LARRY HIRST

Steve Virgen

Patience and loyalty were key aspects for Larry Hirst while he was

growing up in Huntington Beach.

And, when he truly matured, physically, he came into his own at

Vanguard University, then Southern California College.

But this story is not about Larry Hirst the player. It’s about the

boys basketball coach of Newport Harbor High. Coincidentally,

patience and loyalty are still themes within his coaching style for

the Sailors.

For Hirst, the work to acquire the tools to become a coach of a

respected program began on the bench at Edison High.

“I was very average in high school,” Hirst said. “I was about

6-foot-2, 150 pounds as a senior.”

Though Hirst was under the radar, he still developed a passion for

the game.

“I started to fall in love with basketball my freshman year,”

Hirst said. “I had Coach Paul Harrell. Dave Mohs was my sophomore

coach. With those two guys, they instilled in me the love and the

work ethic, all the intangibles that go with sports and education.”

After graduating from Edison, Hirst went to Southern California

College, which is now Vanguard, in Costa Mesa, where he met his

mentor, Coach Bill Reynolds.

Hirst grew to 6-6 and improved his skills as a basketball player,

earning All-NAIA District III honors, as well as first-team

all-conference laurels. Hirst, a four-year starter, was named the

team’s MVP and co-captain his senior year.

His ability to become a better player has helped him in his career

as a coach, yet it was what he learned from Reynolds that made an

especially lasting impression.

“After you get done playing for Bill, you want to model him,”

Hirst said. “I wanted to be like him. When I look back at playing at

SCC, I think back about how he just got the maximum effort and desire

from a group of guys who weren’t, physically, as good as their

opponents.

“He was just a good man,” Hirst continued. “If you could grow up

and be half of Bill Reynolds, you would be a pretty good man.”

Hirst earned two degrees in college, for liberal arts, as well as

health/physical education and recreation in 1984.

Initially, Hirst wanted to be an elementary teacher. He was a

student teacher at College Park Elementary in Newport Beach.

He also coached for two years with Reynolds. At that time, the

college had a junior varsity team and Hirst coached that squad in

addition to assisting Reynolds.

Hirst said he gained valuable experience while coaching at

Vanguard.

“The real impact it had in me is that it fueled the fire for what

I wanted to do,” Hirst said.

Hirst said he learned the strategy and the intricacies of the game

from Jon Borchert, who was coaching at Edison in 1986. Hirst, who taught at TeWinkle Intermediate for 11 years, coached the freshman

team at Edison and assisted the varsity for 10 years. He was also the

head coach for a year, when Borchert took a one-year sabbatical.

In 1993-94, he was the stand-in head coach at Edison ,which played

against Mater Dei in the CIF Southern Section Division I-A

championship game at the Arrowhead Pond. Mater Dei won, 65-59.

Hirst said he learned the most from Borchert. They would have to

prepare against teams in the Sunset League, which featured players

such as Cherokee Parks (Marina) and Tony Gonzalez (Huntington Beach).

“It was a thrill to coach at my alma mater,” Hirst said. “I went

back to the place that got it all started for me. You always want to

go back home and give back. That was the special part about being

there, giving back what someone had given to me.”

In the 1994-95 school year, Hirst was ready to take charge of his

own program. He was hired to coach boys basketball at Newport Harbor,

where he has created highlights the past nine years.

Hirst said he held his 1999 team, that included Matt Jameson and

Gary Robinson, in high regard.

“We went 24-6,” Hirst said. “They were my first graduating class.

They were the first kids who went through the program with me. Now,

those kids are coming back and saying they are going to law school or

going into their careers. That’s kind of why you get into this

business, to have the kids tell you those things.”

Hirst said he also enjoyed coaching the team that included Greg

Perrine, Tony Melum and Erik Peterson three years ago. Hirst

continues to love his work.

“I love being up in the morning, starting my day at 6 and watching

film,” Hirst said.

Hirst also said he feels privileged to be working at Newport

Harbor because of the camaraderie among the coaches there.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from the other coaches,”

Hirst said. “It’s a very unique situation. There is seldom a day that

goes by that we don’t talk to each other.”

Hirst, 43, the latest Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame honoree,

lives in Huntington Beach, with his wife, Sheridan, who also teaches

at Newport Harbor. They have two children, Tanner, 10, and Whitney, 7.