A women’s world at OCC

Bryce Alderton

Women reigned at Orange Coast College last season, that is, as far as

sports go.

The cross country, basketball and swimming teams all won state

championships and were part of Coast’s seven finalist teams to

compete for a California crown.

With its three state titles, OCC piled up 30 points to build the

foundation for Coast’s 49.5 points in women’s sports, the best in the

state. Women’s teams at Coast have now captured 33 state titles

Combining the men’s points, OCC scored a record 70 points to claim

the year’s California Community College All-Sports Trophy, the third

time Coast has won the award, given out for the past 10 years.

Just a few weeks earlier, Coast won the conference Supremacy

Award, which recognizes overall excellence in athletic achievement

for the 22nd time in 26 years.

Beginning with Athletic Director Fred Hokanson, Coast has an

affinity for attracting coaches to its campus. Once some get there,

they don’t want to leave.

Hokanson considers both men’s and women’s sports under the same

umbrella with one goal: winning.

Hokanson, also the dean for physical education, has been at Coast

as either a coach or administrator 34 years while assistant AD

Barbara Bond, the coach of Coast’s women’s soccer team, was hired in

1975. Women’s basketball Coach Mike Thornton, who teaches at Marina

High in Huntington Beach, has guided Coast for 14 years, including

its first state-championship team last spring.

“None of our coaches are just coaches,” Hokanson said. “They are

hard workers who are really educated. Not all of our coaches are full

time, but they are all equally concerned about recruiting and

achievement.

“We pay our adjunct coaches part-time and expect full-time duty.

They all know that you can’t come here, put in two hours and expect

to have this state championship team. They are out there doing the

recruiting, counseling and finding scholarships for these kids. Our

coaches know people throughout the U.S.”

Seven Coach of the Year honors were bestowed on Coast coaches last

year, including Don Watson and Dave Salo earning state Co-Coach of

the Year honors for guiding the men’s and women’s swimming programs.

Freshman Sherry Tsai set six state records in winning four

individual events and two relays while capturing three national

records at the state championships, won by OCC.

Bond earned National Regional Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year

honors alongside the Southern California regional award Thornton

received. Women’s tennis coach Janice Maran and John Knox for both

women’s track and field and cross country teams, along with Salo and

Watson, earned conference Coach of the Year awards. Dave Fier

assisted Knox on the cross country team, which won its eighth state

crown.

“Maran is always at the top of her game,” Hokanson said. “They are

always there.”

Maran led the Pirates to the OEC title with Ashley Becker and Leah

Becker teaming up to advance to the round of 16 at the state

championships. Nelson also advanced that far in singles.

*

When selecting a coach, a six-member committee, which Hokanson is

a part of, usually narrows the candidate pool. Then the committee

chair, college president and vice president make the final hiring

decision.

“A crowning achievement is the committee hiring coaches that are

here for 20 years,” Hokanson said. “We would like to get as many

full-time faculty as possible to make sure that we are the leader of

the OEC as we have been.”

But the attention spent on encouraging Orange County athletes to

come to OCC fosters a greater appreciation for the success Coast has

achieved.

Point guard Nancy Hatsushi, the Most Valuable Player of the state

basketball tournament, played four varsity seasons at nearby Costa

Mesa High, giving just one example of Hokanson’s insistence on

recruiting talent from the immediate area.

“Mike Thornton is an adjunct coach who works at Marina High and

focuses on bringing in local athletes,” Hokanson said. “It wasn’t

like he came in and brought a bunch of athletes from wherever.”

He added that high schools are giving girls more opportunities to

play certain sports, which bodes well for schools like Coast.

“Water polo is getting better and better because the high schools

now have those programs (girls water polo was became a CIF sanctioned

sport in 1998),” Hokanson said. “We’ve always had strong volleyball,

soccer, track and field, cross country and women’s basketball teams.”

Track took third while volleyball, under the leadership of Chuck

Cutenese, who also coaches the men’s team, finished second with

soccer and water polo each coming in fifth in the state.

Sophomore Michelle Icban capped her two-year Coast career by

repeating as state champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, meanwhile

earning the OEC Distance Runner of the Year honors.

Hokanson also highlighted the women’s golf team as a program on

the rise, along with softball, which has traditionally been a

difficult sport to keep players involved in at the school. First-year

Coach Sean Simpson maintained a roster of 15 players, which impressed

Hokanson.

Golf finished third in the OEC while softball (10-15) made

strides.

“Women’s golf can be tough to fill a team, but I think more

athletes will be coming in since more of the high schools have it

now,” Hokanson said. “Three sports on the rise with popularity should

be golf, softball and badminton. We started badminton two years ago

and we now have larger numbers and better players with Allen Hodgert

at the helm.”

Along with the perceived boom Hokanson hopes the above-mentioned

sports provide, has been the steady ascension of the Coast crew team,

led by Linda Moeller. OCC is the only community college in the nation

with a rowing program that successfully competes with the best

university crews throughout the United States.

Coast’s co-ed dance and cheer squads have claimed 11 national

titles.

Bond money from Measure C on the November 2002 ballot will be used

for facilities improvements for women’s sports venues such as the

soccer field, tennis courts and swimming pool.

Now in his third year as athletic director, Hokanson spends more

time in meetings and “uses a red pen” more than in the past, with the

state’s budget crisis on the front burner.

“I got in on happy times where they said, ‘We will get money for

you to spend’ to now, when salaries are being cut,” Hokanson said. “I

go to more meetings now than ever before and they consist of how can

teams fund-raise. There is an added stress on the coaches and

athletes to go out and raise money. But the high schools have been

doing it for 10 years, so we are not alone.”

Coast has provided vans for some teams to travel to tournaments,

but Hokanson added that scheduling those overnight events can present

problems because programs don’t have the money to afford for hotels,

gas, food and other expenses.

“If some of the teams want to do overnight tournaments, they have

to fund-raise themselves,” he said.

Money or not, Coast’s women’s sports teams performance on the

field, in gyms or on the track through the years speak volumes of how

to develop a successful athletic program.

And Hokanson doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.

“Seems like everything has worked for us,” he said.