Boys soccer: Callaghan returns to CdM as coach

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - Pat Callaghan, who earned Sea View League Most

Valuable Player laurels as a Corona del Mar High senior in 1989, will

replace Scott Dameron as the school’s boy soccer coach next season, CdM

Athletic Director Jerry Jelnick announced Thursday.

Callaghan, 29, inherits a program that went 10-7-1 last season, earning a

second-place finish in its inaugural Pacific Coast League campaign. The

Sea Kings, who lose five of their six all-league players to graduation,

were eliminated in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division

IV playoffs, dropping a 2-0 decision to Diamond Ranch in Dameron’s only

season at the helm.

Callaghan, who initiated his coaching career with the Wolfpack club

program, worked last season as an assistant coach for the Orange Coast

College men and the Huntington Beach High boys.

He said he is anxious to give back to the school at which he starred.

“After five years of working in the business world, I decided coaching

and education are fields I wanted to pursue,” said Callaghan, who went on

to star at OCC and is a member of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame.

“I wanted to get back into something rewarding and be able to give back.

I believe what I learned as a player transformed my life. That’s what I’d

like to do for my players.”

The Costa Mesa resident was a two-time all-conference player for Orange

Coast, which won the state championship his freshman year. He continued

his education at UCLA, but did not play soccer.

A walk-on for the Sea Kings, Callaghan said he is pursuing a master’s

degree at Azusa Pacific University and would eventually like to teach and

coach on the community college level.

Callaghan said the Sea Kings’ move last year to the PCL should allow them

to remain competitive, even though junior Danny Marshall, a first-team

All-PCL selection, is their only returning all-league performer.

“From what I hear, the enrollment will be increasing and, hopefully, that

will mean more athletes for the soccer program. I’d like us to play some

of the better teams in Orange County in our preseason schedule.”