Westlake High Hires New Football Coach

WESTLAKE, OH — Westlake High School has a new head football coach. Dan LaRocco has been selected for the position, pending Board of Education approval of the hiring.

LaRocco coached at Westlake last year, working with the offensive line. He was formerly the head coach at Western Reserve Academy, offensive coordinator at University School, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, and Benedictine.

“Through an extensive process, we came to the conclusion that we had the best candidate for this position right in our building. Dan already has built a positive rapport with players at various levels and has shown a willingness to be involved in all parts of our school community. In addition, his colleagues and peers speak positively about his ability to reach athletes and get them to believe in a common goal,” Westlake's Director of Athletics Tony Cipollone said.

At each of his coaching stops, LaRocco took losing teams and turned them around. That's an important quality for a Westlake program that went 1-9 last season.

“I am very proud and humbled to be given this great responsibility and I intend to work as hard as possible in order to give our athletes the best experience possible playing football. While we want as much success as possible, it is also about teaching life lessons that they can take with them in whatever paths they choose. I look forward to working with all our players, no matter the skill level to make them feel like a family. We intend to build a positive culture and get our community and school excited about Demon Football,” said LaRocco in a statement.

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LaRocco replaces Jason Hall as head coach. Hall stepped down in December 2018.

LaRocco is a graduate of Midpark High School. He played on his alma mater's football team and was an all-conference wrestler and thrower for the track team. He went on to Baldwin Wallace College and played on the college's football team.

LaRocco teaches physical education at Westlake High.

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