MARINE CITY — While the MHSAA sports season ended almost a month ago, the past three weeks had been busy for the athletic department at Cardinal Mooney High School.
But after a pair of personnel decisions, offseason business can finally begin for two varsity sports.
The Cardinals hired new coaches last week in Joe Rydzewski and Jeff Damore for baseball and softball, respectively.
“I’m ecstatic, excited — words can’t even describe it,” Rydzewski said. “This is my first really head coaching gig. I’m super pumped to have my own program.”
He replaces Neal Doddy, who was the interim coach last season.
Rydzewski previously served as an assistant at both the high school (Macomb Dakota, Sterling Heights Stevenson) and collegiate (Heidelberg University, Macomb Community College) ranks. A native of Chesterfield Township, he played collegiately at Heidelberg and then professionally in the United Shore Professional Baseball League.
“He brings us a ton of experience being a college player and coaching at the college level,” Cardinal Mooney athletic director Kevin Mahn said. “He’s coaching (a 13U team) right now.”
Rydzewski also knows the Catholic High School League well, having graduated from Warren De La Salle Collegiate in 2014. That familiarity is one of the reasons he wanted the job.
“Historically, (Cardinal Mooney baseball) is a powerhouse,” Rydzewski said. “I plan on helping them get back to where they were a few years ago. That’s the goal … if you play the game the right way, good things are going to happen on the field and off the field, as well.”
The Cardinals reached the Division 4 state semifinals two years ago. In 2021, they were the division’s state runner-up.
As for the school’s softball program, it’s coming off a dormant season. The Cardinals did not field a team this year but will do so in 2027 under Damore, who has 25 years of coaching experience.
“I’m honored and privileged to be a part of (Cardinal Mooney),” said Damore, a Troy native and graduate of Troy Athens High School. “I’m just super excited and intrigued (about this opportunity).”
Damore was an assistant coach at Rochester Christian University, Algonac High School and Anchor Bay High School. As a travel ball coach, he won four Michigan state championships and a USA Softball GOLD 18U national championship in 2012.
During his tenures with Algonac and Anchor Bay, Damore even coached against Mahn, who led the softball program at St. Clair High School from 2007 to 2021.
“He actually coached some of the kids (in travel ball) that played for me,” Mahn said. “With his resume, it was pretty much a no-brainer.”
The former opponents, now part of the same team, are eager to get started.
“What I look forward to most is bringing a brand of softball that competes to win,” Damore said. “With all the teams that I’ve coached, I’ve had great players — players that are willing to go into the small details. And that’s what makes being successful.
“That’s really what I’m going to bring to is just the details of high-level competition — from prep, to study, to all kinds of things. Not at a crazy level, but at a competitive level.”
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Cardinal Mooney hires new coaches for baseball, softball teams
Reporting by Brenden Welper, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brenden Welper, Port Huron Times Herald | USA TODAY Network
