Coach Mohs truly one of a kind

The name Dave Mohs is attached to a lot of volleyball events.

There is the Dave Mohs Girls’ Volleyball Championships, the Dave Mohs Boys’ Championships and the Dave Mohs boys’ and girls’ high school All-Star match. Edison High even named its gym after Dave Mohs.

Who was Dave Mohs?

He must be someone special to have so many people respect him so much.

Dave was a basketball and volleyball coach at Edison. While he won a lot of games as a coach, he is remembered by so many of us because of what he was as a leader, a professional and a class act.

A former basketball player at Beverly Hills High and Redlands University in the early ’60’s, Dave started his coaching career as an assistant to the legendary Elmer Coombs at Huntington Beach High in 1965. He joined Edison when the school opened in 1969 as the Chargers’ basketball coach. He literally watched the school buildings, especially the gymnasium, as they were being constructed.

With Title IX requiring the formation of girls’ athletic teams, Edison’s first girls’ volleyball coaches were walk-ons. Feeling a need to step up the coaching, Dave Mohs became Edison’s girls’ volleyball coach in 1983.

By 1984, Edison had won the Sunset League and was a CIF 4A finalist. Soon, Mohs included the boys’ volleyball teams at Edison to his coaching resume. Edison became a perennial powerhouse in both boys’ and girls’ volleyball with his guidance.

In July of 1996, Mohs passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. Through his battle, many of us were by his side as he had always been for us.

At the time of his death, I was asked by many people, “Why does something so bad, happen to somebody so good?”

I believe that God has a purpose in these things. We can all learn from those outstanding qualities that person had.

While his coaching span included many victories, Mohs’ contributions to our game were beyond that. Many coaches state that the number of young athletes that he persuaded to coach is his mark on the sport. Dan Glenn (Newport Harbor), Eddie Rapp (Fullerton College) , John Hawks (Long Beach State), John Herman (Francis Parker), Rocky Ciarelli (USC), Brian Rofer (UCLA) and Mike D’Allesandro (Golden West) are a few of the long list.

Hawks has a story about how Dave first talked him into coaching at Edison when he did not want to. Hawks has now coached at UC Irvine, USC, Long Beach State and was an assistant to our men’s national team last summer.

Glenn, who spent three years with Dave, before taking over the Newport Harbor program in 1986, credits Mohs with teaching about all of the aspects of coaching from organization to gym maintenance.

Glenn remembers how Coach Mohs would always emphasize that the “true test of a coach is how he or she coaches when their team is not very good.” Leading by example is a key to successful coaching.

Edison athletic director Bruce Belcher coached with Dave at Edison since the early 70’s.

He always felt that Dave was the “rock” of the Edison athletic family. His caring for all coaches and their families coupled with his vast knowledge and love of the coaching profession, taught younger coaches that there is more to coaching than victories. Integrity and ethics were high priorities.

As I have analyzed the multitude of feelings that coaches have for Dave, I feel that his greatest contribution to our game is professionalism. He brought the professionalism of basketball coaching into a relatively new world of volleyball whose coaches had not had the formal training. Scouting, team meals, uniforms, gym maintenance, scheduling were all part of the Dave Mohs volleyball package.

Dave’s wife, Ginny, was by his side in everything. She was the scorekeeper for every game that he coached. She was Dave’s No. 1 fan. I was very lucky to have coached two of their daughters. Jill Meyers was a standout at Fountain Valley and played for the Orange County Volleyball Club then later at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Jan Mohs was part of the Corona del Mar girls’ team that played in the 1987 CIF championship match.

Another coach who was inspired by Dave Mohs is Newport Harbor boys’ basketball coach Larry Hirst, who played sophomore basketball for Mohs at Edison. Coach Mohs was not only a surrogate father for Larry, but also one of the main reasons that he went to college to play basketball and into the coaching profession. Sound familiar?

Next time we hear about the Dave Mohs tournament or All-Star matches, please take a moment to recognize who this man was and what he has done for so many.