Schwal Brings Enthusiasm to Poly Program

Chuck Schwal didn’t have to sleep on it, didn’t have to mull over the offer in his mind.

He was offered the position as Poly High baseball coach Wednesday by Poly Principal Virginia Holt and leaped at the opportunity.

“Oh, man, I’ve been working for years for this,” Schwal said Friday. “What an opportunity.”

Schwal confirmed that he has accepted the position. Schwal, 33, coached the junior varsity at Kennedy for the past four seasons and also served as varsity pitching coach.

Schwal inherits a program that traditionally has ranked among the best in the region. Poly last month advanced to the City Section 4-A Division final before bowing to San Pedro, 6-3. Schwal replaces Jerry Cord, who resigned after the championship game June 3, citing personal reasons.

Cord led Poly to three berths in the 4-A final in his 18-year tenure. The Parrots were 21-5 last spring.

Schwal’s teams won North Valley League titles the past two seasons at Kennedy. Schwal said it was hard to leave behind the Kennedy players, many of whom he has known since junior high.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” he said. “It would have been real comfortable to stay there. But it’s time to step up and unleash my enthusiasm at the next level.”

Schwal, a 1977 Taft graduate, played under former Toreador Coach Ray O’Connor. He taught for the past five years at Porter Junior High in Granada Hills, but will transfer to Poly in the fall.