By JONAMAR JACINTO
Sports editor of the
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Joe Darretta’s stay as Ripon Christian High’s head varsity baseball coach was short but sweet.
Also the school’s athletic director, Darretta announced to the team last Thursday that he will step down from his post effective immediately but will remain on the coaching staff for the final two weeks of the Trans Valley League season.
Pitching coach John DeVisser, a graduate of RC, has taken over head coaching responsibilities, though Darretta said he was being groomed for the position all season.
“He’s pretty much been running the team this year as kind of an apprentice, and he’s proven very capable,” Darretta said. “I know that I’ll be leaving the team in better hands from a better coach than myself.”
Darretta will soon complete his first full year as the school’s athletic director after taking over for current varsity volleyball coach Tiger Shelton last summer.
The Knights are 27-31-1 since Darretta took over the baseball team in 2007 but made an unexpected turnaround last year, improving to 16-11 from 5-17-1 while advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs.
“When I took the position as athletic director, I evaluated the situation and thought it was best served for the school for me to focus primarily on being an A.D.,” Darretta said. “But I wasn’t comfortable stepping aside right away after the program had made such great strides.”
Last week, Darretta and his coaching staff figured that the timing was right.
Ripon Christian is on a little hot streak after a rough start, winning four of its last five going into today’s road game against defending conference champion Hughson. The Knights are currently 2-8 in league, and 6-13 overall.
“The team is playing its best ball, and John is at the center of all that,” Darretta said. “With the summer league coming up after school is out, we walked as a team and thought this would be a good time to make the transition.”
This year’s team includes several players from the 2008 sophomore squad that claimed the TVL championship, but the transition to varsity play has been rough.
With a varsity season under its belt, along with the rigid summer league schedule to come, DeVisser hopes to take this year’s promising group back to contendership.
DeVisser graduated from Ripon Christian in 2000 and continued his playing career at Modesto Junior College and Division I University of South Alabama of the Sun-Belt Conference.
He got to compete in two NCAA Regionals with South Alabama, and from there he signed with the Edmonton Cracker-cats of the Northern League, which is now known as the Golden Baseball League.
DeVisser coached under Mike McNeil at Ceres High in 2007 before joining Darretta’s staff a year ago.
Darretta said DeVisser’s knowledge of the game along with his energy and ability to connect with the players will serve him well going forward.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to come back and coach my alma mater,” DeVisser said. “With the contacts I’ve made with college coaches, I want to help these kids get scholarships.
“The great thing about coaching at Ripon Christian is the kids. They all have great attitudes, and most of them have similar backgrounds that I do. We all go to church together and I know a lot of their parents, so there’s really a family-type feel. It’s basically like coaching your family.”
To contact Jonamar Jacinto, e-mail jjacinto@mantecabulletin.com, or call (209) 249-3538.
Sports editor of the
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Joe Darretta’s stay as Ripon Christian High’s head varsity baseball coach was short but sweet.
Also the school’s athletic director, Darretta announced to the team last Thursday that he will step down from his post effective immediately but will remain on the coaching staff for the final two weeks of the Trans Valley League season.
Pitching coach John DeVisser, a graduate of RC, has taken over head coaching responsibilities, though Darretta said he was being groomed for the position all season.
“He’s pretty much been running the team this year as kind of an apprentice, and he’s proven very capable,” Darretta said. “I know that I’ll be leaving the team in better hands from a better coach than myself.”
Darretta will soon complete his first full year as the school’s athletic director after taking over for current varsity volleyball coach Tiger Shelton last summer.
The Knights are 27-31-1 since Darretta took over the baseball team in 2007 but made an unexpected turnaround last year, improving to 16-11 from 5-17-1 while advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs.
“When I took the position as athletic director, I evaluated the situation and thought it was best served for the school for me to focus primarily on being an A.D.,” Darretta said. “But I wasn’t comfortable stepping aside right away after the program had made such great strides.”
Last week, Darretta and his coaching staff figured that the timing was right.
Ripon Christian is on a little hot streak after a rough start, winning four of its last five going into today’s road game against defending conference champion Hughson. The Knights are currently 2-8 in league, and 6-13 overall.
“The team is playing its best ball, and John is at the center of all that,” Darretta said. “With the summer league coming up after school is out, we walked as a team and thought this would be a good time to make the transition.”
This year’s team includes several players from the 2008 sophomore squad that claimed the TVL championship, but the transition to varsity play has been rough.
With a varsity season under its belt, along with the rigid summer league schedule to come, DeVisser hopes to take this year’s promising group back to contendership.
DeVisser graduated from Ripon Christian in 2000 and continued his playing career at Modesto Junior College and Division I University of South Alabama of the Sun-Belt Conference.
He got to compete in two NCAA Regionals with South Alabama, and from there he signed with the Edmonton Cracker-cats of the Northern League, which is now known as the Golden Baseball League.
DeVisser coached under Mike McNeil at Ceres High in 2007 before joining Darretta’s staff a year ago.
Darretta said DeVisser’s knowledge of the game along with his energy and ability to connect with the players will serve him well going forward.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to come back and coach my alma mater,” DeVisser said. “With the contacts I’ve made with college coaches, I want to help these kids get scholarships.
“The great thing about coaching at Ripon Christian is the kids. They all have great attitudes, and most of them have similar backgrounds that I do. We all go to church together and I know a lot of their parents, so there’s really a family-type feel. It’s basically like coaching your family.”
To contact Jonamar Jacinto, e-mail jjacinto@mantecabulletin.com, or call (209) 249-3538.
