At Eastside Catholic Fundraiser, Dodgers Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda Talks About Achieving Goals

World Series winning manager and Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers was the keynote speaker Saturday evening at an event to raise money for a new athletic complex.

The Crusaders, who moved into their new permanent facility on the Sammamish Plateau during the 2008-09 school year, are using the proceeds to fund an on-campus multi-purpose athletic complex.

The move came after nearly 30 years spent on two temporary campuses rented from the Bellevue School District and has finally given those at Eastside Catholic somewhere to truly call "home."

Phase one of the project included the campus for the middle and high schools, including a new chapel, football field and gymnasium.

With Lasorda as the keynote speaker, autographed memorabilia from across the sporting world and a handful of other local celebrities in attendance, Eastside administrators were hoping to raise enough money to start the multi-purpose project.

The proposed plan is for a combined-use field that will be home to the EC baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse teams.

In addition, the field will play host to outdoor physical education classes for Eastside students, local youth athletics leagues and also EC feeder teams for practices and games.

Lasorda, who granted Sammamish Patch an interview, spoke at length of the importance of education, how baseball can act as a buffer from danger for today's youth and his love for the game.

"I believe in education. Education is something that no one can take away and it will open many doors to success," the Hall of Fame coach said.

"That's why I try to impress upon youngsters, 'get a good education.'"

Lasorda came to Eastside Catholic as a result of his longtime friendship with Don and Andrea MacCord, whose two sons attend the school.

"When the opportunity came up for me to come here and speak, they [the MacCords] said they would like to do something for this school and I was very much in favor of coming here because they impressed me with how much education means to them," Lasorda said.

For those reasons, the coach came to Sammamish to help Eastside Catholic, Sammamish-area youths and the MacCords make the multi-purpose athletic complex a reality.

One of the reasons the field has become such a necessity is the Crusaders nomad-baseball team.

For the last two seasons, the Crusaders have gone to fields throughout the Eastside for supposed "home" games.

According to Kurt Boyd, who is entering his second season as the skipper of the EC baseball program, his teams have played home games at Bannerwood park and Bellevue College, among other places.

Practices have been even trickier.

Even with hitting nets that were recently installed in the auxiliary gymnasium and a spacious main gym area to hold practices in poor weather, only so much baseball can be accomplished within the confines of a facility meant to house basketball and volleyball.

Boyd has been forced to take virtually any available diamond in order to get his team outdoors for practice. EC has used fields in Issaquah and Redmond in addition to Bannerwood and the field at Bellevue College.

Boyd was among roughly 350 attendees who hope to change all of that for the Crusaders.

Lasorda believes the Seattle area has done a solid job of providing leagues, facilities, quality coaches and a positive environment for kids interested in baseball.

"A lot of players come out of Seattle and the surrounding areas, no doubt about it," Lasorda told Sammamish Patch.

"Of course, it keeps them off the streets, number one."

The Crusaders are hoping a field of their own will galvanize the EC community around school teams.

The energy that would be created by hosting home games for baseball and other sports on-campus are the biggest benefit to the project for Boyd.

"It gives the kids a sense of pride," he said.

"Also, for chemistry in the program and just the excitement of having more teachers and students at home games, it will be a real asset."

Boyd was not alone is his assessment.

Eastside Catholic Athletic Director Scott Garvis told how Eastside student-athletes on soccer, lacrosse and other teams at the school are sometimes left practicing as late as 9 pm, as a result of demand for the use of the only outdoor field on campus, the football field.

"The purpose is to get a facility where we can help these kids achieve," Garvis said.

Lasorda, who surprised EC students by appearing at an assembly on Friday, shared three such ways to achieve what he learned through the game of baseball.

The 83-year old, now in a front-office role with the Dodgers, said that learning to take instruction and criticism, always working as hard as possible and interacting in a positive and productive manner with peers are all critical elements of adult life that are taught through baseball.

One of only 16 managers in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, Lasorda considers himself fortunate to be in such company.

But the recognition and accolades are far from the coach's greatest joy in the game he loves.

"The most rewarding work for me, is to feel that I have in some way made my players believe in themselves," Lasorda said.

The coach shared his final message for those in attendance, which came from a lesson passed down to him from his father.

"He [my father] said respect and love is like a foundation," Lasorda said.

"You have to have that level of respect and understanding and that's the basic foundation for life."

For more information regarding the Eastside Catholic Athletic Complex project or to make a contribution, contact Athletic Director Scott Garvis at: sgarvis@eastsidecatholic.org.

Editor's note: In case you missed it, freelance writer Rick Van Cise pointed out recently that the Sammamish Plateau has to baseball. This story also was revised on Sunday afternoon to give a better estimate of how many people attended the event.