JC Column: Get Your Kicks at OCC

Steve Virgen

Hello, sports fans.

If you don’t know by now, I’m the new face in the Daily Pilot’s sports

department. The name’s Steve Virgen (pronounced veed-hen), that’s vir-gin

if you’re speaking English. But that doesn’t matter. This is not about

me. This is about Orange Coast College sports.

This is about Dave Salo, the new men’s and women’s swimming coach.

He’s back from Sydney where he coached the U.S. team, mostly the women.

But he also coached Aaron Peirsol, who won a silver medal in the

200-meter backstroke. The Americans led all countries in swimming with 33

medals, including 14 gold medals.

Salo has made writing this column a little easier because, despite his

busy Olympics schedule, he actually responded to E-mail, while in Sydney.

Here’s his description of the opening ceremonies:

“The preparations leading up to actually parading onto the track is a

bit tedious - we stay for about 2-plus hours at the dome stadium across

the way watching the Opening Ceremonies on big screens, and sit and wait

and wait and wait.

The walk to the stadium for the march-in is about 20 minutes and as we

went along the inner tunnels, we were swarmed with hundreds of fans

chanting and cheering every nation before they walk in.

“Upon walking in, the emotion hits as you face over 100,000 screaming

fans and you realize you are at the Olympics. Everyone searches the faces

of those they can see in the stands looking for a familiar face. The

water effect and the flame were the highlights of the ceremony.”

Salo returned from the Olympics last week. He’s back at work in Irvine

with the Novaquatics and he’s preparing to put his winning stamp on OCC.

With “U.S. Olympics Coach” on his resume, the Pirates would be

hard-pressed to find a better coach. OCC swimming will only benefit from

Salo.

“I think that any experience from an Olympics or working with the

Olympic team or national team is an opportunity to gain insight and

knowledge about working with athletes and coaches,” Salo said in the

E-mail. “ I have found things like training ideas that I am sure I will

use with our program, especially stretching and dry land. But I think the

best part is developing an even greater comfort level with the Olympic

experience and being able to impart that on the athletes that I train.”

This is about Pirates’ football punter Eddie Johnson, who at this time

last year he played “really bad,” he said. Some games he would get just

two hours of sleep the night before because he enjoyed the party life.

But, for Johnson, the lack of enthusiasm and motivation started when

he was a junior at Newport Harbor. At his winter formal, he was charged

with a 4210 -- he came to a school function under the influence. He had

to finish out the year at Corona del Mar. And then in his senior year, he

tore his Achilles tendon. While at a party, Johnson playfully jumped over

a bush and landed on his heel as his right ankle rolled and he heard a

“pop.” The rehabilitation led him to his first year at OCC (last year)

when he tore ligaments in his left foot, the foot that he plants on for

punts.

This season, however, it’s a whole new story as Johnson is more

disciplined about his game. He’s taking life seriously, he says.

Johnson’s revived motivation has made him a bright spot in OCC’s

frustrating season, which might change now after an upset victory over

Mt. San Antonio. He leads the Mission Conference in punting. Against El

Camino two weeks ago, he blasted a punt for 73 yards, just three yards

off the school record. The mark is also the sixth best in Mission

Conference history. He also placed three punts inside the El Camino

20-yard line.

Ironically, Johnson is inspired by the trials that he has endured and

the regrets he has created.

“At a certain point, I said ‘what the hell am I doing?,”’ he said.

This is about Pirates’place-kicker, Rob “Robbie” Pate, who began this

season as the back-up kicker. Robbie never played varsity football while

in high school at Edison. His coach put Travis Wilson on the varsity team

because his kickoffs had a better chance of going for touchbacks. And at

OCC, Steve Terwiske was put ahead of Robbie for the same reason.

At Edison, Robbie never got a chance to play in the big-time. But at

OCC, Terwiske was injured, yet so was Robbie. It’s just that Robbie

wasn’t as injured. And so he became the starter.

In the upset 26-25 victory over Mt. SAC he nailed a 42-yard field

goal. Then he won the game with a 30-yarder with one second remaining.

The game-winner was supposed to be from 25 yards out but OCC took the

game-delay penalty when Pirates’ coaches realized that the team had only

10 players on the field.

“That got my heart racing,” Robbie said. But then he calmed himself

and knocked in the field goal, even though it was tipped by a Mounties’

defender.

“I’m over it, because I’m playing now,” Robbie said of his reaction to

playing junior varsity last year. “Last year it was different I wanted to

play. I always just want to play.”

Two weeks into my job here at The Pilot and I’m wondering what else

OCC has in store. I’ll be sure to let you know.