Hayungs takes Sailors’ helm

Steve Virgen

Brandie Hayungs, a Newport Harbor High assistant girls soccer coach

the past three years, has been named varsity head coach.

Jason Sorrell, who guided the Sailors for six seasons, resigned

due to the time constraints of juggling work, school and family, said

Eric Tweit, Newport Harbor boys athletic director.

Hayungs, 28, who teaches English at the school, said she was

content working with the lower levels. But she became passionate

about becoming the varsity head coach after working with Sorrell for

three years.

“When I first started out, I didn’t have my eyes set on coaching

varsity,” Hayungs said. “Jason expressed that he might be leaving. I

had great experience with the varsity and the junior varsity teams,

so it seemed like a natural transition. When I was a sophomore in

high school, I had a new coach and I know that’s a difficult

transition to make. With me being out there for the past few years,

that will make it a bit easier.”

Hayungs guided the Sailors’ frosh-soph team to the 2000-01 Sea

View League title in her first season as coach. The following year,

she led the junior varsity to a second-place finish in league.

Hayungs also brings experience as a player. She competed at Los

Alamitos High, then starred on defense at UC San Diego, where she

helped lead the Tritons to two NCAA Division III national

championships in her final two seasons. She was team captain and

earned All-West Region honors as a senior defender, helping UCSD

successfully defend its national title.

The Tritons reached at least the national semifinals in all four

of Hayungs’ seasons.

Last year, Hayungs assisted Sorrell and also began to implement a

fitness program she plans to intensify this season.

“The goal for next year is to be more fit, more in shape,” Hayungs

said. “We had some injuries last year. I think with more fitness,

some of the injuries could have been avoided. We have the talent and

the speed; it’s just a matter of bringing it together.”

Hayungs inherits a team that finished 5-10-7, 3-4-3 in league and

missed the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. The Sailors also

lost key players, Amy Burlingham, Taryn Flamson and Kate Younglove to

graduation. Burlingham, a two-time Parade All-American, will be

playing at Texas, while Flamson continues her career at Cal Poly San

Luis Obispo.

Despite those losses, Hayungs remains confident the Sailors can

get back to their winning ways.

“We have great young players and I think we have the potential to

take it pretty far,” she said. “There is going to be talent

everywhere.”

The Newport girls soccer program is seeking coaches for the junior

varsity and frosh-soph teams, said Hayungs, who also wants to bring

on a goalie coach.

Hayungs said she learned a great deal from Sorrell, who led the

Sailors two the first two playoff wins in the program’s history in

the 2000-01 season.

In 2001-02, the Sailors reached the CIF Division II quarterfinals.