Football in the Air : Players and Coaches at Community Colleges Are Back at Work

It’s time to go to work for football players and coaches at the local community colleges.

Fullerton, Golden West, Rancho Santiago and Saddleback started full practices in pads last week and Orange Coast starts today.

Summer vacations are a distant memory for most, including the coaches--if they took them.

Fullerton’s Hal Sherbeck is not only the coach but also the dean for physical education and athletic director.

“I didn’t go anywhere,” Sherbeck said. “I was here. I get here about 4:30 a.m. and leave about 9 p.m., now that school has started. It’s the football that keeps me going. That’s the fun part.”

OCC’s Bill Workman spent his summer taking courses so he could move up a pay scale in the district. Golden West’s Ray Shackleford didn’t get out of town either.

“I was either here (school) or home,” he said. “But I got a lot of work done around the house and I enjoy doing it.”

Rancho Santiago’s Dave Ogas did manage to get out of town. He and his family took a rafting trip in Oregon.

“It was nice to get away from it all,” Ogas said. “But now we are back getting ready to crank it up.”

Then there is the case of Saddleback’s Ken Swearingen. He spent the summer in Finland coaching a club football team.

Teams now have nine or 10 days to get ready for scrimmages. But because the players are back in school, there will be no grueling two-a-days.

It’s early enough in the season that coaches are still pretty relaxed.

“It’s always interesting this time of year,” Sherbeck said. “You are waiting to see who competes well and is willing to take charge and show leadership.”

“Once you go into pads you get a different look,” Ogas said. “There could be a nugget you missed. You always hope for one or two of those, but the key thing is not to get anyone injuried.”

Teams will practice the next two weeks to get ready for the scrimmages. Orange Coast, Saddleback, Golden West and Rancho Santiago scrimmage Sept. 2 and Fullerton goes Sept. 3.

On Sept. 2, OCC plays host to Santa Monica at 1 p.m., Saddleback plays host to Southwestern at 6:30 p.m., Citrus takes on Golden West at OCC at 7 p.m. and defending national champion El Camino plays Rancho Santiago at Santa Ana Stadium.