Sea King coaches believed

ANAHEIM — Late at night, when Ryan Schachter should have been experiencing REM, he instead dealt with RHM.

No rapid eye movement on the night before the biggest game of his coaching career, just rapid heart movement.

Schachter, the first-year coach for the Corona del Mar High boys’ basketball team, had actually been feeling OK, that is until he called his friend and assistant, Jason Simco, in the early morning hours of Saturday.

“I wasn’t nervous until Jason Simco told me he wasn’t going to sleep,” Schachter said of the phone call he placed at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. “I started thinking if he’s not sleeping. I couldn’t sleep.”

By game time at the Honda Center, Schachter was still wide awake. Simco, just as he’s always been throughout his first year with the Sea Kings, was on the same page as the head coach.

They then set out to do what they talked most about when they first united at Corona del Mar: win a CIF championship. With consistent execution and frequent aggression, Schachter’s boys made their coaches’ words true with a 67-59 victory over Renaissance Academy of La Cañada and the CIF Southern Section Division III-A title.

The Sea Kings, through some ups and down during the season, came together, bonded and became as one. That’s nearly similar to the story of Schachter and Simco.

Before coming to Corona del Mar, Schachter and Simco weren’t always on the same page. In fact, they were on different sides for two years, coaching as part of a hot cross-town rivalry — Schachter at Costa Mesa and Simco at Estancia. But with the Sea Kings they weren’t nearly as competitive with each other.

If coaches from rival schools can make it work, why couldn’t a group in need of some motivation come together, too?

“Simco works on the defense,” Schachter said of his assistant’s role. “In practice we don’t talk to each other much. We work. It’s been amazing having Coach Simco with me. We wouldn’t be here without him. It’s an extra set of eyes that really are on the same page as me.”

Schachter, 28, jumped at the chance to persuade Simco to join him at Corona del Mar after reading the sports page of the Daily Pilot. He read that Simco, 24, had resigned at Estancia to concentrate on college. But with the Sea Kings, Schachter saw his friend could be a perfect fit.

“I think he really liked the idea of not having to run the whole program,” Schachter said. “He was young. Not that it was overwhelming. I think it takes a certain level of stability. That’s a lot for someone to do when you’re in college. Here, he could focus on school and get established until he got a big-time gig … He doesn’t have to do nearly as much as he used to. I think he wanted to step back. I think it relieved him and let him be just young.”

Simco concurred. Though he enjoyed coaching at his alma mater, he wanted to regroup a bit. He knows he’ll become a head coach once again. For now, he likes his role as assistant, so much that he plans to do it again next year. He said it’s because Stefan Kaluz, Joe Eberhard, Sean Donovan and Erik Rask return for the Sea Kings. There are other reasons, too.

“I’ll be there [at CdM] next year, definitely,” Simco said. “I like my role. It’s kind of nice not talking to the parents. That’s one of the things I want to avoid. I just coach basketball and leave.”

When Simco first came to Corona del Mar, the plan was to take it easy, but, “the next thing you know I had the fire and I was there everyday. It’s been fun.”

It’s been fun for the team, too.

Kaluz has enjoyed his improvement while learning under Schachter. Kaluz, who scored a game-high 23 points Saturday, averaged 14.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last year. This year, he has averages of 20.8 points and 12.1 rebounds.

“We worked hard all year and [Schachter] wouldn’t let us give up at all,” Kaluz said. “He just led us to bigger heights. I can see an improvement in my game, a mental maturity. Just understanding the game.

“[Former coach] Ryan Curry moved to Idaho. He was a good coach, but we never achieved as much. We didn’t win CIF. [Schacther and Simco] did a great job all year.”