Ray Holly etched his name into the record books

Posted by Tony Lee - Nov. 18

Coast's running back Ray Holley broke the all-time single season rushing record at OCC Saturday (Nov. 14) when he rushed for 266 yards with five touchdowns against Long Beach City College. See all the entire game summary and how Holley got the record.

Fastest of them all

Posted by Tony Lee - Oct. 31

Orange Coast College's cross country teams proved Friday (Oct. 30) that both men's and women's squads are the team to beat for the 2009 state championship. At the Orange Empire Conference Cross Country Tournament in Huntington Beach's Central Park, Coast finished first in the men's five-mile run and the women's 5K run in a convincing fashion. See how the runners finished.

Where are the champs?

Posted by Tony Lee - Oct. 25

The defending Orange Empire Conference Player of the Year, Brett Wallach, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, leads the pack key players on the 2009 state champion baseball team have moved onto different locations. See where they moved to since then.

What loss to Golden West?

Posted by Tony Lee - Oct. 25

After the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season, the lady Pirates have won five-straight games - the latest on Friday (Oct. 23) against Santa Ana College. See how the lady Pirates have bounced back.

Meet a Pirate: Danny Orona

Posted by Tony Lee - Sept. 20

Danny Orona is a 5 foot 6 inch, 160 pound driver from Los Amigos High School who starts on the men's water polo team. “Last year, he really didn't get much playing time but he kept working in practice every single day,” head coach Monty McCord said. "He makes things happen when he's in there. He's a great defensive player (and) he's willing to do a lot of the dirty work not everyone is willing to do." See how he answered the questions.

Victory Bell stays at Coast

Posted by Tony Lee - Sept. 20

For the first time in the West-Coast Showdown history, the Pirates have won the Victory Bell three years in a row. In a dramatic 24-21 victory, Coast (3-0) defeated the Golden West College Rustlers (0-3) to even up the all-time series at 20-20-2. See the last-second dramatics of the game with pictures and quotes from players and coaches.

Meet a Pirate(s): Rebecca Murray and Melissa Mahi

Posted by Tony Lee - Sept. 11

The women's basketball coaching staff have picked their captains for the 2009-2010 season. Rebecca Murray (left) and Melissa Mahi (right) are sophomore returners. See how they answered the questions from the hat.

Showing posts with label It's Me Tony Lee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label It's Me Tony Lee. Show all posts

It's Me, Tony Lee: Holley is the best ever at OCC

By Tony Lee On Sunday, November 15, 2009 0 comments
It’s hard to explain what Orange Coast College football player Ray Holley has that makes him the best running back our school has ever seen.

On Saturday, Holley, playing in his 10th game of the season and his fourth with a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL), needed 252 yards to break the school’s single-season rushing record of 1,442 yards set by Jeff Clayton in 11 games.

The 5-foot-9-inch sophomore from El Modena High School knew what he needed to do and opted not to tape his knee so he wouldn’t have to think about the injury.

As a result, Holley played in arguably his best game at OCC, rushing for 266 yards and all five of the team’s touchdowns on Saturday and set the all-time record at 1,457 yards in a season.

“It feels great,” Holley said. “I worked for it, everyone else worked for it and they helped me get there. It was a great group of guys we played with and it was fun. I just wish that it would last another week.”

However, the Pirates did lose to Long Beach City College 42-38 and no one was more disappointed than Holley.

“It sucks to be a sophomore, come out and be this close to make it to a bowl game,” Holley said. “It just sucks to lose this way.”

But it’s not just the single-season rushing record that he’ll be known for.

“That kid’s got the most heart that I’ve ever seen,” said teammate Jimmy Keating after the 33-27 triple overtime victory against Santa Ana College on Oct. 10.

Holley sprained MCL on the Pirates’ first offensive possession in that game but played through the injury and finished with 42 carries for 191 yards and three touchdowns n the last being the game winning score.

That’s not just having heart. That’s having courage, determination and pride like no other athlete I’ve ever come across.

Ever.

He also puts on an eye-black before every game with the initial PIW — which stands for put in work.

“The guy’s a solider,” sophomore teammate Jimmy Keating said. “Put in work is his motto. He puts in the work everyday and no one wanted (Saturday’s game) more than him.”

Head coach Mike Taylor said that Holley not only puts his time in on the football field during practice, but he also studies films regularly and puts the effort in the weight room.

“Ray’s a great kid; I’ve said that from the get-go,” he said. “He’s a team kid, the team loves him, he’s got lots of energy (and) he practices hard.”

This season, Holley had 75 percent of the Pirates’ touchdowns, involved in 45.3 percent of plays of scrimmage and rushed for 311 times — almost 100 more times than the previous record holder Bart Recktenwald (216).

The stats and records he has set speak volumes about his football abilities but it’s what’s behind pads and the helmet that makes him truly stands out.

This season, he’s also showed all the Coast fans the expression of “leaving everything out on the field.” This season, he showed what it means to play through an injury.

Records are mean to be broken but I hope no one breaks the school records Holley’s set in 2009.

[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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It's Me, Tony Lee: What didn't kill them made them stronger

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, November 04, 2009 0 comments
There’s an unspoken law when it comes to sports when you play a rival.

It doesn’t matter if you are injured, tired or trailing by 100 points. You never give up, you play with all the effort in your body and, most importantly, don’t let the rival embarrass you.

Ever.

But for the Orange Coast College women’s volleyball team, the lady Pirates did get embarrassed, badly, at home, to cross-town rivals Golden West College and I wondered how it’ll affect the team going forward.

Coast had a 23-17 lead in the fourth set and needed only two more points to win, but the lady Pirates let the Rustlers go on an 8-1 run and lost its first match of the season on Oct. 7.

Coast came into that match not even losing a single set for the season. But after losing its first set, the lady Pirates folded like a lawn chair and choked against its toughest opponent this season.

“I’m completely disappointed in my team’s performance, especially in game four.” Coast head coach Chuck Cutenese said back in Oct. 7 when his team lost 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 29-27.

“We came out in game one and played well, then we got flat in game two and flat in game three. You know, good teams don’t lose (after leading) 24-21. We lost our focus. People couldn’t put the ball away. We weren’t swinging to win; we were swinging not to lose.”

This was the turning point in Coast’s season. If the women fail to bounce back from this embarrassing loss, then the No. 3 ranked lady Pirates might throw away a potential state championship-winning team.

In that match, many of the fans were even pro-Rustlers. OCC fans were outnumbered in a good five-to-one ratio.

Coast libero Nikki Osuna (bottom) said “It didn’t even seem like our own gym” and outside hitter Rachel Freeno (top) said "We're a lot better than we played - a whole lot better. And we'll get them next time in their gym."

There’s something to be said about getting embarrassed – not lose but completely get pummeled by a rival – because the lady Pirates bounced back strong since then.

Since Oct. 7, Coast has won its last seven matches – three sweeps and three hard-fought five-set matches – and moved back up to No. 5 in the state rankings.

But most importantly, Freeno was right. The lady Pirates did get Golden West Friday (Oct. 30) by sweeping the No. 11 ranked Rustlers 25‐16, 25‐15, 25‐20.

What didn’t kill the lady Pirates made them stronger. If Coast makes it to the state championship, it’ll be because of how the team bounced back from that embarrassing loss to a rival.

EDIT
The lady Pirates' winning streak came to a halt Wednesday (Nov. 4) when the seventh-ranked Cypress College defeated Coast in five sets 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-13.

I guess I jinxed it huh?

To read that game summary written by OCC's Sports Information Director Tony Altobelli, click here.

[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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It's Me Tony Lee: We were trained to be warriors, not injured students

By Tony Lee On Sunday, October 04, 2009 0 comments
As an athlete, you are trained to work through the pain and push your body up to the breaking point.

But what we’ve never been trained for is how to deal with the pain after you’ve pushed your body over the breaking point.

During the fall offseason, I’ve been practicing with the golf team and working on a dramatic swing change that puts a lot of torque on my left knee.

I’ve been practicing and playing hurt because that’s how we were trained. As they say, mind over matter or whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

I was behaving a little like Orange Coast College women’s soccer player Nique Phetchanpheng, 18, but the pain she was playing through, she found out after she finished a game, was caused by a 50 percent tear of her quadriceps muscle.

“I felt a little tweak but I didn’t pay much attention to it,” she said. “I’m not the type of person that like sits out because of an injury so I just shook it off.”

That’s typical for all athletes and former Pirates starting middle linebacker Matt Henry, 20, was no different.

“Originally I didn’t even think it was broken,” Henry said of his fifth metatarsal fracture that’ll sideline him for the rest of this year. “The doc originally said two weeks (recovery) then I went to see a specialist and he said I needed surgery.”

Coast wide receiver Derek Romo’s case also shows how unpredictable injuries are.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Romo, 18, who is out for this season from tearing his MCL, ACL and meniscus when a teammate accidentally hit his knee in practice. “The worst part is I can’t play the sport I love.”

Now he and Romo are both redshirted and can only contribute by being cheerleaders on the sideline.

“It’s hard to even go to the games and watch practice because you wish you were out there helping them out,” Henry said.

Even though golf’s not a high-contact sport, it was no different for me.

I shrugged off my sore knee, even though I heard a pop, as another day of hard work and convinced I just needed to ice it down.

But when I couldn’t walk without gimping, I went to the doctor and he said I have a partially hyper-extended knee and may have a meniscus injury that might require surgery.

This was something that no coach, teacher or parent prepared me for. The thought of having a surgery that might affect how I play my sport for the rest of my life scared me to death.

But I think the thought of never playing at Coast again (knock on wood) scared me even more.

I’m going to see an orthopedic doctor today (Oct. 7) who specializes in the knee and leg to see the extent of my injury and it feels like I’m going to see the grim reaper.

I’m hoping for the best, regardless of whether I need surgery, and the next time I swing a golf club as a Pirate, I will not take a single moment for granted.

I love waking up at 5 a.m. three days a week to practice with my teammates. I love the discipline I’ve learned from being a student athlete.

But most of all, I love being a Pirate and representing Orange Coast College when I compete. The expression “You never know what you had until you lose it” has never been truer for me.

“I want to be back out there more than just sit around in the sidelines and watch,” said Phetchanpheng, who is back playing for the lady Pirates this year. “My love for the sport is my motivation to get back out there.”

EDIT
My doctor told me I'll be out 6-8 weeks with, not a meniscus injury, a MCL tear. No surgery will be required and hopefully I'll be able to start my rehab at the end of this week.

[Photo by Peter Bicknell]
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It's Me, Tony Lee: I was moved by the ceremony

By Tony Lee On Sunday, October 04, 2009 0 comments
Tears were shed, laughs were shared and poignant stories were told at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday and it made me proud to be a part of the Orange Coast College athletics program.

As a student athlete and the sports editor at the school paper, it was moving to hear about an athlete who would’ve lived a different life without a coach’s suggestion, a coach who continued teaching despite his physical limitations, a faculty member who was at Coast for 46 years and an athlete that became great because of his work ethic.

I was especially moved by inductee Zoila Gomez’s story about almost going back to Mexico until OCC track and field coach Dave Fier convinced her otherwise.

Fier, who introduced Gomez at the induction ceremony, visited her at Costa Mesa High School and asked her to continue her education and running at Coast.

Gomez said that Fier called her about a million times after her graduation and eventually convinced her to come to Coast — and this became the place where she experienced her first sleep over, her first love and the value of education.

“That’s when athletics and academics got together,” Gomez said after failing English 100 the first time. “Because you are so motivated and you want to make it to the next level. But without that grade, you’re not going to make it anywhere.”

Inductee Al Irwin, on the other hand, decided to share a comical story about the person that introduced him at the induction ceremony.

“I remember saying, ‘Hey you kid, get your butt back in the pool and start working out,’” Irwin said to Dave Grant, a former present and long-time OCC veteran, when he was a student. “And now, David, I can say thank you for all the help you’ve given me down through the years.”

But inductee Jim Carnett, who is nicknamed Mr. OCC for being a part of the school for 46 years, might have shared the funniest experience at Coast.

“I said something like, ‘Well the Cerritos wrestler just got awarded the bout — if you can believe that,” Carnett said of the time he got kicked out of a game as an announcer. “Fortunately it was a pro OCC crowd. They gave me a standing ovation.”

The last inductee, Dan Quisenberry — who died in 1998 to brain cancer, was introduced by Barry Wallace, a scout for the Kansas City Royals, and his brother Marty Quisenberry.

Carnett, who knew Dan Quisenberry as a Coast athlete in 1971 to 1973, shared a moment he had with Dan Quisenberry after he retired from baseball and came back to OCC to visit him.

“I still have it,” Quisenberry said to Carnett of the feature article he wrote about him. “He said, ‘It was the best story ever written about me. Nothing in my Major League career could match it.’”

As corny as this may be to say, I imagined myself on that wall as an athlete who won a state title for Coast and came back to win more as a coach. If you’re an athlete or coach, I believe many of us want to be remembered as someone great.

This was the first Hall of Fame ceremony I’ve attended and, if others are like this one, I hope this won’t be my last because it is emotional, heartfelt and reminds us the positive effect sports has on people.

“For me, when I say the word family, that’s what I had at Orange Coast,” Gomez said. “A family within my family. I had great friends and I have no words to explain how grateful I am and still make them proud in the years to come.”

[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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It's Me, Tony Lee: Budget cuts

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, September 23, 2009 0 comments
With the onset of new budget cuts, I’ve noticed that many Orange Coast College sports teams are now filled with Division-I bounce backs.

For non-sports savvy people, a bounce back is an athlete that used to play at the highest collegiate competition but now plays at a lower level.


That got me thinking. What about the student athletes who used to or were planning to play at Coast? Will there be room for them at community colleges anymore?

I’m not trying to say the level of competition or the athletes currently at OCC is poor, because that’s not true at all.

Coast athletes play in the Orange Empire Conference, which is known for its prestigious athletics competition.

What I’m trying to say is that the caliber of athletes has now gone up and they are taking roster spots away from players that used put on the Pirate uniform or jersey.

I love meeting people like last year’s athlete of the year Cassie Mitchell (pictured). Head track and field coach John Knox said when she came into Coast she wasn’t the most gifted athlete but has worked harder at her craft than anyone he’s coached.

During her time at OCC, Mitchell set the national 3,000 meter steeplechase record. Not bad for someone that wasn’t a top recruit out of high school.

Head women’s basketball coach said that last year’s all-OEC first team player Simone Ibbotson improved more than any other player to come out of his program.

There are also other athletes that came to Coast because they are recovering from an injury, didn’t get recruited in high school or just want to play their sport for a few more years before they retire as an athlete.

With the increase in the number of bounce backs, I wonder if there will be room for players like Mitchell, Ibbotson or any of the other athletes I described.

On top of that, with the budget cuts, roster sizes might have to be cut down too.

I think this will be the norm soon: Division-I caliber athletes taking over the community colleges and the coaches, assuming they want to win as many state champions as they can, will play them over the other athlete that may have the potential to be, well, Division-I athletes.

I foresee this future and I think it’s a shame. I’m sorry in advance that I won’t have a chance to write about you.

[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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It's Me, Tony Lee: Shorty got game

By Tony Lee On Sunday, September 20, 2009 0 comments
Size doesn’t have to matter — just ask Orange Coast College sophomore athletes Nikki Osuna (right) and Ray Holley.

“I mean I’ve always wanted to be a little bit taller but it also makes me work that much harder to prove people wrong,” said Osuna, the shortest women’s volleyball player at 5 foot 3 inches. “When I tell people I play volleyball, they’re like, ‘But you’re tiny.’”

At 5 feet 9, Holley also knows all about people commenting on his size. Even his own teammates call him Smalley.

“To me, being a little bit shorter, that hasn’t bothered me,” Holley said. “I know it makes me want to prove people wrong because they don’t expect me to hit hard.”

Just ask Santa Monica College how hard Holley hits.

Holley earned Southern Conference Player of the Week for rushing 228 yards with three touchdowns in 28 carries in the Sept. 5 season opener in just three quarters.

He also can bench press 225 pounds, 20 times. I don’t think many of can say we can bench 225 once.

“The only problem (of being shorter) is that when he walks into a room he’s not a really big, imposing figure until he takes his shirt off and you’re like, ‘Wow, he’s put together,” said head football coach Mike Taylor.

Osuna’s case is a bit different. In addition to being the shortest on the team, she also had to deal with a knee injury that red shirted her last season and missed the state championship.

But now she’s back in full strength. In her first two games this season, she’s led the lady Pirates to two victories by leading the team with 15 digs in each game.

“Me red shirting last year made me work that much harder in the offseason to prove I that I wanted to be on the court this season,” Osuna said.

Being taller may have some advantages but there are other important factors in sports, like practicing harder, spending extra time watching film and playing smarter.

“They’re usually your hardest workers,” head women’s volleyball coach Chuck Cutenese said of shorter players. “They’re always having to make up for their lack of height.”

You also can’t coach the desire to be a better player. You can’t coach the never-say-quit attitude.

And you certainly can’t coach how to defeat the stereotypes and adversity shorter athletes have to go through.

“(Players) respect him for what he is,” Taylor said of Holley (left). “He’s a good teammate, he hustles in practice (and) he hustles like a man that’s possessed in the game.”

Cutenese added one of the best qualities about Osuna is her aggressiveness, competitive personality and being a verbal leader n all things that cannot be coached.

“I feel like my voice is bigger than my body,” Osuna said.

Well, we hear you guys loud and clear when you play.

[Photo of Osuna by Tony Lee, photo of Holley courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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It's Me, Tony Lee: Coaches should Tweet

By Tony Lee On Sunday, September 13, 2009 0 comments
Who gives a flying Tweet?

Athletes, prospective players and Pirate athletics fans do, so the Orange Coast College coaching staff should get on it.


“But it’s just like a Facebook (status) update,” said 20-year-old psychology major Jason Hartwell. “And most of the time I don’t care about what someone’s eating or doing.”

I used to feel skeptical too until I started using Twitter and realized its potential.

For those who do not know, Twitter is a web-based messaging system that allows 140 characters to express one’s thoughts through the Internet or in a text message.

The message, known as Tweet, is supposed to answer the question, “What are you doing right now?”

Well Tweets are not limited to just what someone’s doing right now. There are so many advantages for a coach to have a medium to express some thoughts.

First is for the recruiting process — which, in my opinion, separates a great community college coach froman OK one.

I was, and still am, a college athlete and the first thing we want to know is what the coach is like before picking out our school.

Twitter would provide athletes with what type of personality a coach has, how they run their program and what connections they have.

If an athlete sees an OCC coach is following (Twitter’s way of saying who you are friends with) prominent Division-I coaches, members of the press or former players, it shows a willing coach that’ll help you transfer, give you press and attract interest from other universities and coaches.

Coast head softball coach Ruby Rojas (her Twitter is rrojas8) said she mainly used Twitter to remain in contact with other coaches and players.

By looking at who Rojas is following and who she is followed by, you realize that she knows famous softball athletes and coaches. By the messages exchanged between them, you also realize she is passionate about her sport.

Not only that, if I saw that a coach still kept in contact with former players, I’d believe that coach is likeable and cares more about just what you can do in games and practices.

Second advantage is giving the followers news about the team and program.

If you want more people to show up for your first home game, post information about the team’s fundraiser or Tweet about a heartbreaking loss but how the team should keep their heads up, Twitter allows for that.

I’m not talking about having to write a novel every time. A simple, less than 140 characters Tweet will go a long way.

Third advantage is that the potential is endless. You can use it to whichever way you think is for the best.

For the OCC Sports Blog, I plan to use it for covering games live, posting interesting quotes from athletes, showing important game dates and for breaking news.

I’m interested in what the coaches will do with Twitter and so is Rojas. She Tweeted to me, @OccSports, “Thats right!!! Let’s spread the word so all the coaches at OCC can have a twitter account.”

I’m hoping I did just that.

[Photo courtesy of jhuskisson.com]
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It's Me, Tony Lee: Just lose yourself

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, April 15, 2009 0 comments
I understand not everyone listens to hip hop or rap music so I included a link to Eminem's song "Lose Yourself" below.

I dedicated my "It's Me, Tony Lee" column to the athletes this week. I truly wish the athletes and coaches the best and I hope I get to write multiple articles about OCC players winning conference and state titles.



Great poets like W.B. Yeats and Robert Frost, had an uncanny talent for describing what goes on in a human being. But when it comes to describing what an Orange Coast College athlete goes through during the month of April, no one explains it better than the modern poet Eminem.

Just look at the athletes yourself. Their palms are sweaty. I bet their knees feel weak and arms are heavy. It’s obvious that they’re nervous even though on the surface they look calm and ready.


It’s because April marks the start of the playoffs and there’s no room for error. It’s the one time of the year that being good is not good enough. Only greatness will be rewarded and there won’t be a second chance.

Like Eminem said, the mood’s all changed.

The hundreds of hours of practice, the hundreds more in the weight room, the thousands of hours they’ve spent playing their sport throughout their lifetime will come down to a couple of minutes.

This is a moment athletes live for. It’s a chance at the biggest stage to make themselves kings or queens. They know being a normal athlete is boring but rising to superstardom is close to perfection.

And for you Coast sophomores, this will be the last time you lace up in your Pirate gear. It’ll be the last time to make a mark in the record books at OCC.

The nerves, the jitters and the butterflies are all worth it because if they perform to their potential, the world is theirs for the taking.

So I have one question for the OCC athletes: If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, would you capture it or let it slip?

You better lose yourself in that moment, you better own it and you better never let it go. Do not miss your chance for greatness because this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.
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