PREP BASEBALL; T'SAS BACK IN OLE' BALLGAME AT PARACLETE.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

After 15 years of coaching, Ed t'Sas spent last spring finding other ways to stay busy. That included golfing and spending quality time with his wife Dara and his two daughters.

t'Sas had stepped down after eight productive years as head baseball coach at Antelope Valley High of Lancaster. And he hardly went through any withdrawal - no late-night cravings to hit fungoes or fill out any lineup cards.

``It wasn't tough at all. I enjoyed it,'' t'Sas said of his hiatus. ``I'd be just as happy spending time with my family.''

But t'Sas still loves baseball, and more importantly helping young people. He compares his current teaching job at Phoenix High, a Lancaster area school for at-risk teen-agers, to coaching baseball.

Helping make someone a better person is always a task t'Sas has enjoyed. And when Paraclete of Lancaster athletic director Margaret Neill had to find a baseball coach, she called t'Sas.

Only the 100 percent support of his family convinced t'Sas to pursue another coaching job.

``Margaret called and asked if I was interested,'' t'Sas said. ``I've always respected Margaret as an athletic director and I figured I'd give it a try.''

So consider t'Sas the Spirits' interim baseball coach for the upcoming season. Baseball and football coach Steve Hagerty's departure for Riverside North High forced Neill to scramble for a baseball replacement.

Paraclete's first choice was t'Sas, who won three Golden League championships and reached the playoffs seven of his eight years at his alma mater.

His career with the Antelopes was somewhat overshadowed by a 1997 incident involving standout pitcher Sean Douglass' departure from the team after a rift with the coach. But the wins, championships and playoff appearances serve as proof for his coaching ability.

``He had a lot of success at A.V. and he was the first person I called,'' said Neill, who already employs t'Sas's wife as her varsity volleyball assistant coach. ``He's more of an interim coach this year. We'd like to have a permanent coach who can also teach here. But if he likes the job we'd talk about him staying on.''

That's the way t'Sas sees it, too. He'll coach strictly on a year-by-year basis and discuss any long-term plans to stay at Paraclete at season's end.

He's glad to be coaching for an athletic director committed to running a quality sports program. Under Hagerty, last year's Spirits won the Alpha League title and advanced to the Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals.

``They've had a lot of success in football and I think we can do the same in baseball,'' t'Sas said. ``This school has the athletes to be very successful in baseball.''

The Spirits suffered heavy graduation losses and standout pitching prospect Matt Parris transferred to Highland of Palmdale.

And the nonleague schedule is difficult. The Spirits face larger City and Southern Section opponents such as Kennedy, Birmingham, Monroe, Crespi, Quartz Hill and Palmdale.

But all that hasn't derailed t'Sas' enthusiasm.

``I'm very excited. This is a great opportunity for me and it's a good thing for me to be at Paraclete,'' he said. ``They're doing a lot of work to improve our stadium and we'll be playing our home games there this year.''

t'Sas will demand a lot from his Paraclete players and won't let them off easy when practice begins in a couple of weeks. But the atmosphere won't always be so gloomy.

``The thing that I definitely want is for us to have fun,'' t'Sas said. ``I mean we've got to win some games. Winning is a big priority too.'