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CHS softball wins WAC title under Corsaut’s guidance
• Mike came out of retirement to coach Bulldogs
Corsaut
Mike Corsaut

With his wife’s blessing, Mike Corsaut came out of retirement this year to coach Ceres High’s varsity softball team again.

Mike and Teresa will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary on July 17.

“I wouldn’t have done it without her support,” said Corsaut, the Courier’s Coach of the Year for the spring sports season. “Family is the most important thing.”

The Bulldogs enjoyed a remarkable turnaround under Corsaut’s guidance.

Ceres High compiled a 19-6 overall record, qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III playoffs and claimed the Western Athletic Conference title with a near-perfect 13-1 mark. The Bulldogs outscored their league opponents, 127-39.

Ceres High finished 6-10 and fourth in the WAC standings (5-5) in 2018.

Corsaut’s coaching staff featured the father-daughter duo of Tim and Mady Costa.

“They were great,” he said. “Our decisions were made as a collective group. We strived to put the best nine girls out there each game. Nobody had a set spot. We made the girls compete for positions.”

Corsaut also praised all 13 of his players, including Shania Evans, Priscilla Chavez, Rebecca DeLeon, Joslyn Knight, Vianney Perez, Peyton Phillips, Isabel Vizcaino, Cheralyn Durossette, Angelique Cochran, Lysaida Munoz, Brooklyn Heffernan, Gabrielle Ramirez and Megan Yorba.

“What I loved most about them was how well they got along,” Corsaut said. “There were no clicks.”

"He was always there to support us. He’s a really great coach. I’m happy he came back and I was able to play for him.”
Brooklyn Heffernan on Coach Corsaut

“He was great at keeping us calm in stressful situations,” said Heffernan, who was voted co-Most Valuable Player of the WAC this season. “He was always there to support us. He’s a really great coach. I’m happy he came back and I was able to play for him.”

Ceres High amassed a 107-30-3 overall record, qualified for the playoffs five times and claimed four conference titles under Corsaut’s leadership from 2002-06. He was named top coach twice in the Modesto Metro Conference and once in the Central California Conference.

He won the 2019 WAC Coach of the Year award.

“It’s funny,” he said. “I still get nervous before games. I always want the girls to be successful. If I have to critique, it’s at practice. It’s not going to happen during games. I’ve never coached that way. I’m more encouraging.”

Thirteen years removed from coaching at Ceres High, Corsaut helped the Bulldogs return to their winning ways this spring.

“The standard is always high,” he said 

Corsaut will be back in the dugout next year. “These girls are hungry,” he said. “They want to continue to get better. We’re headed in the right direction.”