College Division : Schedule Hectic for Dual Coach at The Master’s

If you think you have a busy schedule, consider the plight of Coach Becky White of The Master’s College in Newhall.

White, 23, may be the only person in the Southland who can say she is the coach in both women’s volleyball and basketball.

That alone makes things quite hectic for White. But she also teaches physical education classes during the day and takes night classes at The Master’s in pursuit of her master’s degree in physical education administration.

“It’s pretty busy, that’s for sure, and I try to fit my husband (Wayne) in there, too,” White says.

White said her busiest time of the year is during the fall, especially toward the end of the volleyball season in November.

While she doesn’t schedule any basketball games until after the volleyball season, she does have to worry about practice and recruiting for both sports.

“It’s kind of a tender balance because I don’t want to cheat my basketball team out of the training they should be getting at that time but it’s also the busiest time for volleyball,” White said.

The coach said recruiting for two different sports can also be difficult, although the Mustangs have several players who compete for both teams.

“I’m very young and I think that can be perceived negatively if I don’t work it right,” White said. “I don’t try to play up the fact that I’m a basketball coach when I’m trying to recruit a top volleyball player.”

Juggling the coaching responsibility of both teams may sound like an impossible task to most people but it is consistent with what White has accomplished in the past.

A graduate of Biola, White was one of the few players to make the NAIA All-America team in both volleyball and basketball.

After playing for the Eagles from 1982-85, White had the opportunity to continue in both sports at the professional level but opted for coaching. In basketball she was drafted by the California Stars of the now-defunct Women’s Basketball League and she was also sought by a pro volleyball team in Italy.

“I didn’t expect to continue in basketball (as a player) and I really didn’t want to continue in either professionally,” she said.

So White turned to coaching and was an immediate success, particularly in volleyball. In 1986, she coached the Biola women’s volleyball team to the NAIA District III title and seventh in the national tournament.

White moved over to The Master’s after the 1986 volleyball season to become coach of the basketball and volleyball teams and the results have been mixed. She guided the volleyball team to a 20-10 record last season--its most wins ever--and a berth in the District III tournament.

As basketball coach, she watched The Master’s post a 6-20 record in her first year although the Mustangs have improved to 10-13 this season. The outlook is better for next season with the addition of University of Kentucky transfer Laurel Hudgens, a 6-1 front-line player who was a prep All-American.

White said there is no question about which is her best sport to coach.

“I’m more proficient in volleyball,” White said. “I’ve always been better in volleyball, so I think I’m probably better there as a coach. But there’s a lot more to coaching basketball. You constantly have to be on your feet. . . . There are a lot more challenges.”

White said she isn’t sure how long she will continue to coach both sports and says she would eventually like to become an athletic administrator.

But for now she is more than happy to lead a double life as basketball and volleyball coach of The Master’s.

With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, the race for first place in men’s basketball is still up for grabs in both the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and the Golden State Athletic Conference.

It is particularly tight in the GSAC, where five teams are tied for first at one point last week.

With four games remaining, Westmont, Cal Lutheran and Southern California College are tied for first at 7-3 and Azusa Pacific and Cal Baptist are a game behind at 6-4.

It would not be surprising if Westmont emerged from the pack to win the title since the Warriors have the best overall record at 16-8 and have been playing well recently. Westmont is also coming off a 58-56 win last week over Biola, which is 24-3 and ranked No. 9 in the NAIA.

In the CCAA, Cal State Bakersfield holds a one-game lead over UC Riverside and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with four games to play. Bakersfield is 8-2 and Riverside and San Luis Obispo 7-3.

That will make for two very important games next week. Bakersfield visits Riverside on Feb. 25 and San Luis Obispo travels to Riverside on Feb. 27.

College Division Notes

While the CCAA men’s race is still up for grabs, defending champion Cal Poly Pomona has already wrapped up another conference title in women’s play. Pomona, 21-3 overall and ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division II, has a 9-0 in conference play heading into its game at Chapman on Thursday. . . . The Biola men’s basketball team, ranked No. 9 in the NAIA, proved its point in an NAIA District III game against West Coast Christian last week. The Eagles, 24-3 overall and 13-2 in district play, established a single-game school scoring record in rolling to a 155-87 win and also set marks for most field goals in a game (64) and points in a half (90). . . . Longtime Cal Poly Pomona baseball coach John Scolinos, who has coached at the college level for 42 years, reached a milestone with his 1,100th career win in an 11-4 rout of Division I Pepperdine last week. Pepperdine was the school where Scolinos started his coaching career. Scolinos, not surprisingly, has the most wins of any active college coach. . . . Southern California College has named former U.S. Olympic women’s assistant Marlon Sano as its new women’s volleyball coach. Sano, who coached Fountain Valley High the last three seasons, was an assistant coach for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics. He replaces Billi Wilder, who resigned to pursue business interests. . . . Cal Poly Pomona women’s tennis star Xenia Anastasiadou defeated CCAA rival Edna Olivarez of Cal State Los Angeles, 6-2, 6-2, to win the 1988 Rolex Small College National Championship last week at the University of Minnesota. It marked her third consecutive win over Olivarez, who had defeated Anastasiadou in their first four meetings. . . . Cal State Bakersfield will be favored to win its fourth consecutive conference swimming title when it hosts the CCAA championships Thursday through Sunday. The Roadrunners, who expect to receive their strongest challenge from Cal State Northridge, have won two straight NCAA Division II titles.