Chaminade Loses in Final and Might Lose Its Coach

Steve Harrington, softball coach at Chaminade High, was exhausted and emotionally spent on Saturday.

How much time off will he get?

Harrington, who nearly guided his program to its second consecutive Southern Section Division IV title might not get much time to relax after his team’s 1-0 loss to Calabasas at Mayfair Park before he has to make the toughest decision of his coaching career.

Harrington, 124-56-2 in six seasons at Chaminade and The Times’ 1999 coach of the year, will interview this summer for at least two positions as a college assistant, including one at Texas Tech.

“I’m going to a couple of interviews and see what happens,” Harrington said. “They just all of a sudden popped up. I’m not leaving right now, but I’m exploring my options.”

Under Harrington, Chaminade has risen from obscurity to a power in softball, winning Mission League titles in 1998 and 1999, and a Southern Section Division IV title in 1999.

Maureen LeCocq, former Chaminade pitcher now at Stanford, was Gatorade player of the year last season.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding season but after struggling through a tough nonleague schedule and finishing second behind Harvard-Westlake in the Mission League, Chaminade rode a late surge from sophomore pitcher Christina Lupacchini to another appearance in the final.

Harrington hasn’t been quiet about his desire to advance his career.

He recently completed a master’s program in psychological counseling at Cal State Northridge.

“Chaminade has been so great to me,” Harrington said. “They’ve given me everything I’ve needed.”

Harrington, who also coaches a successful club team in the summer, said he is likely to give up that duty as well.

“There’s no timetable right now [for a decision],” he said. “I’m just really tired. I want to go home and do nothing and relax. I want to spend time with my family.”

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Injuries forced Calabasas first baseman Heather Bell to endure two consecutive seasons of doubt and frustration.

Bell suffered nearly identical breaks in her left leg while playing club softball during the summers before her sophomore and junior seasons.

“I was really scared last season,” Bell said. “I was scared to do anything. I was afraid to get hit by a pitch and I was afraid to slide. But my family was there to support me step by step.”

Bell’s father, Greg, played baseball at Northridge (1977-79), her mother, Trudy, played softball at UC Santa Barbara and her sister, Keyna, plays for Loyola Marymount.

“I just wanted her to play if she wanted to,” Greg said. “She did have some doubts.”

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Southern Section officials had a unique problem to deal with when they removed newspaper photographer Dean Musgrove from the Calabasas dugout during the fifth inning.

Musgrove, father of Chaminade right fielder Kelly Musgrove, stood next to Calabasas coach Barbara Hofer for five innings shooting pictures. Officials saw the situation as a conflict of interest.

“It didn’t bother me at all,” Hofer said. “We’re not a team that takes things too seriously. We just come out and have a good time.”