Ben West takes over for Keith Warner; eyes winning campaign
Ben West played football at Analy High School in Sebastopol, but his true love was baseball.
“Baseball was always my sport, ever since I was little,” West said. “It was a big passion for me. I played football too, but I would play a football game Friday night and then a double-header on Saturday.”
West, 28, is bringing that passion to Cloverdale High School as its next head baseball coach. He brings with him the experience of having served as an assistant at Maria Carrillo High School and Montgomery High School and coaching a 19-and-under American Legion team in Santa Rosa.
His playing career included a two-year stop at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, and another two years at the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas.
His baseball journey also included a two-week trip to Australia as part of the Goodwill Series based in Santa Rosa.
“We played two weeks over Christmas my junior year of school,” West said. “We played five days in Perth, five in Sydney. It was a cool experience.”
It has all culminated in his assuming the coaching position at Cloverdale, where he inherits a team that was 3-12 last year under veteran coach Keith Warner.
West first assumed a position as social studies teacher at the high school and then was named baseball coach.
“I told my players it is a fresh start, a fresh start for a lot of us,” West said. “I am new here. I’m new to you guys, new to the community. It’s a fresh start for a lot of us.”
That fresh start will come with a young squad. West said he anticipates the final makeup will include just two seniors, two freshmen and three sophomores.
But that is OK with him.
“We are a really young team, which is good when you are trying to build a program,” West said.
The two seniors are James Wirt and Kamrin Mitchell. Mitchell is expected to be the team’s main pitcher, with Wirt manning the shortstop position and doing some pitching as well.
“The two seniors have been great,” West said. “They have bought into what we are trying to build here.”
Wirt, who hit .320 last year, said he has noticed a change in the team this season.
“We weren’t communicating too well last year,” he said. “This year there’s more hustle. Everyone is actually working hard. (Coach West) knows a lot of stuff because he has played recently in college, and he knows a lot of different drills.”
Drew Edens, a junior second baseman who hit .345 last year, said the addition of winter workouts has helped the team.
That and a change of attitude.
“Last year there was a lot of lack of leadership,” he said. “I don’t think we worked as hard as we should have. This year we are responding to his coaching style.”
That coaching style emphasizes doing the little things correctly, on and off the field.
“What I learned in college is accountability and responsibility,” West said. “That is what I hope to instill in these guys. If you want to get better you have to put in the time and effort.”
The Cloverdale High School season begins March 6 against Sonoma Academy at Doyle Park in Santa Rosa. But the second game of the year will be at West’s alma mater of Analy on March 14.
“That will be fun to go back to the old stomping grounds,” he said.
But he is glad to now call Cloverdale home.
“I love teaching at Cloverdale High School,” he said. “All the students are great. We have great athletes on the baseball team. My goal is to build this program, and see what we can do.”
