Family comes first for Petaluma baseball coach

The next time Paul Cochrun shows up at a Petaluma High School baseball game he will be pushing a baby stroller rather than carrying a lineup card.

After 18 years coaching, 11 as Petaluma varsity baseball coach, Cochrun, 39, is stepping out of the dugout to spend more time with a family that currently includes a 2-year-old daughter, and soon will add an infant son.

“It is something I’ve been thinking about for awhile,” Cochrun said of his decision to step aside from coaching. “It is a matter of priorities. It is about making time for my family.”

A year without coaching will be different for Cochrun, who began as the Redwood High School junior varsity coach when he was starting his teaching career as a probationary teacher. He hasn’t missed a spring since, taking over the Petaluma varsity job from Kyle Manford in 2005 following the shocking death of his friend Dan Fager in 2003.

While he will miss the games and especially the players, he will not miss the ever-increasing administrative duties like scheduling, fundraising, field maintenance, equipment purchasing and maintenance and all the other chores necessary to run a successful program.

“Sometimes I wouldn’t get a chance to even think about who was playing second and batting seventh until right at game time,” he said.

Cochrun’s first coaching experience came while he was still in high school when he conducted clinics and coached kids while working for the Novato Parks and Recreation Department.

In announcing his retirement, Cochrun offered thanks to all his players and assistant coaches and noted especially the mentorship of former varsity coaches Fager and Jack “Bud” O’Connor.

“I have great memories of the help, support and healthy competition that each one of you has given me in my time as coach,” he said in his announcement. “I want to thank you and let you know that your help was truly appreciated. I especially want to thank and honor two of my greatest mentors who have passed: Dan Fager and Bud O’Connor. They taught me how the game is supposed to be played.”

Cochrun’s Trojan teams have been perennial title contenders in the baseball competitive Sonoma County League, putting together a 182-108 record in his tenure as head coach.

This spring they were 16-10 and finished second to Analy in the SCL standings with a 10-2 record. Along the way, they defeated rival Casa Grande and won Montgomery’s A.L. Rabinowitz spring break tournament.

Among other accomplishments, Cochrun introduced an annual Dan Fager Day with the Trojans playing a Saturday afternoon game against a top opponent in a benefit game for the Fager family.

He also introduced Little League Day with Petaluma players planning and administering a Saturday clinic for Little League players.

With six starters returning from this season’s successful team, Cochrun will be turning over a potentially outstanding varsity team, but he said that with his expanding family, now is the right time to step aside.

“I’ve always told my players that their priorities should be ordered family, school and then baseball,” he said in his announcement. “I know that after giving the needed time and energy to the first two, I will not be able to give coaching and the program what they deserve.”