Torrey Pines High coach Jon Moore keeps passing milestones, but there’s one record he set that will be a chore to break.
“I’ve been doused twice this year,” Moore said.
Those impromptu showers were courtesy of his appreciative players in helping him celebrate one significant win after another. Moore is among the Falcons’ all-time great coaches and that’s saying something, considering Torrey Pines’ steady success in all sports at all levels.
Moore, an Oceanside resident, could wear a patch on his Falcons’ jacket reading “650” on one sleeve and “500” on the other.
That’s a lot of big numbers for a physical education teacher.
“At least I got doused with water,” Moore said. “Those Gatorade ones are no fun.”
Yep, they’re a bit sticky. What’s amazing is that a grateful Moore, 64, has stuck around for so long and has been so successful.
“I really do stop and smell the roses,” Moore said. “I’ve been very, very lucky.”
The same goes for those under his direction.
“Every practice, every game he just has a passion for it,” senior softball outfielder Maia Lambson said. “That helps everyone stay in it.”
Moore has been instrumental in pointing hundreds, if not thousands, of teenagers toward the right path.
Along the way, he claimed 650 wins as a boys basketball JV coach and more than 500 victories as a girls softball coach, with both milestone victories coming this school year.
We understand that Torrey Pines is blessed with a wealth of keen athletes. But teams often reflect their leaders, and with Moore being a longtime winner, so are his charges.
Moore played sports when growing up in New York and graduated from Slippery Rock College. He started teaching and coaching at the high school level before he really showed his smarts and relocated to sunny San Diego in the late 1980s.
He earned a master’s degree at San Diego State but had yet to land another teaching position. Instead, he helped folks grunt and groan at a fitness club before getting on briefly Encinitas’ Diegueno Middle School.Â
When spotting an opening at Torrey Pines, the future legendary coach was soon on campus. There was a need, too, for a softball coach and Moore thrust his cap into that ring too.
“I played fast-pitch fastball and knew the game a little,” Moore said. “But I knew nothing about high school softball.”
It’s doubtful that was Moore’s opening line when he pitched his desire to the hiring committee, which included John Kentera, the 97.3 The Fan sports talk show host and an ex-Torrey Pines player and coach.
“If he loses a game or two, I always kid him as being a disgruntled alum,” Kentera said, with a wide smile.
But those defeats seldom came, which meant Kentera was rarely in Moore’s ear.
After Moore, also an assistant on the boys hoops varsity squad, put his feet on the ground at Torrey Pines he stayed put.
Moore still teaches PE, and he’s in his 28th year as softball coach, where he’s won two CIF San Diego Section titles, and his 27th as JV hoops coach.Â
With the former, the Falcons are once again ranked among San Diego County’s top teams. With the latter, Moore’s bunch went 28-0 this year.
“The biggest thing with Jon is that he knows how to relate to young people,” Kentera said. “He is very firm and consistent, but he always puts the athletes first and himself second.”
At second glance, what would an experienced Moore tell his younger self?
“I would tell him to calm down,” said Moore, only the third San Diego Section softball coach to win 500 games. “And to see the bigger picture.”
All those triumphs came with a heaping helping of perspective.
“It’s really not about the wins or losses,” he said. “It’s about the experience, the memories they will take with them.
“It’s easy to get caught up in striking out three times in a game. But the reality is no one is going to remember that.”
Instead, among their recollections will be of a coach with a big heart and an impressive resume.
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected] and follow him @jparis_sports
