Chris Houle resigns after six years as Serra baseball coach

“Being the head coach, it’s just a big job, it’s a big commitment,” Houle said. “It’s a lot of time, it’s a lot of energy, it’s a lot of effort that goes into it. ... As much as I love it — I love baseball, I love Serra — but for me personally, it’s been getting kind of harder ... to make that commitment and sustain the effort for everything you need to do.”

Serra athletic director Justin Ferdinand said there has been a fairly good response from applicants submitting to become the varsity baseball program’s 12th all-time head coach. The application deadline is Aug. 1. Ferdinand said there is no immediate hiring deadline.

“Obviously, being competitive in one of the strongest leagues in the state of California for baseball is always a priority,” Ferdinand said. “But, more so, just finding someone who can continue to build on the success of the program, and continue to teach those life lessons that will help these kids become great men.”

Houle, now 49, took over the Serra varsity program in 2018, one year after the departure of eight-year coach Craig Gianinno, who stepped down midway through the 2017 season. Dan Nolan, who served as interim head coach at the end of the 2017 season, stayed on as part of Houle’s coaching staff.

Houle previously served as the junior-varsity head coach from 1998-2009 when Pete Jensen headed the program. A 1992 graduate of Serra, Houle previous played for Jensen.

“[Houle] is a great coach,” Ferdinand said. “He a great guy, very organized, very detail oriented. Had a great relationship with the players. So, those are going to be some big shoes to fill.”

A teacher at Serra, Houle will remain on staff in the classroom. He said he will have more time to focus on teaching, and will be adding one class to his workload. He teaches math and business classes.

“When I thought about it, it felt like it was a good time to step aside (from baseball) and make room for somebody else who can make that full commitment,” Houle said.

Houle is still on the baseball field this summer, running clinics as part of the Next Level Baseball Skill Academy Camp. While many private school coaches parlay their high school coaching careers into travel baseball business ventures, Houle has long taken an old-school approach, not coaching during the summer while allowing his varsity players to hit the field in the offseason as they see fit.

“Even back to my playing days there, we’ve always been a program where guys have done their own thing more or less in the summer and stuff,” Houle said. “So that was something we never really emphasized. But, obviously times have changed.”

Houle is the grandson of longtime Serra baseball coach and former AD, Ken Houle, who died in 2018.

Houle said he has no immediate plans to coach again, but hasn’t closed the door on the possibility of returning in some capacity. He has, however, ruled out heading a high school varsity program.

“It’s definitely possible,” Houle said. “It kind of just depends what the role might be. I certainly don’t see myself as head varsity coach again. ... As I get older, there’s other stuff to do. So, we’ll see. I don’t want to rule anything out. We’ll just have to wait and see.”