STEVE CRENSHAW

Steve Virgen

Steve Crenshaw never had the benefit of youth soccer, while growing

up in the Victorville area, but he still made an effort to learn more

about the game.

Crenshaw, the Estancia High boys soccer coach, played pick-up

soccer games near his neighborhood in Victorville. It wasn’t until

college he actually competed in organized soccer. That’s when his

passion for the game took on a new life and, eventually, he would

become a coach for the Eagles and lead them to a CIF Southern Section

Division IV championship.

Crenshaw first became involved with soccer when he was 6 and

living in Germany. His father was stationed there while in the U.S.

Air Force.

“Where I really got more involved with organized soccer was

playing in college at Southern California College, which is now

Vanguard,” Crenshaw said. “It was a lot of fun to be able to play at

that level. That led to what happened in soccer in my adult life.”

Crenshaw graduated from Vanguard in 1976, as a business major.

Before coaching soccer, he booked acts for music and entertainment.

“I lost my hair doing that,” Crenshaw said. “I spun my wheels in

the music business and I wanted to get out of it. I made the decision

to go back to school and I did my credential work to teach.”

In 1995 he became the coach for the Estancia boys soccer team.

Throughout his time there and, even before, when he coached for the

Costa Mesa-based Extreme soccer club, he gained greater rewards than

what the music business could provide.

“When I look back, the thing I think about more than anything is

the kids who played for me,” Crenshaw said. “We had some phenomenal

players. Ramon Garcia, he was the unanimous Pacific Coast League MVP

for four years. He had the heart and skill to whatever he wanted to

do. Fernando Lara, Miguel Huerta, Tony Serfas, Esaul Mendoza, Cesar

Terrones, Irving Islas, Edson Anaya and Hilario Arriaga.”

Crenshaw coached most of those players when they were in the fifth

grade for the Extreme club. He took great pride and pleasure in

watching the players grow up.

Mendoza and Terrones helped lead the Eagles to the CIF Division IV

title in the 1999-2000 season. The Eagles outscored opponents,

122-14, and capped a 20-1-1 season with a 5-2 win over top-seeded

Bishop Montgomery in the championship game.

Mendoza scored 46 goals and Terrones added 34.

“That’s pretty phenomenal,” the latest Daily Pilot Sports Hall of

Fame honoree said. “You can’t grasp what it means when you play that

final game and you win the championship. You look around and you see

the people from the community. Just to see the way the community

comes together is great. More than anything, it’s all about the

kids.”

Crenshaw, 52, who also teaches science and coaches the boys track

and field team at Estancia, lives in Costa Mesa with his wife,

Pamela. They have a son, Marc, 22, and a daughter, Crista, 19.