College Division / Mitch Polin : Basketball Has Family Atmosphere at Redlands

Most college basketball programs can claim to have close-knit coaching staffs.

But the co-coaches of the University of Redlands women’s basketball team may be a little closer than most.

That’s because the coaches are father and daughter, Joe and Jennifer Wohlmuth.

It is the first coaching assignment for the 25-year-old Jennifer, who played for her father at Redlands from 1981-84 and graduated from the school in 1985. The 54-year-old Joe, of course, has considerably more coaching experience.

But the coaching arrangement is hardly a case of father knows best.

The younger Wohlmuth has been a teacher at a junior high school in Beaumont, whereas her father teaches at Fontana High. But Jennifer wanted to take a stab at coaching basketball.

So when women’s coach Kristy Loesener resigned after last season at Redlands to become the coach at El Camino College, Wohlmuth was interested in becoming her successor.

Because of her inexperience, though, Redlands officials were a little hesitant to give her the position. So she approached her father about coaching the team with her for at least a season.

“It was sort of my suggestion . . . that my father would also be coach and they went for it,” Jennifer said.

The two have been sharing the coaching duties, but Jennifer said she will take over most of the coaching chores by the middle of the season, while her father concentrates on other aspects of the job.

For the most part, the elder Wohlmuth says, the arrangement has been good for both of them.

“It’s a good situation because we get along and the family has always been close,” he said. “She’s also getting her feet wet in coaching.”

Jennifer said: “It’s much easier because I know him so well. I know when to take him seriously and when not to and how to react to certain things he does. If I need any special favors, I can count on him.”

It also fits in well for the family, which has always had close ties to basketball.

Jennifer has two older brothers and a younger sister and all of them played basketball, either in high school or college, and her mother attends the team’s home games.

“I love basketball,” Jennifer said. “Even when I go home, all we talk about is basketball.”

Not that the relationship between father and daughter is perfect.

“He gives me a lot of support because he wants me to succeed, but it’s also difficult because he’s in the father role,” she said. “He’s also domineering at times. I’m still his little girl sometimes.

” . . . If I didn’t see him every day, he would be asking me all these questions about what I was doing. He’s just like any normal father would be.”

They also have their differences about coaching basketball.

“I have different points of view and we argue about it,” she said. “But I think that’s good. They’re not that different because he was my coach. But they’re a little different.”

Joe said: “She’s got some of her own ideas and that’s good. If we disagree about something, it’s always in the office. We just talk it over.”

Jennifer said that they are both perfectionists as coaches, although she may be a little more emotional than her father on the bench at games.

“He’s not real emotional because he’s been coaching for so long,” she said. “I think I may be a little more emotional because it’s my first year. I’m so excited, I want to do everything just right.”

The elder Wohlmuth said things can get a little difficult after a loss, although neither likes to dwell on their defeats.

“You think about what you could have done better right after the game,” he said. “You talk about it but other than that we don’t take it home with us.”

That’s a good thing considering that Redlands has lost 6 of its first 8 games this season, although the coaches are still optimistic.

“I think we’re going to do a lot better,” Jennifer said. “We’re going to have a good year.”

Whether they will continue as a father-daughter coaching team after this season is another question.

“We’re not full-time and they want full-time coaches,” Jennifer said. “But I love Redlands.”

Her father added: “We’ll just get through this year and then look ahead.”

In the meantime, they are enjoying it.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Jennifer said. “It’s something that happens only once in a lifetime.”

Westmont College of Santa Barbara will go a long way to play a baseball game.

All the way to Ecuador, in fact.

The Warriors will visit the South American nation for 5 games from Friday through Dec. 22.

Invited by the Ecuador Baseball Federation, the Warriors will play 3 games against Ecuador’s national team and 2 against club teams. The 17-player contingent will also conduct baseball clinics.

“It’s a special experience for those who get a chance to go,” said Coach John Kirkgard, who took the team to Costa Rica last year.

“There is nothing quite like making friends through baseball,” added infielder Bob Ream, who went on the trip to Costa Rica. “Sport has the ability to break down any language or political barriers and open opportunities to share ourselves.”

College Division Notes

Cal State Northridge fell short in its bid for consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II women’s volleyball championships. The Matadors won their first 2 matches in the national tournament before losing to top-ranked Portland State in 3 games in the title match Sunday at North Dakota State in Fargo. Northridge finished at 33-12 and Portland State 35-5.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team, which had an 8-7-4 record and was ranked No. 12 in the NCAA Division II last season, has placed three players on the division All-Western Regional first team. They are forward Lynor Johnson, midfielder Kristi White and defender Mandi Robertson.

Senior Trip Montgomery, who led Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference water polo title, has been named the conference’s most valuable player. Montgomery, who led the Stags with 70 goals, was joined on the All-SCIAC first team by teammates Derek Emge and Erik Jensen. . . . Outside hitter Tricia Wright of La Verne, who led the Leopards to the SCIAC women’s volleyball title and second place in the NCAA West Regional, has been named to the Division III All-American second team. The senior led the team with 259 kills, 77 digs and 24 blocks.

Coach Jim Paschal of La Verne has been named the Division III West Regional coach of the year by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. The Leopards finished 25-12 this season. . . . Coach Charlie Craig of Cal State Bakersfield has been named track coach of the West team for the 1989 U.S. Sports Festival next July in Norman, Okla.