Baseball: New Crystal Lake Central coach Cal Aldridge follows a family tradition

Cal Aldridge wore Prairie Ridge’s maroon and silver as a high school baseball player and Crystal Lake South’s green and gold the last two years as an assistant coach.

This spring, Aldridge will get back to his roots, wearing Crystal Lake Central’s orange and black.

Aldridge grew up as a Tiger since his father, Jeff, coached Central from 1999-2008. Aldridge is a double legacy, as his grandfather, Gary Aldridge, was head coach for one season before Jeff took over.

“It’s pretty special,” Cal Aldridge said. “Andy Deain did a fantastic job at Crystal Lake Central. Where they’re at and where we’re at is pretty special, we’re in a good spot. It’d be cool to get back to that pinnacle of chasing conference championships and try to make state championship runs.

“It’s cool to come full circle back to this moment. It’s great to have those experiences. I remember riding buses to and from games with my dad and his teams. Being around that atmosphere was so cool.”

Aldridge teaches special education at South, although he might be moved to Central for the 2024-25 school year so he can be in the building as a head coach. Aldridge and his wife Corinne are expecting their first child in early April.

In high school, he played third base on Prairie Ridge’s 2014 team that placed fourth in the Class 4A State Tournament. Aldridge really thrived at NCAA Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he tied for the Warhawks’ career home run lead with 47, second in RBIs (181), tied for fifth in batting average (.399) and has the fourth- (16) and fifth-best (15) seasons in home runs.

Aldridge was named to the D3baseball.com All-Decade 2010s first team, and was a first-team All-American by that site in 2018 and 2019.

He is a few years younger than when his father took over as the Tigers’ head coach.

“I’m extremely grateful. I’ve had the privilege to coach with some incredible people with Brian Bogda the last two years and I was an assistant at Whitewater for two years as well,” Cal Aldridge said. “Then, getting to grow up in the family I grew up in with people who had been head coaches, and getting to play for a guy like Glen Pecoraro and everything of that nature. It’s cool to be able to come into a conference that is so competitive and have an opportunity to go compete in it.”

Jeff Aldridge is a 1986 Central graduate who just retired in December after spending 31 years teaching, coaching and administrating at his alma mater.

Jeff Aldridge’s baseball teams were 177-116 in his nine seasons and twice advanced to the state tournament. His 2003 team made the Class AA State Tournament quarterfinals; his 2008 team finished fourth in the Class 4A State Tournament.

“I am proud that they thought he was worthy of getting the job, first and foremost,” Jeff Aldridge said. “I’m proud of the fact that I didn’t take his love for baseball away from him. Sometimes, with a mom or dad, that can happen. Sometimes parents want it more than their kid might. I’m just glad he has that love for the game. That’s what I’m most proud of.

“He’s in a different world than I was in. Things have changed so much in the world of high school sports and beyond. He’s better suited for it than me, better trained by people much better than me.”

As AD, Jeff Aldridge was not involved in the hiring of the new baseball coach, leaving that up to principal Eric Ernd and Shutters.

Shutters said Aldridge’s energy and love for the game made him the best head coach candidate.

“He has loads of energy, he loves baseball like crazy, and he’s super honest,” Shutters said. “When you meet Cal, you can feel how pumped he is about the game, and he really wants the team to do well. He’s always upbeat, which rubs off on the players and gets them excited to play.

“Cal loves baseball more than anything. He works hard to help players improve and be good people, too. He knows sports can teach important stuff like teamwork and never giving up, and he wants his players to learn those lessons.”

If his son wants advice, Jeff Aldridge will be happy to help.

“But I’ll do it the same way I did as a player,” Jeff Aldridge said. “He has to come to me. I’m not going to go beat him down with this or that. What’ll be fun for me, selfishly, is I’ll get to talk baseball.”

Cal Aldridge looks forward to having his father as involved as possible with the Tigers’ baseball program.

“He’s one of, if not my biggest, role model in the game of baseball and the game of life,” Cal Aldridge said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have the opportunities I have today without him.

“That’s invaluable. He’s a guy I can go to whenever I need anything. He’s a guy I can bounce something off of. The goal is to get him in the orange and black again and get him in the dugout. We’re going to get him there as often as possible. Get him out of that retirement mindset.”