and no fences.

This was before open enrollment, so top baseball players who lived in the Canoga Park district had little choice but to attend the school.

With Schulhofer, Mike Kerber, Mike Urman and Scott Strickland leading the way, Canoga Park pulled off the improbable, winning the title in Coach Doug MacKenzie’s 37th and final season.

“You learn that anything’s possible,” Schulhofer said. “I learned any team can go out and play regardless of the field, regardless of the past.”

Schulhofer went on to play for UCLA, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and spent two years in the minor leagues before facing the dilemma every minor leaguer dreads: Whether to quit or keep playing.

“At 23, you hit a crossroads--go back to school and get on with life or try to make it,” Schulhofer said. “There were a lot of times I was tempted to keep going. It was almost a coin flip.”

Schulhofer made the decision to begin the rest of his life. His father and brother were lawyers, but he wanted to become a teacher.

“I thought to teach history in the morning and coach baseball in the afternoon would be a decent way to earn a living,” he said.

He has no regrets. In the morning, he’s teaching students about the colonization of America, the Civil War, slavery, Prohibition, World War I, World War II, Watergate.

In the afternoon, he’s serving as rookie coach of the Canyon baseball team, trying to lift the Cowboys’ program to the level of Santa Clarita Valley rival Hart.

“Hopefully, the things I teach in terms of pitching, fielding and hitting, we’ll see how they take hold,” he said. “A couple years down the line, I’ll know if my approach is building winning teams.”

Those who knew Schulhofer at Canoga Park predict he’ll be a successful coach.

“He had a lot of patience and [he] understood fundamentals were important,” MacKenzie said. “Others wanted the quick, immediate success. He was a hard worker and did what he was asked to do.”

Coach Bob Lofrano of Pierce College worked with Schulhofer on a winter scout team and still hasn’t forgotten the impression the young man made.

“Adam is a perfect guy for coaching because he always had a great demeanor,” Lofrano said. “Adam is a real testament to a kid who stuck it out. He’s a guy who didn’t get to play on a nice field but won a City title. I think he’ll bring that kind of work ethic to Canyon.”

Schulhofer, 29, is among a group of former players from the 1980s who have begun to enter the coaching and teaching ranks.

Jared Snyder, a former Saugus High catcher, is new coach at Valencia. Others who played in Schulhofer’s era include Joe Gordon, new coach at Simi Valley, Coach Scott Cline of Camarillo and Coach Chuck Berrington of Westlake.

“It’s kind of neat,” Lofrano said of the young coaches. “These are good kids. Get us old guys out of here.”

In high school, Schulhofer played for a man who was dedicated to coaching and believed in covering every detail.

MacKenzie kept every scorebook from his 37 years at Canoga Park. He also made sure his players had fun.

“I learned to really enjoy the game, that on a hot spring or summer day, to be out catching a baseball, sliding or diving, there’s nothing better,” Schulhofer said.

Of course, Schulhofer has yet to confront a parent or suspend a player. He’s also learning about open enrollment, which allows players to act as free agents by leaving a program for any reason to join another.

“There are some players who should have gone [to Canyon] and went elsewhere,” he said. “The bottom line is we’ll make do with what we have. Personally, if I were a player, I think it’s more important to stay and make a team a winner than fly the coop.”

Canyon is 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the Foothill League under Schulhofer, but if you want to understand the impact he has already made, listen to junior infielder Matt Palmer.

“He’s the best coach I’ve had,” Palmer said.

Palmer met Schulhofer in a middle school history class.

“He knows his stuff,” Palmer said. “He knows everything you need to know about history. He knows European history, he knows American history. That’s what I want to do--be a history teacher.”

When high school baseball players are thinking of becoming history teachers, it means they have a pretty special coach.

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.