McNamee’s Plan Helps Costa Mesa Look, Play Like Champion

You could see the difference in the game’s first five seconds: One team looked as if it had just stepped off a Caribbean cruise. The other, as if it had spent all night at a Freddy Krueger film festival. It was poise against panic, calm versus confusion, unbelievable focus meets big-game psychosis.

Years from now, it probably will be referred to only as Costa Mesa 72, Rancho Alamitos 55. But the Southern Section girls’ Division III-A championship game at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion on Saturday was more than a blowout. Costa Mesa, which lost to Rancho Alamitos in the semifinals last year, played as if by remote control. An Ansel Adams photograph should be so focused.

Most teams are a little edgy when they enter championship games. Nerves rattle around like coins in a piggy bank, hearts beat like hummingbird wings. But the Mustangs walked on the court Saturday as if strolling up to the snack bar. They were relaxed. They were loose. They knew exactly what they wanted--a tasty first-quarter lead and a sweet sip of momentum.

For Costa Mesa fans, the result couldn’t have been more palatable: Their team zipped to a 20-6 first-quarter lead. In trackspeak , this is called “catching a flier,” gaining a lead so large it’s nearly impossible to lose. It’s like plunking your first nickel in a slot machine and hitting the jackpot. From the sideline, Coach Lisa McNamee could hardly believe the luck.

“We typically don’t have a good first quarter,” she said. “We typically come out a little flat.”

Pancakes are flat. Tortillas are flat. Costa Mesa’s mental state Saturday was more like soda pop after a good, hard shake. The Mustangs were bubbling, percolating, playing with a blend of intensity, patience and smarts. Every time Rancho put on a surge, the Mustangs found their groove and raced away.

“I had a sense all along the game wasn’t going our way,” Rancho Coach Bob Becker said. “We were so out of sync . . . I think our heads were racing.”

And when heads race, bodies falter. Which is why McNamee said Friday that Saturday’s game would come down to whichever team best avoided the hype. Which is why she told her team to think, but don’t think too much. Make it happen, but let it happen. Don’t let the game get to you. Concentrate on hoops, not hoopla. You hear these things from many coaches, yet the results aren’t always the same. McNamee, who coached at Estancia for five years, has made a difference at Costa Mesa, and the players are the first to tell you about it. Last year, she was a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford. She helped coach the Cardinal to the NCAA Division I championship last spring. She left Stanford because she decided she had to have more from life than basketball, basketball, basketball.

She came to Costa Mesa knowing there were problems. Players weren’t committed. Players were selfish. Players had bigger attitudes than a pack of Roseanne Arnolds. It took some time, but the Mustangs gelled. Personalities and priorities were left behind; a team concept took over.

You can see it when they play. Olivia DiCamilli, the big star for the last two years, dishes off when she might otherwise score. Heather Robinson, never confident about her play, is shooting (and scoring) like a hot shot. Jessica Lurmann, who didn’t come out for the team last year, is suddenly one of its biggest keys. Same goes for Neiar Kabua and Yool Kim and April Van Sweden and . . . .

“Before, we didn’t know what a team concept was,” DiCamilli says. “I can’t say enough about (McNamee’s arrival). She’s totally changed us around.”

Much of the change was mental; a good part of that came from McNamee’s one-year stint at Stanford. There, she learned the importance of roles and responsibilities. Players who run around the court wondering what to do make for erratic teams, she says. Every kid should know exactly--and do exactly--what she is supposed to be doing every minute of the game. Accountability is key.

McNamee stresses that theme almost as much as her No. 1: Have fun. Work hard--work very hard--but be sure to enjoy it along the way. McNamee learned the lesson herself last year. Coaching on the Division I level, even as a volunteer, meant working up to 24 hours a day. She had no time for anything else. Her favorite hobby--raising and training pudelpointers, a rare breed of German pooches--became a faded memory. Not anymore.

For the last 23 days, McNamee has averaged about four hours of sleep each night. The reason? Twelve pudelpointer pups, now three weeks old. Because large litters such as these usually result in a low survival rate, McNamee--who also works full time in real estate--decided she had to try and beat the odds. That means hand feeding the dogs every two hours, around the clock.

“Most people hear about this and think I’m nuts,” McNamee says. “Like, ‘Not only did you leave Division I, but you’ve lost your lid!’ ”

Fact is, McNamee hasn’t lost anything. Like her players, she has learned to zero in on what’s important: Have fun, yet stay focused. Work hard, but enjoy the rewards.

At least until the dog days come around again.

Barbie Ludovise’s column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Ludovise by writing her at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, 92626, or by calling (714) 966-5847.