Valencia Golf Team Has Come Long Way : In 3 Years, School Has Become Force to Be Reckoned With

Three years ago, when the Valencia High School golf team boarded the bus headed for the school’s first competitive golf match after a five-year absence from the sport, it was short on experience and players.

Valencia had only four players, and had to forfeit the match. Six players were required.

Two players, J.B. Broms and Harold Pike, who were also on the baseball team, had decided to play in a sophomore baseball game instead.

But from such a dubious start, one of Orange County’s better programs has developed.

The program had been dropped in 1981 because of budget cuts, but was started again in the spring of 1986 after a group of parents had asked that it be reinstated.

John Winek, an assistant in football and baseball who heads the health and driver education department, was asked to be the coach.

“They didn’t have to ask twice,” he said.

Valencia finished 9-8 in 1986 and returned every player for the next season, including Pike and Broms who decided to play golf full-time.

Valencia, which was 18-0 in 1987, is 18-0 this season and has a 37-match regular-season winning streak dating to the last match of 1986.

“I enjoy the competition, but we don’t worry about the streak too much,” said Broms, who along with Pike, are the only seniors. “We just want to play well each time we go out both as a team and individually.”

Valencia, which also has won the Orange League the last two seasons, returned all but one player from last season and has won every match this season by at least five strokes.

“After that first match I had some real doubts about this,” Winek said. “But it has all come together really well. This season I have my dream team. This is the kind of team that comes along only once in a coach’s career, but I hope not. I would hate to have peaked as a coach in my third year.”

The team’s strength is its depth. Whereas some teams rely on one or two players, each of Valencia’s top four players has shot the lowest round in a match at least three times.

Valencia is one of the favorites today in the Southern Section regional at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach. The top three teams advance to the final May 23 at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs.

“The winning steak is nice and we’re certainly aware of it,” Pike said. “But the real test will be in CIF (Southern Sections regionals). That will tell us how well we are playing, I’m really looking forward to that.”

Broms usually plays at No. 1. He was the top recruit for the UC Irvine this season but decided to attend Claremont College instead.

Chris Tidland, a sophomore, and Pike play the other top spots. Sophomore Kengo Takahashi and juniors John Dauphin and Chris Shearer make up the rest of the six varsity players.

Joey Vasquez has come from the junior varsity team to play for the varsity in a few matches.

Valencia not only has a junior varsity team but also a frosh-soph team.

“I guess you could say we’ve grown as a program,” Winek said.

Broms was the Orange League player of the year this season. Pike, Tidland and Takahashi made first-team all league and Dauphin was second-team all league.

“It’s getting pretty competitive out here,” said Pike, who will most likely play at a community college next season.

“Anyone can be the best player that day. But we get along really well. We practically live with each other we see each other so much. Now coach tells us that teams are calling all the time trying to schedule us for next season to try and break our streak.”

Three years ago, it looked as if the team couldn’t get it teed up. Now the putts are dropping, the phone is ringing, and golf is in good hands at Valencia.