Laguna Beach Coach Jeff Sears remembered as a baseball ambassador and a friend to many

Jeff Sears talks to his Laguna Beach players after the team won the Ryan Lemmon Invitational in April 2019. (Photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

COMMENTARY: Coaches talk about his impact and legacy.

Jeff Sears was a legend in the baseball community.

That has been evident since it was announced Sunday morning that the popular and beloved Laguna Beach High School baseball coach had died after being hospitalized.

Coaches of other teams throughout Southern California and Orange County have expressed their admiration for Sears through numerous comments on Twitter.

So have former players. The tributes have been heartwarming and showed how Sears, affectionately nicknamed “Chief,” affected so many players in a positive way.

It’s clear that Sears was a special person and coach who loved life and people and was eager to help others.

Sure, he wanted to win, but he was also rooting for other players and other teams, and very supportive of them.

“He was always talking and meeting people, a true ambassador,” said Chris Conlin, former head coach at University High School where Sears was an assistant coach. “He loved good baseball. If the opponent’s player made a great play, he would tell the player, ‘great play.'”

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Current Corona del Mar coach Kevin McCaffrey has had his share of league battles against Sears and Laguna Beach. But he said Sears was always supportive of his program.

“I really enjoy coaching against Jeff,” McCaffrey said. “His teams are so well coached. It was so easy to see that he loved his kids. Jeff was a great teacher of the game. His teams are known for doing an excellent job on the basepaths and they put so much pressure on you with their bunting, slash, and hit and run. His teams play the game the right way and with a passion.

“It was also fun to watch Jeff when there was a bad call that went against his team. His interactions with umpires could be pretty fun to watch. I always look forward to playing Laguna Beach because I would get to connect with a good friend. The baseball community is in shock of the news of his passing.” 

McCaffrey got to know Sears about 16 years ago when the two were working a camp at University. The two talked on the phone about once a month.

“We coached and worked camps together and developed a great friendship over the years,” McCaffrey said. “Jeff was a big University of Oregon fan, and I am an Arizona fan. We had a friendly rivalry and would go watch games together.

“Jeff would come to our fundraisers as he was always up for a good time. You don’t see that very often, a head coach from another school coming out to their fundraisers. He liked supporting me and our program and he loved having a good time. Jeff played in our golf and poker tournaments.

“Jeff is one of the most talented and competitive athletes I know. If its golf, basketball, horseshoes, cornhole, or whiffle ball, he was always the guy you wanted on your team. Jeff was the guy that everyone attracted to. You could always count on some great stories from Jeff.  He made everything he did fun. His passion for life was amazing.”

After his team stole six bases in a doubleheader in February, 2020, Sears talked about the style of play he liked his team to use.

“It’s aggressive little ball,” said Sears. “We pick pitches to run on and pick counts to run on. We’re the adjusters. No one is going to adjust to us. They’re going to keep doing what they’re doing because they’re bigger, stronger and faster than we are.

“We just do the little things and we do them really well.”

The players on this year’s Laguna Beach team, undoubtedly stunned by Sears’ death, have some challenging days ahead as they try to cope with the loss of their beloved head coach. But they can take comfort in the support, not just from Orange County players and coaches, but those from around Southern California.

“Condolences to the Sears family and Laguna Beach High School baseball program,” said Santiago Corona baseball coach Ty De Trinidad. “The baseball coaching fraternity lost a great colleague.”

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