Coach Larry Baratte came to Ventura College in 1988 as an aquatic instructor and assistant to the Men's and Women's Swim Team with then Head Coach Bill Miller. Baratte had previously spent six season as the Head Aquatic Coach at Thousand Oaks High School where his teams won nine Marmonte League Swimming and Diving Championships (six boys and three girls). In 1990 Baratte was named head coach of the Women's Swim program at Ventura College, and in 1992 was hired to a full faculty position responsible for the entire Intercollegiate Aquatic Program.

During his tenure Baratte has produced 146 National Community College All-Americans, 24 California State Champions in 52 individual events, along with 13 California State Champion relay teams. He has produced 12 National Champions in 18 individual events, along with 1 National Champion relay team. 26 of his athletes have been named the Western State Conference Athlete-of-the-Year and 9 athletes have been named the California State Athlete/Performer-of-the-Year. He has coached past and current individual event and relay team state record holders and past National Community College individual event record holders. His teams have won 24 Western State Conference team titles, and have consistently finished in the top-5 at the California State Championships, highlighted by winning the 2005 and 2010 Men's Swimming & Diving State Championship. The team's consistent success over the past ten years is unmatched in the state. Baratte has been honored numerous times as the Western State Conference Coach-of-the-Year, and was named the California State Coach of the Year in 2003, 2005, and 2010. His dual meet record at VC stands at 312-28 (149-17 for the men and 163-11 for the women). Most notably, his teams have also been honored statewide for their academic results. No less than 12 of his teams have been honored as that years' "Top Scholar-Team" in the State. Of note.....In 2005 Ventura College became the first Men's aquatic program in the State (and, at the time, only the second team in any sport) to win a state team championship and the state scholar-team award in the same year.

On top of his duties as head men's and women's swimming and diving coach, Baratte is a full professor and a former department head in the Kinesiology Department, as well as a former longtime member of the board of directors for the California Community College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association. From 1992 to 1999 Baratte served as the Head Men's Water Polo Coach establishing the Ventura College program is one the finest in the state. In addition he was the founder of the women's water polo program, overseeing the women's club team in 1995 and 1996. During his eight years as the Men's water polo coach, Baratte, produced 11 Community College Water Polo All-Americans, averaged over 20 wins per season, won the 1997 state scholar team award, and advanced to the 1997 State Championship tournament.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Baratte was a nationally ranked age-group swimmer in the early 70's. In 1977, he was listed as a High School All-American in both Swimming and Water Polo while attending Junipero Serra Prep in San Mateo, California. In 1979 Baratte was again named to the All-American teams in both Swimming and Water Polo while attending Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California. While at Foothill College, Baratte established a school record in 1979 that remains in place to this day, some 34 year later. Baratte completed his undergraduate work and swam his final two seasons at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. While at Pepperdine, he qualified for the 1981 National Championships, and helped Pepperdine to two consecutive runner-up finishes in the old Pacific Coast Conference (currently the Big West). He completed his graduate studies and received his Master's degree in Education (M.Ed) from Azusa Pacific University.

His coaching career began in 1981 as a graduate assistant at Pepperdine University, and at Thousand Oaks High School, where he was the Head Boys and Girls Swimming and Head Boys Water Polo Coach, the position he held until moving on to his career at Ventura College. In 2007, in recognition of his successes, as well as honoring the contributions he has made during his coaching career, Baratte was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was one of two coaches, statewide and across all sports, to receive the lifetime achievement award given that year by the California Community College Coaches Association.

Coach Baratte has been married to his wife Beth for 28 years. They live in nearby Camarillo and have three sons, Chase (26), Collin (24), and Cole (22).