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LAPLACE — Zach Weber’s senior baseball season at St. Charles Catholic High School didn’t quite have the ending he wanted. It was 2016, and the Comets felt cursed when they lost to St. Thomas Aquinas in the school’s seventh championship defeat.
Now an assistant coach, Weber finally witnessed the Comets take home the coveted championship trophy in 2019. He’s never left the diamond since graduating high school, and he sees coaching as a way to instill confidence in every baseball player who ventures onto the field, just as his coaches did for him.
Those efforts have not gone unnoticed. On Jan. 11, Weber received the 2019 Assistant Coach of the Year Award for Class 3A from the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association.
“I was very honored to receive the award and grateful for the recognition,” Weber said. “I’m sure there are other people who could have received this award who are just as capable, if not more. Being only 21 years old, it just shows my hard work and effort.”
SCC head baseball coach Wayne Stein has been a mentor for Weber as a player and an assistant coach. Weber is also thankful to past principal Andrew Cupit and new principal Dr. Courtney P. Millet for trusting him to serve as a role model for students who are only a few years younger than him.
Stein was by Weber’s side when he received the Class 3A Assistant Coach of the Year award during a ceremony at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The honor was well deserved, according to Stein.
“I think Zach is a future star in the coaching profession if he chooses to stay in it,” Stein said. “He can go as far in this profession as he wants to. What he did was unique, going from player to coach. That transition is tough when you’re suddenly coaching the kids you played alongside.”
Immediately after graduating in 2016, Weber returned as an assistant coach for American Legion summer league. He has remained part of the coaching staff ever since, while also pursuing a business management degree at Southeastern Louisiana University. He is on track to graduate college in May.
A lot of the Comets’ recent success on the diamond has been a byproduct of Weber’s dedication, according to Stein.
“He’s done a great job in that transition. The guys respect him because they know he is a hard worker,” Stein said.
Weber said he learned a lot from his experience on the baseball team.
“I think that experience of losing to St. Thomas Aquinas in the championship pushed me more as a coach to make sure we got that job done in 2019 when we won the state championship,” Weber said. “There were so many years when we would be state runner up. Last year was just a relief. It was a burden lifted off our shoulders. I make sure my guys give it all they have in hard work and effort. They’ll get everything they want out of athletics if they put that type of work in.”
Baseball practice starts next week for the 2020 season, and Weber looks forward to getting back to work.
“We lost a good group of seniors, and we’re looking for leaders,” Weber said. “We have a tough schedule for sure, and I think our guys will be up for the challenge. I know we are as coaches, but it’s going to be a lot of hard work.”
Weber is also an assistant coach for the Comets basketball team under the leadership of new head coach Jeff Montz. The team is 13-9, and Weber said the coaching staff has cultivated a positive culture that has gotten the guys excited to play basketball.
The future is still wide open as Weber looks forward to his college graduation. There is a world of possibilities attached to his degree, but he isn’t ruling out a career in teaching and coaching at his alma mater.