2009 Boys Tennis Coach of the Year: Aaron Talarico

With two sophomores and a junior playing singles for Laguna Beach, Breakers coach Aaron Talarico thought next season would be the year for his team's revival.

Instead, it happened a year sooner than he thought. Laguna Beach, seeded No. 6 in the CIF-SS Division IV playoffs upset the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in rout to reaching the school's first final since 1983.

The Breakers beat No. 3 Whitney, 15-3, in the quarterfinals, then defeated No. 2 Cate, 13-5, in the semifinals.

"It's a real honor," said Talarico of the award. "It makes my job a lot easier when I have a good team which shows up to practice and works hard. That's what it's been like for me this year."

Contact the writer: ctobolski@ocregister.com