Agoura High Baseball Coach Resigns

Agoura High baseball coach Dennis Reitz, who led the Chargers' program for 10 of the past 12 years, has resigned amid reports of parental meddling.

"I feel bad about leaving, because I loved the kids. Really, we had a great group of guys at Agoura, something needed to change though,'' Reitz said. "I've been coaching for a long time now and I don't want to sound like sour grapes, but some of the parents thought that they could have done a better job than I could out there." 

"At some point, parents need to be parents and let the coach be the coach. It was far less painful to leave the situation than stay and deal with things on a daily basis that weren't that much fun to deal with anymore," Reitz added. "If problems like the ones I encountered at Agoura continue at places, other coaches will be forced out.''  

Reitz' resignation might come as a surprise, considering the inspired play from the Chargers to close out Valley Invitational Baseball League play this summer. The season started off shaky with seven consecutive losses, but Agoura rebounded to win eight of its last 12 games to qualify for the postseason.  

Problems started to surface in the Chargers' final game, a 5-3 loss to Saugus in the first round of the VIBL playoffs, sparking rumors that Reitz was planning to move on.  

"I lead a very active and rewarding life,'' Reitz said. "I have my health and great family to come home to. Sticking around at Agoura with no solution in sight didn't seem like a justified solution. I decided that I needed to take a stand.''  

Life on the diamond certainly does not end here for Reitz, an Agoura resident for the past 25 years. He's joined the coaching staff at Ventura College and has been to work already, having attended numerous Pirates' practices.  

"Dennis has a great baseball mind,'' said Calabasas coach Ed Edsall, who knows plenty about Reitz from their days as Marmonte League rivals. "He's a good coach. Ventura is lucky to have him around on campus. No doubt about it.''  

Reitz coached at Agoura for eight years before enjoying a brief two-year stint at Ventura College from 2006-2008. The last two years, he poured his heart and soul into building what turned out to be highly competitive Chargers' program.  

"If it was up to me, I wouldn't be leaving Agoura under these kind of circumstances,'' Reitz said. "In many ways, I'm old school. Coaching is a privilege and some people tend to forget about that. It's an aspect that should not be overlooked. There's a lot that goes into the job, things that most parent have no idea about." 

"Bottom line is, I had some very rewarding times coaching at Agoura, times I'll never forget, players I'll never forget. For me, the kids were always the most important part of the game. It's all about the kids, hope everyone remembers that.''