Houle named new Serra skipper

“I truly love Serra baseball,” Houle said in a press release from the school. “I enjoy being part of such a rich tradition. As a I child, I grew up watching Padre baseball. I played all four years in high school and later coached at Serra for 12 years, so I have a unique perspective.”

Houle follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, Ken Houle, who managed the Padres from 1956 to 1975. Chris Houle is a 1992 Serra graduate and teaches business, technology and math at the school. He was the math department chair from 2012 to 2016. He was Serra’s junior varsity coach from 1998 to 2009 and also served as assistant athletic director in 2003 and 2004.

“We are extremely excited to have Chris Houle as our new varsity baseball coach,” Serra athletic director Dean Ayoob said in the press release. “Chris knows our school and program very well and he is passionate about promoting the values that Serra stands for.”

As a player at Serra, Houle captured back-to-back West Catholic Athletic League titles his final two years. As a junior in 1991, Houle was part of the Padres team that captured the WCAL and Central Coast Section titles. That 1991 squad was also named state champion. He won the WCAL team as a senior as well.

“My 20 years as a teacher and 12 years as a coach have given me many opportunities to work on communication and motivation,” Houle said in the press release. “The real challenge lies in truly finding what makes a student-athlete tick. What is it that makes him work so hard to achieve success in the classroom or on the field? That’s the challenge that I love.”

Serra went 17-14 overall this past season and was 8-6 in the West Catholic Athletic League, finishing fifth in the standings. After opening the season 15-5 and 7-1 in WCAL play, the Padres plummeted. They lost five of the last six regular-season games and their opening game in the WCAL tournament.

Their only win during that span was a 5-3 decision over Riordan, after which Gianinno suddenly resigned. Dan Nolan was appointed interim manager and, after losing his first three games, the Padres won their next three games in the CCS Open Division tournament, advancing to the championship game where they fell 4-3 to Valley Christian.