Hanson set to direct Artists

Mike Sciacca

Curt Hanson was already at it on Wednesday afternoon in Dugger

Gym, doing what he does best: teaching volleyball.

He was there, along with Shawn Patchell and other instructors,

directing several eager youngsters in the art of individual and team

skills and strength and jump conditioning drills at the school’s

Summer Volleyball Clinic.

Hanson, 45, is no stranger to the confines of old Dugger Gym.

During the past five years he has been an assistant coach to Patchell

in the Laguna Beach High boys’ and girls’ volleyball programs.

On July 24, he assumed a different title as he was appointed the

new head coach at a school steeped deep in volleyball tradition.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity,” he said. “It’s a great

opportunity but it’s a two-edged sword. I’m stepping into a

successful program that’s used to success.

Patchell steps down after six years at the school. He has accepted

a coaching position at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

“We’ve had some very positive feedback from the kids in our

program who really felt that Curt would be a great head coach,”

Laguna Beach High Athletic Director Mario Morales said. “He has good

rapport with the players and parents, and we feel he’s a great fit

for our program.”

This is Hanson’s first head coaching job at the high school level,

although he previously has coached at the community college level

with an earlier stint at Orange Coast College.

He also has served as an assistant coach in a Pirates program that

has won community state titles.

Hanson has seen plenty change with the sport of volleyball.

“I won’t say I was there at the beginning, but it was pretty

close. I’d say it was in the infancy stages,” he said.

Hanson prepped at Costa Mesa High School and, as a junior, he and

a fellow student started up the boys’ volleyball program at the

school, forming a six-player team that competed in 1974.

The following year, at the conclusion of his season, Hanson earned

a full scholarship to Cal State Long Beach.

“That was a pretty rare thing in those days,” he said. “I think Oz

Simmons, who played at Laguna Beach High, and myself, were the only

Orange County players to get scholarships that year.

Simmons went on to play at USC. He now is head coach at Dana

Hills, and could meet up with Hanson on the playing court.

Hanson earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and later,

a masters in education, both from Cal State Long Beach.

He said he probably will do some substitute teaching at Laguna

Beach.

“I’m the type of coach who puts an emphasis on fundamentals,

playing the game well, and where practice is everything,” he said. “I

think you put the players out there on the court who deserve to play,

regardless of what grade they are in.”

Yet the numbers speak volumes as to where the Laguna Beach

volleyball programs have been: in boys’ volleyball alone, during the

last 30 years, the Artists have won five CIF Division I

championships, 20 league titles and nine Orange County Championship

titles, all records for any Orange County high school.

The boys’ program also is the only Southern Section program to

qualify for all 28 years the section has held postseason playoffs.

Hanson’s head coaching duties begin at the outset of September,

with his first game being a Sept. 14 showdown at Newport Harbor.

“I’m really looking forward to that. I guess you can say that my

first goal is to win that match,” he said.

“Really, this is an exciting time for me. It was an awesome

experience to coach with Shawn, who allowed me to just be me. This is

a great program full of great kids and parents. I am absolutely

looking forward to teaching these kids. That’s what I do best.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. He can be reached at 494-4321 or by e-mail at

michael.sciacca@latimes.com.