Clover Park School District announcement.
Clover Park School District has assembled a committee that is considering a request to name the Clover Park High School baseball field after former long-time educator and coach Merle Hagbo.
Hagbo worked in the school district from 1958 to 1998. He was the assistant boys baseball coach from 1958 to 1963 and head boys baseball coach from 1964 to 1998. He also served as an assistant football coach, assistant boys basketball coach and head boys basketball coach.
He was well-known in the community and ran the Lakewood Little League Program from 1962 to 1983. During his career, he received the Outstanding Official Award for District 8 from the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association in 1998 and was inducted into the Washington State High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame and the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame.
A community survey has been launched to gather input on this recommendation that will be reviewed by the committee as it makes its recommendation to the superintendent: https://forms.office.com/r/8mLGHxVXdx.
The survey will close on Friday, April 14.
Please contact Community Relations, 253-583-5040, with questions about the survey or for additional assistance.
Mr Hagbo deserves recognition. He left quite a legacy that has yet to be matched. I would hope that this would lead to improvements to the field, dug outs and training area.
This hopefully would also encourage students at CPHS to actually want to play there. They could not even field a team in 2021 as my son lost a season as well as already losing 2020 due to Covid.
Naming the Clover Park baseball field after long time highly successful coach Merle Hagbo is an honor that recognizes his commitment and dedication as an educator and coach at Clover Park High School. Merle has received many accolades for his work in the Lakewood community and Western Washington Officials Association.
Thank you Barry Crust, longtime teacher and coach at Hudtloff Junior High School and star basketball player at Clover Park High School, for first proposing this idea for Merle. Two years ago Barry and Jim Pelander contacted the Clover Park High School Athletic Director about the idea of naming the baseball field after Merle. Thank you Clover Park School District for considering this request for honoring Merle .Hagbo!