The Concordia Crusader baseball program has scored a coup with its new coaching staff.

Rick Lynch and Dale Westmoreland, regarded in Houston area high school baseball circles as among the most respected and winningest coaches in the area, have taken over the Crusader program.

Lynch recently resigned as head coach from Tomball High School after elevating the Cougar baseball program to one of the tops in the state. In 2005, the Cougars were ranked as the top team in the nation under Lynch’s leadership.

He took over the Cougar baseball program in 2001. Earlier this year, Lynch received the Ray Knoblauch award as 2011 Houston area Coach of the Year.

Westmoreland retired from Magnolia High School where this past season he led the Bulldogs to the regional finals and one win away from the state tournament. Westmoreland has spent 40 years coaching high school baseball in the Houston area, winning more than 700 games in the process.

Lynch called taking over at Concordia “a new challenge.”

“I never thought there’d be a day when I’d leave Tomball High School,” he said. “We won a lot of games and I never had a bad day at Tomball.”

He called the decision to move to Concordia a difficult one, but one that’s “a great opportunity for my family.”

“I think I’ll enjoy that atmosphere,” he said.

Lynch will serve as head coach of the Crusader baseball team, but will focus more on the defensive side of the ball, while Westmoreland, he said, will work primarily with the hitters.

“But we’ll share many of the responsibilities,” Lynch said.

Moving from a dominant 5A program to a private school with an enrollment of around 300 players creates a “unique situation,” Lynch said.

“I think more and more you’re seeing a lot of kids go to the private schools,” he said. “There’s no doubt it (Concordia) is a school that sits in a hot bed of baseball in the country. And the education at Concordia is very, very good.”

“They still play as hard and want to win as bad as the kids at Tomball,” he added. “We’re going to make a commitment there to be one of the best teams in the country.”

Lynch explained that commitment will go both ways, from the coach to the administration. Part of the agreement, he explained, was that the administration improve the baseball facilities.

“Our number one goal is to improve player development facilities,” Lynch said. “They need to be improved and Concordia will give us the opportunity to improve them.”

That opportunity includes the expected construction of a covered or indoor training facility and batting cages. Lynch also said improvements will be made to the baseball field and entire “playing facility.”

“I hope in a short time that Concordia Lutheran will be known in the same circles as Tomball High School baseball,” Lynch said.

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