Coasters: Home away from home

Steve Virgen

Commission on Athletics Constitution -- Bylaw 1.9.1

In a multi-college district, a student attending one college may

participate in a sport offered by another college in the same district

provided the student is enrolled in the course for that sport at the

college of participation.

Greg Stewart, a former track star at Costa Mesa High, is enrolled in

12 units at Orange Coast College. Last semester, he completed 16 units

and he says he attends OCC because it has his interior design major. Yet,

for his athletic needs, Stewart finds what he wants at Golden West.

Stewart is a Pirate in the classroom and a Rustler on the track.

He’s a sprinter for the Golden West men’s track and field team. That’s

OK with the bylaws, but where’s the loyalty?

This rule is bogus, especially for coaches, OCC’s mentors in this

situation.

The Rustlers actually have two OCC students on their track and field

team, including pole vaulter Logan Odden, who reunited with his former

Marina High coach, Kevin Magula, recently hired at Golden West.

The commission on athletes created the bylaw because a multi-college

district would prove beneficial for the student, said T. Mark Johnson,

Commissioner of the Orange Empire Conference.

“The rule was put in there because different colleges have different

sports and classes that others don’t,” said Johnson, who has been

affiliated with California community college administration for the past

42 years. “This was a multi-college district problem. All of us worked

hard to get this rule in.”

In regard to recruiting, Rustlers track and field head coach Matt

Simpson is taking full advantage of the COA rule. In Stewart, Simpson

found a sprinting gem, capable of developing into one of the top

sprinters in the state. But he found Stewart at OCC’s campus,

figuratively speaking of course.

Did Simpson approach Stewart or Odden before they might have planned

to compete for the Pirates?

“There’s no such thing as planning to compete for a (community)

college,” Simpson said. “There are no letters of intent. It just so

happens he ended up at our place.”

And that’s what OCC coaches don’t like. Fred Hokanson, now the

school’s Interim Athletic Director, coached the Coast track team and

attempted to recruit Stewart after his career at Costa Mesa High. Also,

Hokanson and current Pirates track coach Gordie Fitzel say Odden’s

brother, Arthur, was a star for OCC in his days as a track athlete. The

OCC coaches were expecting Logan Odden to follow in his brother’s

footsteps and join their team. But, Simpson and his staff had other

plans.

“If it were the other way, they would be upset at us,” Hokanson said.

“Some Golden West coach approached our athletes when they were at our

school and that’s what upsets me.”

Stewart said he never planned to compete for the Pirates. He said he

didn’t tell anyone he would ever compete for OCC.

He wanted to take advantage of the COA rule, on which he has no clear

opinion.

“I want to say yes, but then I want to say no,” Stewart said when

asked if he thought the rule was fair. “Yes, because it gives the student

a chance to expand his talent. No, because if I was a coach I wouldn’t

like it. But, it’s more up to the athlete. It’s his choice on what he

wants to do.”

Said Fitzel, “Personally, I don’t think it’s fair. Heck, I don’t make

the rules. If there are loopholes in the rule, some coaches are going to

take advantage. It’s not illegal.”

Fitzel and Stewart met again on Feb. 9 when OCC and Golden West

competed in a five-team meet won by the Pirates.

Logan Odden won the pole vault with a 15-6 clearance.

And the Coast coaches also saw Stewart, the OCC student, in a Rustler

uniform. He won the 100 meters in 10.9.

“I really don’t think they liked that too much,” said Stewart, a

freshman.

Yet, it appears the coaches’ emotions really didn’t matter to Stewart.

He’s looking out for No. 1.

Stewart said he chose Golden West because he would be challenged.

“Everyone at OCC would be running at the same pace as I did in high

school,” Stewart said. “They are faster at Golden West.”

Stewart runs on the 4 X 100 relay team which is ranked No. 4 in

Southern California. Despite nagging left hamstring tightness, Stewart

also excels in the 100 and 200.

But, it’s all legal.

The rules allow Stewart to compete for the Rustlers, so there really

is no bad guy in this story. There is no controversy, Fitzel said.

“It’s just something that happens,” the OCC track coach said. “We just

got out-recruited by Matt Simpson. They did a good job in getting him. It

was a shock when we heard (Stewart) wouldn’t run for us. We had arranged

for him to come to our school ... at the last minute he ended up going to

Golden West.”

Said Simpson, “We don’t make the rules. We follow the rules. We’re

recruiting several athletes who attend Orange Coast College (for the next

track season) ... the ones who attend OCC just because they live over

there.”

Since the rules allow this, there is really only one way to settle all

this. On the track, where someone will say, “scoreboard,” and none of

this recruiting etiquette or COA bylaws will matter.

OCC won the first team round and the squads will meet again April 27

and 28 when the Orange Empire Conference preliminaries and finals take

place. But, Stewart and Logan Odden can also point to the scoreboard if

they wrap up OEC individual titles, which could prove they made the right

and justifiable decision to compete with the Rustlers.

Before Stewart competes in the OEC meet, he will rest. His last meet

was Saturday and Stewart now wants his hamstring to heal so he’ll be

ready for the conference meet.

Said Simpson, “We’re going to rest him and let him loose in the

conference finals.”

Don’t let him get too loose, Matt. Stewart could end up at Saddleback

or he may even end up competing for the school he actually attends.

When asked if there was a possibility he would ever compete for Orange

Coast in the future, Stewart didn’t say no.

“I really don’t know,” he said.

In order for Stewart to compete at OCC next year, he would more than

likely have to take a semester off to establish his athletic transfer to

Coast, Johnson said.