Happy Father’s Day! OC sports dads talk about their special memories

The McCaffreys (from left) Tom, former coach at El Toro and his sons Kevin and Jeff. (Photo courtesy of the McCaffrey family from 1999).

We see them at so many sporting events throughout Orange County: fathers cheering on their daughters and sons.

Some of them get a chance to coach them, either on the youth level or at high school, such as former long-time El Toro Coach Tom McCaffrey. He coached one of his sons, Jeff, when he was the coach of the Chargers.

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Tom McCaffrey has retired from coaching but he’s very supportive of his sons and attends most of the games at Corona del Mar, where Kevin is the head baseball coach.

“Father’s Day is day of retrospect with fond memories of my sons Kevin and Jeff,” Tom McCaffrey said. “Many of those memories are centered around sports.  Kevin, my older son, attended Laguna Hills High School and played both football and baseball. Kevin followed in his father’s footsteps and is currently a teacher at Corona del Mar High School and the varsity baseball coach.

“My younger son, Jeff, attended El Toro High School which is where I was a teacher and coach. Jeff also participated in football and baseball and to this day is an avid Dodgers’ fan. Jeff is currently working at Mavenlink, a collaborative platform software.

” I had the pleasure of coaching Jeff his junior and senior years as a varsity baseball player. Kevin’s first coaching job was coaching the freshmen at ETHS. That was a memorable season with both my boys contributing to the program.”

Kevin McCaffrey said he appreciates his father’s support.

“I have been very lucky to have a loving and supportive father,” Kevin McCaffrey said. “Some of my best memories growing up were going to the field with my dad to watch his team. My summers as a young boy consisted of shagging balls in the outfield or hitting in the cages and I loved being out on the field with my dad and his players. My dad has taken a great interest in my coaching career and he can be seen at almost every game we play. I enjoy going out to eat with him after our games to talk baseball.”

We heard from other fathers, and here are their stories:

STEVE GARRETT, TESORO BOYS BASKETBALL COACH:

“I’ve been at Tesoro since it opened in 2001. We moved here when Kylie was 1 years old and Heidi was pregnant with Kaden. Tesoro has been my family’s second home. My kids have grown up in the gym. I’m very fortunate to have such a suppportive wife. I’m a blessed man.”

(Garrett and his wife of 23 years, Heidi, have four children: Kylie 19, a Tesoro grad who plays volleyball at Vanguard; Kaden 17, who will be a senior this upcoming season at Tesoro; Madden, 11 and Finley, 6. It will be Kaden’s third year playing for his father on the varsity basketball team. He was an all-conference second team player last year on the Titans’ league championship team).

MIKE FILIA, WHO HAS SONS ERIC, MIKEY AND MARC ‘BUBBA’ FILIA:

“I love everything about being a dad. Father’s Day to me is better than my birthday. It celebrates my greatest achievement in life.

“And it also means my boys have to help clean out the garage without complaining!

“I coached all three of my boys in baseball. Eric, 26, Mikey, 22 and Marc (Bubba) 18. My boys and I grew up together on the baseball field. So many of our family memories were made at one of their baseball games. They make me proud on and off the field.”

RICH DUNN, FATHER OF CdM BASEBALL PLAYER NOLAN DUNN:

“I always wanted to be father and my dream came true in 2001 with the birth of our first son, Nolan. As a former professional baseball player and career sportswriter, I couldn’t wait to start coaching. I love kids and it was a natural fit for me as I coached baseball, basketball, flag football and soccer on the youth level, as well as middle school basketball and high school baseball (with no son on the high school baseball team).

“For the past four years, Nolan and I have traveled to Arizona for the USA Baseball West Championships, usually spending eight to nine days, depending on how many Arizona Diamondbacks games we can catch while we’re in town. Also, for the past four years I’ve spent Father’s Day at the Arizona ballparks in 112-plus degree temperatures and this year will be a treat to be home.”

MIKE LOCKWOOD, WHOSE SON GRANT LOCKWOOD PLAYED ON IRVINE’S BASEBALL TEAM:

“To me, it seems that Father’s Day has always seen me on the baseball field.  This is the first Father’s Day in 16 years that I will not be coaching or watching one of my two boys play baseball or my daughter competitively ride.  Whether it be locally, OC or Arizona, we were always traveling somewhere. I will always treasure and now miss those days. Being fortunate enough to not only coach my boys, but other boys on our teams is something i will forever be grateful. I also need to thank my wife for allowing me to coach all those years.”

PETER WERTH, WHOSE SON PETER PLAYED ON THE CYPRESS CIF CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL TEAM:

“Words can’t even begin to express my gratitude for this special young man in my life. I’m extremely grateful to be touched be God’s Grace and to be able to be present to follow my son’s journey.  The pride and elation I get on and off the field is priceless!”

LOU SIMON, BECKMAN SOFTBALL COACH WHO COACHES HIS DAUGHTER MADISON:

“When I think of Father’s day, I think of how lucky I am to have a daughter like Madison.  It’s true what people say, when you have kids, it will change you. Well…Madi helped shape me to see things I did not see. Her determination, her ambition to be the best she can be, has inspired me to do my best as well.  Those who know me…know that I have a special bond with my daughter, a bond that began in the 8-and-under division of the Irvine Girls Softball Association coaching her and that tradition continues today as a head coach for Beckman High School softball program.

“When they came asking me if I would consider being their head coach, the first thing I did was ask my daughter what she thought of the offer. Madi responded, ‘You better say yes.’ The rest is history.  We won league this season with a record of 9-1. Madison will be a senior next season.”

DAN SELWAY, NORTHWOOD OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR:

“Being a father has been the greatest gift. Looking forward to some more fun times with twin boys arriving summer 2019.”

(Selway and his wife Andrea have a son Brady, who turns 2 in August.)

RELATED STORY: We pay tribute to the dads on Father’s Day

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com