Northwood High’s baseball team has a new coach. Athletic Director Derek Roche said Friday that Shannon Blansette will take over for Rob Stuart, who resigned at the end of the season.
 
Blansette is familiar with baseball in Irvine. He was an assistant baseball coach at Concordia University for two years, then was the Eagles’ interim head coach for one season while the search for a permanent coach was conducted. Blansette then was an assistant coach at Irvine Valley College under Kent Madole for one year.
 
The past two years, he’s been coaching an Orange County 12-13-year-old club team, the Blue Wave. He’s also coached the Blue Wave’s 18-and-under team.
 
For the past year, Blansette has been concentrating on earning his teaching credential. “It’s a great school and I’m excited to be teaching there,” said Blansette, who will teach social science. “I had heard about the job through my coaching contacts and I thought it would be a pretty good fit.”
 
Blansette plans on meeting with his players during workouts this week on campus. After that, he said he will have a better idea of what’s in store for the program.