Aragon skipper Lenny Souza nearing end of the line

“I had a big life change,” said Souza, who is a special education teacher at Bayside Academy in San Mateo. “My fiancée and I decided to buy a home and we couldn’t afford to live on the Peninsula. It all happened so fast. In October, we moved to Discovery Bay (in unincorporated Contra Costa County).

“(Coaching and the commute is) just not sustainable. Do I want to stop coaching at Aragon? Absolutely not. I’ve had the time of my life the last 14 years.”

Souza, 41, admitted he’s had a hard time finding a path in life, but the one constant was Aragon, where he is not just a baseball coach but also a 1998 alumnus. He is one of a long list of Aragon coaches who “bleed red and black” and his decision came down to spending more quality time with his family.

“It took me a while to figure out my way (in life). I bartended, sold carpet and flooring, worked for the city of San Mateo for a couple of years. But I was never serious about finding a career,” Souza said. “Through all of that, I was the Aragon coach. That was the one thing that brought my life a lot more meaning. There were a lot of career paths I didn’t take because I was a coach.

“My time and family sacrifices were at a point where it’s not fair anymore.”

Souza said he made the decision before the start of the season and told the school and his team of it. He told the Sports Lounge during the Dons’ third game of the season that he was leaving at the end of the year, but did not want anything written at the time.

“I didn’t want to be a big distraction,” Souza said.

But now, with one week left in the regular season and a potential spot in the Central Coast Section playoffs, the end is near and Souza is starting to feel more and more emotional about it.

“I’m real curious to see what life will be without [coaching],” Souza said. “This is all I’ve known the last 14 years. Out of all of it, I’m going to miss the people. … That’s the saddest part.”

After graduating Aragon, Souza spent two seasons playing at Cañada College before he got into coaching.

“It was the next best thing to playing,” Souza said. “I think that’s how you get into it (coaching).”

Souza spent several seasons coaching at the youth level before spending four seasons as the Dons’ junior varsity coach. He took over the varsity job beginning the 2009 season.

In his 14 seasons, Souza has compiled an overall record of 207-139 and is 105-73 in Peninsula Athletic League play, with a pair of PAL Ocean Division titles to his credit. He is the second-longest tenured manager in the PAL — only Tony Adornetto at Mills has been around longer.

Souza has made the CCS playoffs five times, compiling a 4-5 record and in 2015 advanced to the semifinals of the Division II bracket.

While the wins are great, Souza is more proud of the fact that he has brought stability to the Dons baseball program and has helped build it into as solid a squad as you will find in San Mateo County.

“I saw three different varsity coaches from 1994 to 1998 (during my high school career),” Souza said. “To have stability is important. It’s hard to get a program consistent.”

To that end, Souza credits the help of his coaching staff in helping the Dons find success. His varsity staff — comprised of Don Hahn, Dusty Landwehr and Wes You — along with JV head coach John Rally, have been a big reason for the program’s stability.

“They’re some of my best friends. … We’ve all shared responsibilities,” Souza said. “I’m just a piece.”

When asked to pinpoint some of his best moments as the Dons’ manager, Souza could not really pick out one or two moments. He said the 2015 CCS semifinal team sticks out because that was the farthest he had taken an Aragon squad. But when it came right down to it, he said it was the people — not only the players on his team, but also the coaches and players on opposing teams — that he will miss the most.

“I tell the kids all the time, you’re going to remember some wins, remember some losses, but what’s going to stick out more are the people,” Souza said. “I fell like I’ve done a good job of connecting and building relationships.”

Despite his impending departure, Souza is not looking forward to it. He still has two regular season games against rival Hillsdale this week and, despite the team wobbling to the finish, the Dons have lost five of six, Souza believes this team is a playoff squad and he is going to savor every last opportunity before hanging up his lineup card.

“It doesn’t feel like it (the last two games of the regular season),” Souza said. “I just feel like we’re going to go (to CCS). We’re 11-1 in non-league games. That’s worth something.

“I don’t want to stop coaching. I think that’s why I’m so optimistic about CCS. I don’t want it to be over. I’d take another 10 days with these guys.”

Souza said he is still committed to teaching at Bayside for the next couple of years, but other than golf (he lives on the golf course at Discovery Bay Country Club), he doesn’t know what he’s going to do.

“What’s next? I don’t know,” Souza said. “Everything we do in life, I look at it like a circle. Some circles are larger than others, some are smaller, but they all come to a close. You always come back to 12 o’clock. Now I’m just going to start some new circles.

“I’m going to enjoy my life. … I want to travel. There is stuff I want to do. There are a lot of sacrifices to make to coach baseball.

“It’s been a weird couple of weeks. The hourglass has been tipped over and it’s running.”

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. To report scores or tips, email sports@smdailyjournal.com.