Winning No Sweat at Tustin : Tiller Girls’ Team Learns to Combine Fun and Success

Tricia Andres appreciates many changes in the basketball program at Tustin High School this season, one of them being the replacement of the Tillers’ 15-year-old sweats.

“They were awful, but last year we had to wear them no matter what,” Andres said. “They were made of this orangy-red polyester, with these huge bell-bottoms, and a big farmer on the front. The pants were so long we had to stick them in our shoes. And they were so tight that we’d have to pull on each other’s (fabric) to get them to fit.”

But according to Andres and the four other Tustin starters, the old sweats weren’t the only thing shed before the Tillers found their sharp new look. A few other transformations took place, helping the Tillers (15-5) to a 4-0 Sea View League record.

First, the league boundaries.

Tustin switched from the Century to the Sea View League this season, meaning it wouldn’t have to contend with (or lose to) powerful Foothill again--at least not during league play. Though the Tillers have never missed the Southern Section 3-A playoffs, Foothill has won the Century League championship 13 straight years.

This season, Estancia is expected to provide the most competition in the Sea View League, though the Tillers already beat the Eagles, 55-44, in the Costa Mesa Tournament. They meet again at 7 tonight at Tustin.

Second, a new coach.

Well, not exactly new, but newly promoted. Rick Falk, who had coached the Tustin girls’ junior varsity team for two years, replaced Rich Prospero as varsity coach when Prospero decided to return to college. Prospero is now the boys’ junior varsity coach.

The coaching transition was anything but smooth.

When Prospero told the players his intentions of leaving last year, most were disappointed, but not surprised. Throughout the season, Prospero had hinted--whether by word or by action--that he wanted to coach boys, not girls.

“In some practices last year, we’d be crying,” Andres said. “We’d be running lines (a basketball drill), and having to do defensive slides with our knees bent (so that) we wouldn’t be able to get up for 10 minutes at a time. When Richie left, it was supposedly because of school, but he wanted to coach boys. We knew it. We’re just not as intense as guys.”

Though many of the practices were grueling, and Prospero yelled at players who didn’t perform well, Andres said most of the girls not only understood but appreciated his style. And that, she said, caused the biggest problem when Falk was named coach.

The varsity players had watched Falk coach the junior varsity in practice. What they saw--laughing, giggling, having fun for gosh sakes-- they didn’t like.

To them, Falk was too easy, too relaxed. His players didn’t seem to take the game seriously. It just wasn’t right, they thought. Not if you wanted to be good.

But last season the junior varsity was undefeated, beating Foothill for the league championship. The varsity (14-9), however, lost to Foothill, 57-45.

“Riding on the bus with them after they lost, it was terrible,” said Melissa Hammond, a varsity starter who played on the junior varsity last season. “Our season was over, we had just won and were all happy. But they’d just been blown away. We couldn’t celebrate. We had to keep quiet. Some of us started giggling, and we got yelled at. It was tough.

“That’s why they had such a hard time mixing with us at the start this year. They never thought we took it seriously enough.”

But after a few weeks of preseason conditioning, the returning varsity members were convinced that Falk--and his former junior varsity players--meant business.

“At the start, I said he can’t coach varsity,” Andres said. “There was no way I thought I could play under him. There was a lot of hostility there. I had a very set mind. But then things started to change.”

Minutes before a nonleague game against Foothill, Andres was in tears from nervousness. Falk reminded her that playing basketball was supposed to be for fun. Though Tustin lost, Falk was calm after the game--unlike most of the players.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Andres said. “Richie would’ve been out there hitting the walls. He (Falk) said we were supposed to be having fun .”

Their admiration for Falk grew more when he designed a winning play against Loara--with five seconds remaining.

And now, the varsity members--new and returning--have revealed the third transformation of the Tiller program.

“It’s our attitude,” Andres said. “We’re all together now. It’s more relaxed and I’m more confident too. The whole team feels it. Now we all get a little more daring. We do crazy things like pass behind the back and stuff. It’s just way more fun.”

And what about those, uh, interesting sweats? Have there been any improvements there?

Said Andres: “Oh, we’re getting some real slick red and black ones. They have zippers down the legs. They’ll be great.”

And so, it seems, is the Tustin varsity this season.