Mike Cordero Goes to Bat as Baseball Coach at Agoura High

Baseball is at the heart of Friday's Sports Notebook. The boys open their season at home and Principal Misel is throwing the first pitch. Catch the game at 3 p.m. at Agoura. And get to know Head Coach Mike Cordero.

Agoura High Patch: What is your baseball background?

Mike Cordero: I prepped at LA Cathedral High School, played junior college ball at Pasadena City College, then moved on to play at Upper Iowa University. I began my coaching career at Cathedral and have coached at Pasadena City College, Charleston Southern University and Cypress College.

Patch: What has been your favorite experience?

Cordero: I would have to say that coaching at Cypress was the best experience for me as a young coach. I had a chance to learn from a legendary coach, Scott Pickler, and learned how to be a head coach, develop players and win at the highest level.

Patch: What are you most looking forward to this season?

Cordero: I am looking forward to helping my players realize that they can win at any level and that their hard work and putting up with me will pay off in the end. Back in November, we set a team goal to make it to the playoffs. We have a lot of talent and with everyday that passes, we grow more and more confident that we can make that happen. I am looking forward to seeing their faces when it does.

Patch: What's your favorite part about coaching?

Cordero: My favorite part about coaching is helping a player discover something about himself that he didn't know existed. My coaching staff and I are constantly encouraging the kids to take risks in practice and in scrimmages. It is common for players to sometimes fall into a rut where they are too afraid of making a mistake.

We try to provide an environment where we encourage them to take risks even if it results in a mistake. We then teach them to learn from it. Once they began to let go of their fear of making mistakes, they began to learn more about what they really are capable of and become more productive baseball players. It's a beautiful thing to see a player figure something out.

Here's an update for other Chargers sports.

Golf:

• Their next matchup is Thursday between Simi Valley High School. 

Boy's Volleyball:

•  The Varsity team plays in a tournament Camarillo High School Saturday starting at 8:30am.

Baseball:

• Friday is the first game. The entire program is in the Easton Baseball Tournament this weekend. Varsity and Junior Varsity games start at 11 a.m. and the first game for the Freshman team is at 2 p.m.

Softball:

• The lady Chargers begin their season Saturday with the Varsity team in a tournament at Hart High School and the Junior Varsity is in a tournament at Buena High School.

Girl's Lacrosse:

• The Chargers begin their season in a tournament at the Rose Bowl Jamboree.