Millennium Hall of Fame: Janice Maran

Tony Altobelli

Orange Coast College women’s tennis coach Janice Maran describes

herself as a dictator when it comes to her team.

“I’m a dictator, but a soft, friendly dictator,” Maran said with a

laugh. “I’m very tough on the fact that I set guidelines and I like to

take full responsibility for the team. I like to be in charge, but I’m

relatively calm and friendly when it comes to coaching the team”

Sounds like a combination of Mussolini and Elmo, but whatever the

mixture involves, the results have produced not only top-quality tennis

players for the past 22 seasons at OCC, but top-quality people.

That hard work for Maran is being recognized by the Intercollegiate

Tennis Association as she is being honored with the 1999 California

Community College Wilson Award Women’s Coach of the Year for the second

time in her career, the first-ever two-time recipient.

“I’m thrilled to recognized for such an honor,” Maran said. “Coast has

had the success throughout the years and I’ve been very fortunate to have

been a part of the winning tradition.

Maran will pick up her award at the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa

Florida this week.

“I’ve got my sunscreen and my floppy hat ready to go,” she said prior

to departing.

Maran grew up in the Northern California town of Stockton, where she

played tennis, before she did some cruising around the country with a

friend.

“It was just an unbelievable experience,” Maran said. “We traveled all

around the country and into Canada. It was quite a time.”

After her travels, Maran attended Pasadena City College, before

attending Cal State Los Angeles, where she continued her tennis career.

“Plus, those were the days before women received scholarships for

athletics,” Maran said. “So it was a very different situation than like

it is today.”

After her playing career was over, Maran realized that she needed to

find some career and chose to pursue coaching.

“I had been doing some part-time coaching while I was Cal State L.A.,”

Maran said. “They were hiring at Orange Coast and I was fortunate enough

to hear about it and applied. I was really lucky to be at the right place

at the right time.

“I wanted to have I job doing something I loved and I’d been playing

tennis since I was nine, so I figured coaching would be perfect for me.”

Looking at Maran’s coaching numbers, Coast was just as lucky to find

Maran. In her 22 seasons at OCC, the Pirates have won more than 86

percent of their matches, while claiming 16 conference titles and eight

state championships.

Did Maran ever think she would be entering year No. 23 at OCC?

“It’s funny, when I first got here, there were coaches here for 10 to

15 years and I thought, ‘Man, how could anyone stay at one job for so

long?’ But it’s a constant learning experience,” Maran said. “Each year

is different from the last.”

In addition to her other honors mentioned, Maran was also a recipient

of the 1992 California Coaches Association Community College Women’s

Coach of the Year.

Maran’s squad finished 8-6 last season and finished second in the

Orange Empire Conference with a 7-2 mark. Her career record in 319-48-1

(.868) and 232-25 (.903) in conference play.

Maran likes to consider herself as “Half Mom, half coach” and that

shows as former players continue to return to OCC and thank the “friendly

dictator” for teaching not only lessons on the court, but lessons off the

court.

“That’s the most rewarding thing, without a doubt,” Maran said.

“Seeing my former players and seeing their kids and them telling me that

even though I was tough on them, it taught them so much about never

giving up in life.

“Tennis shows the players how they react under pressure,” Maran

continued. “When things get tough, how does the player handle it. Do they

get rattled, or do they find a way to pull it out?”

Despite the long run at OCC, Maran still has a long way to go before

hanging it up.

“I’ve still got a few years left,” Maran said with a laugh. “After my

career at OCC is finished, I’ll play in my yard doing my gardening. That

will keep me very busy.”

Maran and her husband, Alfredo, live in Orange with their two

daughters, Katy, 19, and Jennifer, 18.

“Katy is a freshman at OCC, while Jennifer is a senior at Villa Park

High,” Maran said.

Were they tennis players, too?

“They grew up playing soccer,” Maran said. “It was the big thing

around here. Now, really big on kickin’ back and hanging out with their

friends.”

Janice Maran, now kicking’ back in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of

Fame, celebrating the Millennium.