Story by
Chris Kaczmar ready to embark on final season as Walsh Jesuit baseball coach
- Story by
- Chris Kaczmar ready to embark on final season as Walsh Jesuit baseball coach
Chris Kaczmar has decided that the 2022 season will be his final one as the Walsh Jesuit High School baseball coach.
Kaczmar enters his 26th season as Walsh coach with a 587-117 record, four state championships, seven regional titles, 15 district championships and 21 sectional crowns.
Advertisement
Kaczmar, 52, said he is ready to step away from the dugout for several reasons, including to spend more time with his wife, Beth, their daughters, Emma and Lucy, and their sons, Stanley and Henry.
"There were a lot of factors," Kaczmar said. "First off, I want to have a different lifestyle with my girls. I have been wanting to spend more time with them for quite some time, and it felt like for me at this point in my life that the timing was good. I always felt like it was going to be part of what I wanted to do in terms of succession to leave the cupboard full for the next coach and the timing is right for that as well.
"There are some other goals that I want to do with my time moving forward. I would like to do things in the spring and the summer that are not baseball. I want to learn the guitar, I want to get more involved in a triathlon and I want to watch my son [Henry] play baseball at the University of Michigan [in future seasons] in no particular order. So, there are a lot of factors and all of those things led me to the point where I am at peace with it being the right time for me and my family."
Kacmzar, a Bath Township resident, added that he plans "to be at many games" as a Walsh fan next season.
Advertisement
Kaczmar competed in baseball, wrestling and soccer at Walsh Jesuit before graduating in 1988. He graduated from Miami University and is the President of Kaczmar Architects Incorporated in Cleveland. Kaczmar Architects is a family affair with Chris' parents, Stan and Terry, and his sister, Katie, working for the company. Stan and Terry are the owners.
Kaczmar served as freshmen baseball coach at Walsh Jesuit in 1995 and as the junior varsity coach in 1996. He was named the varsity coach in 1997 at the age of 27 and took over the program from his high school coach, Steve Grescovich.
Kaczmar led Walsh Jesuit's baseball team to Division II state titles in 1999, 2004, 2006 and 2008. The Warriors were also a Division II state runner-up in 2009 and 2010, and a Division I state semifinalist in 2021.
Kaczmar has coached 133 baseball players at Walsh who have either played in college or are on the 2022 team and have made a commitment to play in college. The list of 133 includes 70 Division I college players.
Advertisement
Ten of Kaczmar's former players have been drafted by a Major League Baseball franchise: Patrick O'Brien, Chad Rodgers, Johnny Fasola, Tyler Skulina, Greg Greve, Dominic Canzone, Joe Mockbee, Ryan Feltner , Cassidy Brown and David Starn.
"Ryan Feltner is our first player from Walsh Jesuit to make it to the major leagues [in 2021 with the Colorado Rockies ]," Kaczmar said.
O'Brien, Rodgers, Fasola, Skulina, Greve, Canzone, Mockbee, Brown and Starn all played minor league baseball along with former Walsh player Matt Bok, who signed as a free agent after being undrafted.
From Hinckley to Walsh
Kaczmar grew up in Hinckley and started playing baseball at the age of 6 in Richfield.
Advertisement
"I started coaching baseball when I was 14," Kaczmar said. "I coached little league teams in Hinckley. My parents were involved in the Recreation Association in Hinckley. That is where I got my start, coaching my brother's teams and some youth teams. And then through college, I would coach in the summers just to be a part of the game when I wasn't going to watch my brother play. I devoted my career to architecture."
Chris Kaczmar has worked with Kaczmar Architects since 1990.
"If it wasn't for my mom and dad, I never would have been able to have the coaching career that I did," Kaczmar said. "It is great to be able to have a family business that has allowed me to go in to work in the spring time sometimes at around 5 a.m. so I could leave at 1 p.m. My dad would always pick up the slack and still is today so great about it. He is still our scorekeeper after all these years and still does a great job with the firm."
Kaczmar's younger brother, Scott Kaczmar, was a starter on Walsh Jesuit's 1989 baseball team that made a Class AAA state semifinal appearance. Scott played baseball at Ohio State University and Katie Kaczmar played soccer at Walsh and Ohio State.
Advertisement
Chris Kaczmar and his wife, Beth, have been married since 1997. Beth is a former soccer player and a graduate of Firestone High School and the University of Akron.
Emma Kaczmar graduated from Walsh in 2017 and earned a degree from Ohio State. She won a Division I state championship in swimming in the 200-yard medley relay as a junior in 2016 in a time of 1:44.56 with Hanna Gresser, Carly Hart and Bryanna Renuart.
Stanley Kaczmar played baseball at Walsh and graduated in 2020. He is a student at Ohio State. Henry Kacmar is a senior baseball player and Lucy Kaczmar is the Class President of the junior class at Walsh.
"I am really looking forward to having more free time," Chris Kaczmar said. "I will have a lot more time to invest in other things and I have a lot of fun things planned. ... I am going to miss the relationships with the players the most."
Advertisement
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Chris Kaczmar to embark on final season as Walsh Jesuit baseball coach
