Cardinal Newman baseball coach TJ McMahon to step down

After coaching for two decades while teaching a full day of physics classes and raising two boys, Cardinal Newman baseball coach T.J. McMahon is hanging up his cleats.

In 11 years as varsity coach and another nine with the freshman and junior varsity teams, McMahon, 45, said he needed a break from the year-round commitments of working, parenting and coaching.

His youngest son, Matthew, is a freshman and plays baseball. McMahon coached his oldest son, Chris, as well - sometimes a challenge for both.

McMahon will get to watch his youngest boy from the comfort of the bleachers.

“He’s got three more years in the program, so I’ll get a chance to see him play and I won’t have to worry about him having the pressure of people telling him he’s only playing because he’s the coach’s son,” he said.

There were similar whispers when Chris played, although he was clearly talented. Chris made second-team all-league while at Newman and now plays at Division II Regis University in Denver.

“But you’ll hear people say he only played because I’m his dad,” McMahon said. “I’m trying to alleviate all that extra stress from my life, focus on other things like my family, maybe even watch my older son play in college.”

He said increasingly intrusive parents also dampened his enthusiasm.

“As a coach you focus on the journey of helping turn kids into quality adults, teaching the game while teaching accountability,” he said. “But coaching became more than that. You have to have a plan to manage the parents. The parents have taken away from that.”

He’ll coach the Cardinals through the North Coast Section playoffs. Their first game is today at Albany.

“He is a good physics teacher and we will need him to teach an extra class next year, so six total: regular, honors and the advanced physics class,” Newman principal Graham Rutherford said. “He has been a blessing here for 20 years as a teacher and coach and will continue to be.”

McMahon is also active in the Rincon Valley Little League and coaches Newman’s summer baseball camp, which has been operating for 30 years.

Although the move is a little bittersweet, he said he knows it’s the right move for him.

“It’s time. You move on and give it to someone else,” he said. “I gave my heart and soul to the program. My family sacrificed so much for this.”

He will look back on a decade-plus of success on the field:

Five North Bay League championships;

Three NCS semifinals;

One NCS championship appearance;

A 193-106 overall record;

Only one losing season, in 2016 (7-17);

10 NCS scholar-athlete banners;

Forty-three boys going on to play in college;

Four who played in the pros, including current major league pitcher Scott Alexander of the Kansas City Royals.

The Santa Rosa native and Newman graduate will continue teaching physics and may have a support role when a new coach is hired. An announcement is expected by June 4, Rutherford said.

“We’ve had a lot of good kids come through the program. I’ve had a lot of positive messages from ex-players and parents,” McMahon said. “It makes me feel good that I’ve made a difference here in my time in the baseball program. That’s all you hope for. It’s why we do it. It’s about helping them develop into quality young men through the game of baseball.”

You can reach staff writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.