Chris Kaczmar Wins Easton Master Coach Award

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Chris Kaczmar, head baseball coach at Walsh Jesuit H.S. (Cuyahoga Falls, OH), has been named the 23^rd winner of the Easton Sports Master Coach Award.

The award is given to an exceptional high school baseball coach who goes beyond what most coaches do.

Over the past 15 years, Kaczmar has not only taken a small Catholic high school baseball program in Ohio and turned it into a nationally recognized school.

He has taken the concept of a baseball showcase and turned it into a fundraising machine that encourages awareness of cancer as people donate money to various organizations battling the disease.

In his 15 years at the school, Kaczmar has compiled a 376-72 record that includes four state championships in 1999, 2004, 2006 and 2008 and two runner up finishes in 2009 and 2010.

His teams have been ranked in national polls during six of the last seven years.

Over the years, he has sent 71 of his players to various college programs, including 41 who have gone on to NCAA Division I schools. Several of his players have been drafted by Major League teams, but most have pursued their college educations.

Kaczmar is a bit different than your average high school baseball coach since he is a full time architect running his own firm.

Over the years, several tragedies deeply influenced him and his team.

“We had several people in our baseball family who passed away from cancer,” he said. “But all of these turned into life lessons that made us better people. Each time something has happened that has translated into us becoming a closer family. Instead of being friends for just four years, we have become lifelong friends.

“Every guy is important in our program from the first guy to the last guy on the bench,” he said, adding that this sort of caring makes his teams a little different than most.

Among the tragedies was the death of Kevin Neff, then a sophomore at Walsh Jesuit, and four parents who passed away, all from cancer. In addition, assistant baseball coach John Ventura was diagnosed with cancer and is now a survivor.

Out of the tragedies and the desire to help his kids continue their baseball careers, Kaczmar developed a program called “Showcase for the Cure.”

It’s a three-day event that begins as a traditional baseball camp for aspiring young athletes and concludes with a non-profit invitation-only showcase event.

The event has attracted elite players from around Ohio and offered them the chance to run, throw and hit in front of college coaches and professional scouts at the Walsh Jesuit baseball complex.

This year’s showcase honored Chet Rodgers, a graduate of Walsh Jesuit and third round draft pick in 2006 by the Atlanta Braves. Rodgers has been battling lymphoma, and the 2011 showcase raised $26,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

In six years, the showcase has raised over $88,000 for five different cancer-related organizations.

Over the years, Kaczmar has received numerous Coach of the Year awards from various local and national associations. In 2010, he was inducted into the Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Kaczmar was nominated for the award by a Walsh Jesuit parent, Jim Greve. A story about the award and Kaczmar appears in the October 1, 2011 edition of Collegiate Baseball newspaper.