Eric Lahetta named new Clearview baseball coach

When Clearview takes the field to begin the 2020 season new head coach Eric Lahetta will be a rookie on the high school level but he will be bringing over two decades of coaching experience to the Clippers baseball program. Lahetta, the head coach at Oberlin College from 1998 until 2010, was introduced Wednesday as the new Clearview coach replacing Dennis Pihlblad who retired at the of the 2019 season. After accepting an administrative position in the Oberlin College athletic department in 2010 Lahetta remained involved with the baseball program as an assistant coach. "I coached at the college level for 23 years but I have been coaching 16-to-18 year olds with the Lake Erie Warhawks the last few summers and I found it to be a really enjoyable experience," Lahetta said. "I thought Clearview would be an good opportunity to transition to high school coaching and and work around great people. I really thank (Clearview athletic director) Mike Collier for giving me this opportunity," Lahetta said. Collier said Lahetta checked off all the boxes for what Clearview was looking for in a coach. "After coach Pihlblad stepped down we were looking for a coach with good experience that would be a great fit with our kids," Collier said. "I was excited to see that Eric Lahetta had applied for the position and I'm excited to have him on board. I think Eric will be great for Clearview. The depth of experience Eric brings and the knowledge he has is going to be a huge addition to our program." Lahetta played baseball and football at Ohio Wesleyan after graduating from Amherst in 1986. He eventually transferred to Bowling Green State University where he made the baseball team as a walk-on. "The biggest difference between the college-level student-athlete and high school age players is college players have a more experience and they are further along in the game," Lahetta said. "At Clearview it will be more working from the ground up and teaching fundamentals and how to play the game the right way." Lahetta is the third winningest coach in Oberlin history and his teams set the school record for wins for on four different occasions. On Wednesday, Lahetta had the chance to meet the returning Clearview players. "We had a good meeting (yesterday)," Lahetta said. "I was familiar with a few of the players from the Warhawks. It was good to meet everyone and lay out some expectations for the program, they seemed really excited to get things going." Clearview won its last Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division championship in 2016 but over the last 10 years the Clippers have averaged over 14 wins per season. "We have some very good returning talent the only thing we're lacking a little bit is depth," Lahetta said. "I want to come in and surround myself with great coaches and continue to build on the strength of this program." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.