This is an opinion piece.

Longtime Birmingham-area high school basketball coach Chris Laatsch has already learned one important thing about his new job.

“There are no bad days at the beach,” he said this week at Baldwin County High School Basketball Media Day.

Laatsch spent 16 years as head coach at Briarwood Christian, four at Helena and the last six at Spain Park before behind hired to lead the Orange Beach boys basketball program last April.

“It’s a lot different,” he said of his new job. “If I have a bad day, I can just take a chair out of my trunk and sit on the sand and listen to the waves. The community is great. The facilities they are building are spectacular. There is a commitment to excellence here, and we have a great staff across the board. We are all selling the same mission and goal and that is for kids to have a great high school experience.”

It’s hard to find a coach (or a media member for that matter) that doesn’t like and respect Laatsch. He led Spain Park to the state playoffs in four of the last five years and his teams made it to the Class 7A final four three times in that span. When Laatsch left for Orange Beach, the school tweeted out an appreciation post for his time there.

“He’s hands down one of the best high school coaches in the state,” Orange Beach girls coach Mike Chase said. “Chris Laatsch is a great people person. He makes connections with people – young people, older people. He’s better than anyone I know at building those relationships.”

Chase knows Laatsch well. The two worked together and built successful basketball programs at Spain Park before Chase left prior to the 2023-2024 season to take the Makos’ girls basketball job.

“I was at Spain Park for 14 years. He was there for the last six,” Chase said of Laatsch. “I also knew him when he was at Briarwood. Then he had a strong program at Helena and left to take over a not-so-good program at Spain Park. I knew how good a coach he was.

“I did strength and conditioning for his team. He sat on my bench during final fours, and I sat on his. When the job opened here at Orange Beach, there was only one guy I wanted. I didn’t really have to convince Chris to come. I had to convince his wife. I think he’s going to build an unbelievable program down here.”

Laatsch admitted that Chase was a key factor in his decision to move South after living in Birmingham for 48 of the previous 52 years.

“I think they had won five games at Spain Park before I got there,” he said. “Mike wanted to meet with me and wanted to partner with me and help me. He worked tirelessly to help. We locked arms and helped build each other’s programs. He is a tremendous friend and a rock on and off the court. He was the first one that told me there are no bad days at the beach and, so far, he’s been right.”

Laatsch already has started building those important relationships with his players.

“The first time I met him, I sat down in his office, and he wanted to get to know me,” Matthew Steele said. “I felt like he was someone I could open up to. He wasn’t so much worried about me as a player but more as a person and a leader. That made me feel great about our future.”

AHSAA high school basketball teams are allowed to officially start practice on Oct. 21. The first games can be played on Nov. 7.

Laatsch said he was intrigued about the move to a smaller school like Class 4A Orange Beach where more students are dual-sport athletes. He also said building those relationships with players keeps him going as he enters his 27th year as a head coach.

“I had two former players call me today,” he said. “Just being able to be a part of their lives energizes me. It’s really meaningful to build relationships with players and coaches as well and help navigate young men to be excellent on the floor but excellent in life as well. My goal is to do whatever it takes to give them the best chance to be successful.”

And if there is a rare bad day … he can always hit the beach.

Spotlight on Opelika

One of the more intriguing football games on tonight’s Week 8 schedule is the Class 7A, Region 2 matchup between Enterprise and Opelika at Opelika.

This was an important matchup even before the mid-week news that Enterprise head coach Ben Blackmon would be suspended for the game after a video surfaced of him sitting next to one of his coaches at last week’s Opelika-Dothan game as that coach filmed the game without permission.

AHSAA bylaws state that a school may not video tape nor film any contest in which it is not involved unless it has received permission from both participating schools.

It’s a bad look for Blackmon and his staff, and he’ll have his work cut out for him in restoring his reputation among the coaching community. I’ve heard from several coaches already who believe the suspension should have been longer. I know and like coach Blackmon and hope he’s able to bounce back. I know he’ll try. But it will take time I’m sure.

In the meantime, this could be a crucial move for his team. After last week’s win over previously unbeaten Carver-Montgomery, Enterprise enters tonight’s game at 4-2 overall, 2-2 in region play with winnable region home games against JAG and Smiths Station still to come.

Bryan Moore’s Opelika team is 6-1, 3-1 entering the game and has won four straight since its only loss of the season, 28-21 to No. 1 Auburn on Sept. 6. The Bulldogs have a tough schedule in the coming weeks with games against Central-Phenix City and Carver still remaining.

Carver (3-1), Central-Phenix City (3-1), Enterprise and Opelika are all chasing region frontrunner Auburn (4-0).

That’s five teams. Only four make the playoffs.

Every game is huge, including tonight’s at Opelika, regardless of who is on the sidelines or in this case who is not.

Thought for the Day

“Perseverance isn’t just about enduring hardship; it’s about growing stronger through it.” – Pastor Ed Newton.

Ben Thomas is the high school managing producer at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected] . He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.