When returning baseball players at Point Loma High School gather for their first meeting before preparing for the 2019 season, their new varsity head coach will not have to introduce himself. That’s because new field boss Jeff Solis has already coached every one of the returning players at the freshman or junior varsity level. Solis was selected from a talented and veteran group of applicants after interviews were conducted by PLHS athletic director Alex Van Heuven and vice principal Kelly Lowry. “Jeff’s enthusiasm, care for the students and drive to give his all to PLHS baseball was extremely evident,” Van Heuven said. “He had impeccable references and impressive forward-thinking ideas for the team. We are lucky to have him on the Pointer staff.” Freshman and junior varsity teams have posted consistent winning seasons for a decade under Solis including last season’s junior varsity (23-4 overall and 10-2 in league). “I am super-excited to take over the program,” Solis said. “It’s an honor to follow David Wells in this historic program. Point Loma is such a great program and I believe in the kids. They’re super-good kids from really good families and they love the game of baseball. We want to continue to build on that.” As a player, Solis suited up at Div. I University of Northern Colorado from 1986-89 before serving as an infield instructor there. He then spent four years as a varsity assistant in Fort Collins, Colo. before moving to California in 1994. Solis then worked at a baseball camp in Del Mar before taking the freshman head coaching job at PLHS. “We’ll work really hard at having great fundamentals,” Solis said regarding his coaching philosophy. “We’ll do the simple things really well. Pitchers are going to throw strikes, we’ll play great defense, we’re going to run the bases really well and have great approaches at the plate. I believe the old adage that ‘defense wins championships’ is true.” Solis will be meeting with current Pointer baseball coaches to discuss their plans and in what positions they would like to serve.
