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CV leader Goblirsch steps down
Goblirsch salute
Derrick Goblirsch stepped down as head coach of Central Valley High School’s baseball team to focus on family and football. - photo by DALE BUTLER/ Courier file photo

Derrick Goblirsch, head coach of Central Valley High School’s baseball team for the past nine years, has stepped down to tend to other priorities.

“I told the guys after our last game,” he said. “To be able to focus on football and family, I decided it was the right time to walk away.”

“He was the first coach I hired when I became A.D. at Central Valley,” Hawks’ Athletic Director Greg Magni said. “He was the right guy for the job. It was a very easy decision.”

Central Valley’s baseball program amassed an 87-122-5 overall record, claimed one league championship and qualified for the section playoffs once under Goblirsch’s guidance from 2014-22.

“For me, it was always about having fun, teaching the boys and building relationships,” Goblirsch said. “I enjoyed every second of it, even the years when wins didn’t come easy.”

“The same traits that make Derrick a great person make him a great coach,” Magni stated. “He’s super humble. He treats everyone the same. He doesn’t care about credit at all. He’s a steady, dedicated, hard-working guy. He’s passionate about what he does. It means something to him.”

“We’ve always had a close relationship,” Magni added. “I was his pitching coach when he played baseball at Ceres High School. Then he was hired on to be the pitching coach under me at Central Valley. He’s been a team player since I met him.”

Central Valley made program history this past spring by securing just its second playoff berth. Seeded 14th, the Hawks won one of two games while placing in the top eight in the Division-I bracket. Central Valley upset heavily-favored Elk Grove 3-2 in the opening round.

“Winning a game like that is super special,” said Goblirsch, whose team finished 14-14 on the season and fourth in the Central California Conference standings (6-6). “It’s something they’re going to remember forever.”

Central Valley claimed its first-ever conference championship and compiled a 14-4 overall record in 2021. The Hawks won eight of nine games against Western Athletic Conference South competition.

“We had the right combination of guys,” Goblirsch said.

Central Valley was 17-10 and fourth in the WAC (6-6) during Goblirsch’s first year as head coach.

Goblirsch was the Hawks’ pitching coach in 2013 and 2012. Central Valley enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2013. The Hawks advanced to the section playoffs for the first time, posted a 19-9 overall record and finished third in the WAC.

“The future looks bright at the moment,” Goblirsch said while talking about Central Valley’s baseball program. “We have (pitcher) Chris Garcia for three more years. We have to find ways to score more runs.”

“The experience they got this year will help a huge deal next year,” he added.

Goblirsch was promoted to head coach of Central Valley’s football program following the 2019 season.

The Hawks made program history in 2020 by completing their first undefeated season and capturing their second conference championship. Central Valley won all five of its games and took first in the WAC South Division with a 4-0 mark.

Central Valley finished 4-6 and sixth in the CCC (1-5) in 2021.

Goblirsch graduated from Ceres High School in 2005.

He was voted the Bulldogs’ Male Athlete of the Year as a senior and junior.

Goblirsch excelled in football, baseball and basketball.

He passed for 1,932 yards and 13 touchdowns en route to leading the football team to a share of the Modesto Metro Conference championship—just its third league title since 1968—and into Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Playoffs for the second year in a row during his final season with the Bulldogs. Goblirsch garnered second-team, all-league honors.

Goblirsch was an honorable-mention selection in baseball senior year. He batted .342 with one homer, four doubles, 20 singles, 14 runs and 13 RBIs in 24 games for the Bulldogs, who compiled a 10-14 overall record. He also had two wins as a pitcher.

Goblirsch was a four-year starter on Ceres High’s varsity boys basketball team.

Goblirsch and his wife Vanessa have two children: daughter Ella and son Zeke.

Derrick teaches math.

Vanessa, a 2005 Ceres High grad, is an elementary physical education instructor for Ceres Unified School District. She used to teach P.E. and coach track and field at Central Valley.