Several former head coaches took the reigns at new programs this offseason.
Chris Warren (pictured), who served as the head coach at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax from 2002-14, takes over at Alexandria’s Episcopal High School for Greg Moviel, who guided the Maroon from 2010-14. Warren, who won a Group AAA Liberty District championship and district Coach of the Year honor in 2005 and led the Cavaliers to the 2010 Northern Region championship game, will look to turn around a program that has combined for just 10 wins over the past four seasons.
“I think that the team is hungry to improve on the record of the past few years and they have been working hard in the offseason to prepare themselves for the coming season,” Warren said. “I’ve been impressed with the work ethic and effort I have seen from the returning players so far.”
Warren is especially impressed at the school’s baseball history, which dates back to 1869: “I’m excited about joining a school like Episcopal where the baseball’s program sense of tradition really means something. I was really struck by that when I decided to accept the job at EHS; it is a special place that honors tradition in a way few other schools understand.”
Brett McColley, the former head coach at Lee High School in Springfield and most recently an assistant at W.T. Woodson, takes over for Warren
Jason Ritenour, who coached Woodbridge from 2005-14, is moving across town to take over at C.D. Hylton for Craig Flesher, who departed to take over as the Athletic Director at Wilson Memorial High School in Staunton. Ritenour takes over a Bulldogs program that went 19-4 last year before falling in the Virginia 6A South Region semifinals.
Ritenour led Woodbridge to Cardinal District and Northwest Region championships in 2010 before falling in the Group AAA state championship game to West Springfield. His former assistant, Travis Turgeon, is the Vikings’ new head coach.
Longtime South Lakes coach Galvin Morris, who oversaw the Seahawks program from 2000-14, stepped down following a spring that saw him earn the Virginia 6A Conference 6 Coach of the Year honor after leading the Reston school to the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
Morris, ironically, shifts over to Oakton, where he will coach under head coach Justin Janis, who like Morris was a former assistant under Scott Rowland, the head coach at South Lakes from 1997-99 and Oakton from 2000-08. In steps former Centreville coach Morgan Spencer, who spent the past two seasons across town as an assistant at Herndon.
While coaching the Wildcats from 2007-12, Spencer compiled two 16-win seasons and in 2010 guided the program to its first district final in eight years and was named the Concorde District Coach of the Year. He takes over a program that is coming off its best season in years, and hopes to build on that momentum.
“I have always felt that South Lakes is school with a great baseball community and rich tradition of success,” Spencer said. “It is very exciting and an honor for me to follow in the coaching footsteps of some guys that are not only tremendous coaches but also good friends of mine in Scott Roland and Galvin Morris.
“One thing that has been apparent to me is that these kids were very well-coached under Coach Morris. Their knowledge of the game and dedication to the game has been very impressive and has made it very easy for me to jump right in.”
Former Yorktown head coach Mike Ruck is also moving across town, from one Arlington school to another in Wakefield. While with the Patriots the past five years, Ruck won two district championships, two district Coach of the Year honors and led the program to a school-record 21 victories in 2012.
Ruck takes over for longtime coach George Baker, who skippered the Warriors from 2000-14. Wakefield has struggled in recent years, combining for just two wins over the past two seasons, and Ruck will be taking over a program that last had a winning record in 1987.
Former Marshall assistant John Skaggs will take the reigns as Ruck’s replacement at Yorktown.
Additionally, Michael LeMorta, who has served as an assistant at Mount Vernon the past three years under Marshall Larkey, has taken over as the Majors’ head coach. LeMorta is a retired Marine who coached while serving overseas. Former Freedom-South Riding assistant Mark Wrighte has replaced the departed Jason Treon as the head coach at the school, and former Loudoun Valley assistant Rusty Smith is the new head coach at Woodgrove, replacing Brad Bauder.
Paul Koch, who most recently served as the head coach at the University of Beijing in China, is the first head coach in program history at newly opened Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn.
New Head Coaches:
Chris Warren, Episcopal (Alexandria)
Morgan Spencer, South Lakes (Reston)
Jason Ritenour, C.D. Hylton (Woodbridge)
Brett McColley, W.T. Woodson (Fairfax)
Mike Ruck, Wakefield (Arlington)
John Skaggs, Yorktown (Arlington)
Michael LeMorta, Mount Vernon
Mark Wrighte, Freedom (South Riding)
Rusty Smith, Woodgrove (Purcellville)
Paul Koch, Rock Ridge (Ashburn)
Travis Turgeon, Woodbridge
