In 11 years as head baseball coach at San Lorenzo Valley High, Ross Parmenter has spent every spring pushing to rebuild the emphasis on baseball the school. What was once a mighty program for the Cougars had tapered off since he left the area.
In 1990, when Parmenter was a sophomore at SLV, the team was a force to be reckoned with. The Cougars were undefeated Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champions and the No. 3 team in the state. They finished their season 25-1 and had the respect of the entire Central Coast Section.
During the mid-1990s, baseball waned at SLV, and in spring, fewer and fewer players went out for the team. When Parmenter returned to SLV from Santa Clara University, where he had been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, his alma mater was struggling.
In 1999, he and fellow SLV alumnus Shane Sutcliffe took over the reins of the baseball program and began the rebuilding process.
The Cougars are looking strong this season and will have an all-league returning pitcher in junior Tyler Gilbert and some great athletes in Nick Lipperd, Billy Mullins and Doug Alves.
But they won’t have Parmenter at the helm. He is stepping down as head coach to spend more time with his family. His wife, Katie, and their two girls, Macy, 9, and Aubrey, 7, look forward to having him at more of their softball, soccer and basketball games, Parmenter said.
“I have enjoyed my time, absolutely,” Parmenter said. “But the time comes, as kids get older, when you just have to be there for them, and it’s hard to do when you are committed elsewhere.”
While Ross hands off his coaching duties to assistant coach Sutcliffe, he is eager to watch the Cougars from the bleachers.
Sutcliffe was an SLV standout all-league catcher in 1991 before going to Sonoma State University to catch for the Sea Wolves. From college, Sutcliffe went to Europe to be a player and then coach for a semiprofessional team in Austria. He returned to SLV to teach English and physical education.
“Sutcliffe is Mr. Baseball.” Parmenter said of his lifelong friend. “He eats, sleeps and breathes baseball and is definitely the right man for the job.”
The program has been built, the team is poised to be a competitor again, and the fruits of his labors, Ross Parmenter will enjoy with his family.
