Longtime Saugus High baseball coach John Maggiora confirmed to The Signal on Sunday that he was stepping down.
In a letter he said he sent to members of the program and posted on Facebook on Saturday night, he described his thought process in making the decision.
“For me, the tough choices are guided by Family, Friends, and Faith. Family above all else, Stay loyal to your Friends, and Have Faith in the Man upstairs,” the letter reads.
“Recently, I have been forced into a decision that compromised all three of these guiding principles. And when you are forced to sacrifice those principles for something else (no matter how much you enjoy it) the choice becomes simple— Family, Friends, and Faith.
“With that, I have decided to step down and resign as Head Baseball Coach of my alma mater, Saugus High School. I’m proud of the 12 years spent leading the young men of this program. I’ve given all of myself to this program.”
Maggiora, who plans to continue teaching at Saugus next school year, said the program’s varsity, junior varsity and freshman coaches were also stepping down.
The highlight of the coach’s 12-year run, at least on the field, came in 2015 when he led the Centurions to the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 semifinals.
Saugus lost, 3-2, in 10 innings to Hart at College of the Canyons in one of the Santa Clarita Valley’s greatest-ever baseball games.
Off the field, Maggiora was proud of his teams’ work in the classroom.
“I’m proud of many things, but the number one thing I’m proud of is only losing one player to poor academics in 12 years. Our players knew what it meant to be Student Athletes,” the letter reads.
This story is still developing.
