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Welcome to Mark de la Motte Field
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Mark de la Motte is joined by his wife, Laura, his daughters, Sarah de la Motte and Rebecca Wisniakowski, their significant others and his grandkids at his field dedication on Saturday (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

More than a year after the Turlock Unified School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the naming of the Turlock High School’s varsity baseball field in honor of longtime teacher and head baseball coach, Mark de la Motte, matters were made official during a field dedication on Saturday, one that drew hundreds of community members, including de la Motte’s family, friends, players, assistant coaches, teachers, administrators and even former opponents.

The ceremony, which included the unveiling of a new electronic scoreboard with “Mark de la Motte Field” painted across the top, brought the legendary coach and his daughters, Sarah de la Motte and Rebecca Wisniakowski, close to tears.

“You people have done more for me than I’ve done for anybody here,” de la Motte humbly told the large crowd. “I cherish every one of you.”

The naming of Mark de la Motte Field marked the third athletic facility at Turlock High School to be dedicated to a former coach, and the first time in history that it has happened when the coach was still living. It was because of this that the approval to name the field took more than five years. 

The request to name the varsity baseball field after de la Motte was first made in March of 2018. The proposal was met with discussion and debate whether to name facilities after those still living or name facilities after people that are still employed with the district. The following year, the school district officially adopted board policy 7310, which states school facilities may be named after individuals, living or deceased or entities that have made outstanding contributions to the school community or who have made contributions of statewide, national or worldwide significance.

Spearheading the committee to name the field after de la Motte was Ed Felt, the commissioner of the Central California Athletic League and former educator and administrator at Turlock High School.

“He’s done so many wonderful things for this campus and this community, it’s fitting that this day finally got here,” Felt said.

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The Mark de la Motte field dedication was complimented with the unveiling of a brand new, electronic scoreboard (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

De la Motte taught at Turlock High School for 38 years and coached baseball for a total of 42 years. During his 26-year tenure as the Bulldogs’ skipper, he won over 500 games with eight Central California Conference championships and two section title appearances. He is the winningest baseball coach in the school’s history.

“Most coaches would be happy to coach four successful seasons, but we’re talking four decades. This wasn’t accomplished by just winning baseball games,” Felt said. “Coaching a highly competitive, large baseball program unfortunately results in not everyone always making the team. And even those who make the cut, not being happy with their playing time and not starting. It’s definitely the scenario of a varsity baseball coach at this level. You’re not going to please everyone, but this turnout today, I think he has earned our respect.”

Wisniakowski also acknowledged the large crowd that came to support her father.

“The outpouring support of the community and all of you that are here today goes to show what a well deserved honor this is,” she said. “It is for a man that embodies the world ‘coach.’ It’s not just about being the winningest coach in Turlock High School’s history, but it’s about the profound, positive impact he’s had on the lives of so many players, students and colleagues. His dedication to this school program was and continues to be his life’s greatest work. His legacy continues on…”

When it was de la Motte’s turn to speak, he kept his word short, praising others instead of himself, particularly former head coach and mentor Ezio “Atch” Pedretti.

“I inherited a very successful program with a brand new field. Coach Pedretti, I was his assistant for one year right out of college… Unfortunately Coach Pedretti passed early, too soon. [Former principal] Tom Parker interviewed me and hired me on one condition, and that was to not turn into Billy Martin and yell and scream and argue with umpires, so I tried not to do that,” de la Motte joked.

“The tradition here at Turlock High is long,” added Rob Mendonca, former player and assistant coach under de la Motte. “You’re in for a good game when you play the Bulldogs, and that tradition was established long ago and carried on by Coach de la Motte for many years.”

De la Motte also shared stories of how the dugouts, batting cages, bullpens and bleachers were built. They were ones that his daughter, Sarah, knew all too well.

“[This field] is synonymous with my dad, my childhood and with the rest of my family,” she said. “My very first job was learning to keep score in that dugout in the summer. I got 25 cents for every game. I also learned how to spit and eat sunflower seeds in the dugout. All the players were always so nice to me and I had the opportunity to be a part of this as a young kid. Coming back here and now seeing the name on the field is something I couldn’t be more proud of.”

Former player Steve Soderstrom was also on hand to speak, sharing stories of being coached by de la Motte. He also expressed his gratitude for having watched de la Motte coach his two sons, Tate and Tyler, simultaneously in 2017.
“He had an opportunity to coach both my boys at the same time, which was a huge treat for Tammi (his wife} and I,” Soderstrom said. “I asked my boys what Turlock baseball meant to them. Tate, my oldest, said, ‘When I think of Turlock baseball, I think of the best program in the Valley, Coach de la Motte and Coach de la Motte.’ And Tyler, in four words, described Turlock baseball as ‘Mark de la Motte.’ He is Turlock baseball.”