Bishop Diego High School has hired former Major Leaguer Robert Fick as their head baseball coach.
Fick, a Ventura College Hall of Famer, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fifth round of the 1996 MLB Draft and has experience coaching at the professional, collegiate and youth levels.
“Coach Fick brings a wealth of experience from his time both playing and coaching at the MLB level,” Bishop Diego associate athletic director MeLinda Matsumoto said. “He is passionate about teaching the game and has been coaching youth baseball for the past few years in Santa Barbara developing local talent.”
In 2015 and 2016, Fick served as the hitting coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the team’s training facility in Arizona, Camelback Ranch.
Following a short stint as an intern coach for Fresno State Baseball, he moved to Santa Barbara, where he has been coaching youth baseball for years.
Now the head of the Cardinals’ program, Fick is focused on creating a great experience for his players.
“I want to give these kids the best baseball experience possible, whether you’ve played baseball before or you haven’t,” Fick said. “I want to teach them the game so that maybe they can eventually teach their kids the game.
“I’m just trying to relay the message that I learned along the way.”
After coaching at virtually every other level, Fick is already feeling accepted in his first coaching stop in the high school ranks.
“There are good vibes coming out of [Bishop Diego],” Fick said. “Everybody on the staff has been so welcoming and you really get that sense of a little Bishop family.”
Fick and the Cardinals will look to improve upon their 5-12 record last season.
“I’m going to coach them really, really hard,” Fick said. “But if we’re going to win, it isn’t going to be because of me, it’s going to be because the kids want to win.”