A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Coach Manuel now considers himself to be a "full blooded" Texan. A natural athlete, he starred as a shortstop, quarterback, and point guard at Northern High School and in 1994 was inducted into the Northern High School Sports Hall of Fame. Manuel earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in education from Western Michigan University, where he was captain of the baseball team and was selected to the Mid-American All Conference Team. His first Houston area head baseball coaching position was at Davis High School and in 1997 he was inducted into the Milby High School Baseball Hall of Fame as a former coach.

Those who know him recognize Rocky Manuel as a devoted, caring, and sensitive family man. His wife of twenty-nine years, Lisa, an athlete in her own right, was inducted into her high school Hall of Fame in 2000. She teaches high school in the Cy-Fair Independent School District. They have three children. Robert, who played at Sam Houston State University is now pitching in the Red Sox organization. His daughter Patricia, a former Bellaire Varsity Volleyball and Softball player, is a kindergarten teacher at Gregg Elementary School in Houston, while his youngest daughter, Marissa, hung up her Bellaire cheerleader pompoms, is a Texas Tech grad and is now a teacher in the Houston area.

Coach Manuel holds a special place in his heart for his high school coach Dave Reeves, his college coach Fred Decker, as well as Don Jackson and the late John Rapacz, who had the vision to hire Rocky for his first coaching position. Finally, Coach Manuel acknowledges his father, his best coach and friend, the late Robert Manuel. As Coach tells all of his players, your best coach is always "your dad." Robert Manuel was Rockys' best fan. In his retirement in Houston he never missed a game, as he rooted for Rocky and the Cards. Robert Manuel left us all with a genuine feeling of love and devotion toward his family that each of us would be proud to emulate.

Bellaire Baseball is Coach Rocky P. Manuel. He wears his feelings on "his sleeve," and his love for the game and his players are his life. All who he has touched are fortunate. As is true of all great coaches, the discipline, dedication and just plain hard work that he demands of his players year round reveals upon graduation a love, respect and friendship that lasts a lifetime. All may not be major leaguers in baseball, but Coach Manuel's goal is for them to be major leaguers in life. So here's a "tip of the hat" and thanks to coach Rocky Manuel, "the best of the best."

BY THE NUMBERS

* 20 years in BHS (since 1991)
* Over 900 total career wins
* Over 600 career wins with BHS
* Winning percentage: 82.04%
* Average # wins per season: 29.4 (highest 39 - 08’)
* 3 trips (94’, 99’, 08’) to State tournament
* 2 State championships
- 94' Bellaire over Corpus Christi Moody (2-1)
- 99' Bellaire over Duncanville (13-2)

BHS ranking at some point during the baseball season:
- State: 10 years ranked #1
- Nation: 7 years ranked #1

ACCOLADES
* USA TODAY - 1999 National Coach of the Year
* Collegiate baseball - Coach of the Year
* American Baseball Association - Coach of the Year
* Texas Sportswriters Association - Coach of the Year
* All Greater Houston - Coach of the Year
* EASTON - National Coach of the Year
* Texas High School Coach of the Year
* NHSBCA District 6 Coach of the Year
* HISD Coach of the Year
* 15th Annual RBI Foundation High School Coach of the Year

Coach Walker's duties at Bellaire High School go well beyond coaching; he taught freshman English for 27 years. Coach Walker earned his bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University and his master's degree from Boston College. He and his wife, Sheila, have two sons, and 1 grandson. His son Morgan owns and operates the Baseball Academy in Beaumont, Texas.
Coach Walker was inducted into the Bellaire Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Affectionately known as "Coach Walk", Coach Manuel says, "Mike has been a steady influence on all our players, and has done a super job with our outfielders."

Coach Tedder enters his 16th year as the Cardinal's Hitting Coach. In his 46-year coaching career, he has been the Head Baseball Coach in La Mirada, California, and at Spring Branch High School in Houston. Coach Tedder was named the 1998 National Assistant Coach of the Year by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association and was inducted into the Bellaire Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2009, Coach Tedder was inducted into the Texas A&M Corpus Christi "Hall of Honor".
"Coach T" and his wife of 47 years, LaVerne, have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Coach Tedder says that one of his greatest accomplishments as a hitting instructor was "watching the 1999 State and National Championship team break seven offensive Individual Season school records."

Coach Ozuna is joining the Bellaire Cardinals staff in his tenth year of coaching, with seven of those years being with Bellaire. Previously, Coach Ozuna was at Westbury High School for two years. Coach Ozuna is a 1994 Bellaire High School graduate. He was the starting shortstop for the 1994 State Champion Cardinals. In 2000, he was inducted into the Bellaire High School Baseball Hall of Fame. Coach Ozuna played at Sam Houston State and graduated from Houston Baptist University with a double major in business.
Coach Ozuna and his wife Melissa have twin boys, Vincent and Dominick who little sister, Nina Madeline.

Chris Moritz begins his third year at Bellaire High School. Coach Moritz graduated from Bellaire in 1982. He went on to play at San Jacinto Junior College in 1983 and 1984. In 1984, he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and played in the Red Sox organization until 1989. Coach Moritz is a University of Houston graduate.
Chris and his wife, Pam, have been married for 19 years and have two girls, Alexa, 14 and Brianna, 8. Coach Moritz was inducted into the Bellaire High School Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Coach Drake returns to Bellaire for the 2013 season, bringing with him over thirty years of coaching and teaching experience. Holding a BA in Education from Linfield College in Oregon, Coach Drake has coached both football and baseball, and was Head Baseball Coach at Galveston Ball and Scarborough High Schools, as well as an assistant at Bellaire from 2003 - 2007. A recent retiree from the public education system, Coach Drake will spend his leisure years working with the Varsity Pitching Staff. He and his wife Robyn have two children: Jonathan and Andrea, as well as twin granddaughters, Brooke and Blaire.

This is Coach Daniels' 17th year as a member of Bellaire's coaching staff. Coach Daniels has a B.A. in Physical Education from Prairie View A&M. He teaches at Ed White Elementary and his wife, Bobbi, is a math teacher in Galena Park I.S.D. Coach Daniels and Bobbi have 2 children Derek and Delicia.
Rocky Manuel considers Coach Daniels to be one of the top assistant coaches in the Houston area, and he is a 2001 inductee into the Bellaire Baseball Hall of Fame. Coach Daniels is also a recipient of the Fiesta 2001 Civic and Humanitarian Award, a salute to community educators. In 2004, Coach Daniels was honored by having the school park named in his honor.

Coach Duron is on his fourth year at Bellaire. A 1994 graduate of Paschal H.S. in Ft. Worth, Coach Duron lettered all three years in Baseball. Jason played a year at U.T. Pan American and graduated from U.T. San Antonio with a degree in Kinesiology. This will be his seventh year coaching Baseball.
Coach Duron and his wife Jessica have a son, Tyler, seven and daughter Hannah, four.

                                             

Born in  Houston, but raised in Pearland, Coach Luis Romero is a UH grad who comes to Bellaire by way of the Lamar-Rosenberg Consolidated School District, where he coached both football and baseball. His accomplishments in Rosenberg include five district titles from 2007 -2012 and two regional finalist appearances.  Coach Romero decided to join the Cardinal staff because he wanted to be part of the rich history that is Bellaire Baseball.  His duties this  include assisting Varsity outfielders and coaching the Sophomore B team.

 

 

Coach Clark is in his 18th year at Bellaire High School. He teaches AP U.S. Government and Economics. His is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a degree in Political Science and Economics. " Coach Clark has had a definite impact on our program and has helped all of our younger players," says Coach Manuel. Coach Clark serves primarily as the Scouting Director for Bellaire Baseball, but will also help coach the Sophomore B team.