Sulphur baseball head coach Sam Moore discusses retirement

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Sam Moore has been a staple in Southwest Louisiana high school baseball dugouts since 1991, as he was Leesville’s head coach in 1991 and 1992, Iowa’s head coach from 1992-94, Vinton’s in 1994 and 1995, and was at Sulphur from 2016-2023, but in 2024, it will be someone new in the Sulphur dugout.

Moore announced earlier this year that the 2023 season would be his last, and he would be retiring once the season came to an end, which for Sulphur turned out to be the State Semi-Finals, which they made for the second consecutive year.

For Moore, who had success at nearly every stop he made, including coaching in Texas between his time at Vinton, and Sulphur, the memories he will hold close to his heart, are the ones where his former players returned to see him.

“The memories are, like a lot of coaches say, is when kids come back and thank you, for what you did for them in their high school career, that enabled them to go to another level, or just to be good, responsible young men. That’s what you take out of coaching high school sports,” said Moore. “I’ve met some great people along the way at all of my spots, Leesville, I still talk to people in Leesville, Iowa, I still keep up with people in Vinton, and then over in Texas. The relationships you build, especially those that last a long time, are the memories you cherish.”

This season Moore received praise from numerous coaches, including (but not limited to) Barbe’s Glenn Cecchini, and Iowa’s Daniel Hennigan, both of whom won State Championships in 2023. Hennigan talked about how some of the players on his 2023 State Championship team, had fathers who were on Iowa’s first Semi-Final team, which was coached by Moore, and the Iowa culture was passed down through them, thanks in part to Moore.

As for Cecchini, after Barbe beat Sulphur in the Semi-Finals, he took the time to talk about his relationship with Moore saying “I love Sam Moore, he’s like a brother to me, you know we’ve been out to eat numerous times, we’ve coached summer league teams, I’ve known for 30-plus years, I love that man, and as excited as I am for us, I do hurt for him. Some day it’s going to be my last day, and I’d hate to go out like that I love him, and to me, he’s the most successful coach in Sulphur history, he’s a great guy and he’s done an amazing job.”

Moore acknowledged the praise he received from other coaches saying “The respect of your peers is one of the most important things you can have. I just hope that we did it the right way, and Glenn (Cecchini) has said it before, we’ve been friends for over 30 years, and our families are close, and he means the world to me, he’s been a big mentor of mine. (Daniel) Hennigan you know, from starting the baseball program over at Iowa, and there’s been a few coaches between myself and Daniel, but watching him do what he does and I was really, really happy for him to win a State Championship at Iowa, and just to have the respect of your peers, and just making sure you get along with everybody, that’s what it’s all about.”

For Moore, he’s not officially retiring, as he still owns, and operates his baseball academy ‘Zone Baseball’, and he has also taken a new role not too far from Sulphur.

“I’ll be working with Visit Lake Charles where my role is going to be bringing in sports and entertainment to Lake Charles. I’ll be the director of sports relations, and I’ll be helping to bring in baseball tournaments, bringing in entertainment, and bringing in whatever will bring revenue to the City of Lake Charles.”

In addition to being excited about this new step in his life, and career, Moore is also excited because this will allow him to go see his former players play at the college level.

“Oh that’s going to happen, that’s going to happen, you know, you walk in the stadium and you stick your chest out a little bit, because you know you were a part of that young man’s career. Those guys are great kids, they’re going to do great things at the next level, hopefully, they’re going to compete like they competed for our program, and to be in the stadium, to watch that happen, it’s going to be a blessing.”

Sulphur had 15 seniors this past season with several of them signing to play baseball at schools such as LSU, McNeese, Southeastern, and the University of Texas at Tyler.

“My heart will always be in Sulphur, and I’ll be rooting on the Tors, and rooting for them to bring that State Championship home, it’s happening, it’s going to happen soon.”

Sulphur has yet to name their next head baseball coach.

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