As the school gears up for its 50^th birthday (Fall, 2009), Falcons Sports News digs a little further for an athletic alum that would commensurate with the school’s sports history.  We found Richard Hill, SHS Class of 1980.

Or maybe it’s Rich who has never forgotten us that he came back to guest coach a baseball training session this spring at SHS.  After so many years, is he really still qualified to coach?  You bet.  Richard Hill is now the Baseball Head Coach at University of San Diego (USD).

Growing up near SHS, playing on the athletic fields and in the gym was a regular pastime for Rich since childhood.  He grew up enamored in sports, playing football, basketball and baseball in high school, and was even on the very first youth soccer team in Saratoga in 1974.

In discussing college recruiting, Rich says things were quite different back then when showcase tournaments and elite summer camps didn’t exist, and high school games were the only venue to be scouted (by colleges).  For him, a recruiting letter from USD arrived and there he went for two years before transferring to Cal Lutheran University.

Rich remembers his transition from high school to college baseball was profound in both time and level of play, but especially in the level of play because all of a sudden the bar was raised when he was playing alongside talents like Tony Gwynn and Bobby Meacham – players who would later become big time pros.

Figuring out that coaching would be the destiny and a way for him to contribute and continue his passion for baseball was a natural progression.  Rich went into playing pro baseball after college, and when he was released from that, he went to teach and to coach at a high school in southern California.  It wasn’t long before Rich returned to his alma mater (Cal Lutheran) to be an assistant coach, and in 1988, became the head coach at the school.

Now as head coach for baseball at USD, Rich enjoys a PAC-10 equivalent recruiting budget that allows him to travel to scout for talents, and a full allotment of scholarships by NCAA that lets him recruit the best out there.  As to what he looks for in an athlete, Rich emphasizes that it has very little to do with the actual results in terms of home runs or strike outs.  Instead, he looks for three qualities: character, academics, and maximum preparation and execution in the sport – in the exact order of priority.

Rich emphasizes the importance of high school games.  He repeatedly states that colleges spend 90% of their time scouting and they will find the talents out there.  He feels that parents these days make the mistake of thinking that kids have to do a lot, when attending one to two showcases and participating in the best club the player can get into are sufficient. He says this is especially true for baseball.  As to what SHS athletes can do right now to better the chance of college sports, Rich suggests:

1)      Schedule 1 on 1 with the coach and the athletic director to let them know your intent to play in college,

2)      Be the best high school player as you can be and let the school team be your focus,

3)      Join a summer league team and attend a showcase or two,

4)      Attend a summer camp at a college of your choice.

There are many memorable SHS sports moments for Rich.  He remembers fondly the year 1980 when football and baseball both won league championships.  He remembers the coaches: Benny Pierce, Ray Goni, Mike Costanzo.  He talks about his high school sports buddies who have remained friends through the years, including Lindsey Meggs who is now the baseball head coach at Indiana State.  He reminisces the days when the field was filled with sixty to seventy kids all the time.  Most of all, Rich recalls the pride in playing for SHS.  To SHS athletes today, Rich says, “Wear your uniform proud and get back some of the tradition and heritage that had been lost over the years.”