Brea-Olinda’s Ochs a Marked Man Again : Soccer: Senior quit the sport last spring after feuding with his coach. Now he’s back in form with a better attitude.

The best evidence of Jaysn Ochs’ return to form was offered by Western High School’s soccer team last week.

Ochs, a senior forward for Brea-Olinda, was not about to get lonely in a game against the Pioneers. He was accompanied every step of the way by a Western defender.

Ochs was a marked man. A trip here, an elbow there and, every once in a while, a tug at his jersey were all a part of the defensive tactics.

Finally, Ochs responded. Late in the game, he squeezed past two defenders, including the one who had hounded his footsteps, and beat the goalie to the right.

“When they mark me like that, I take it as a challenge,” Ochs said. “The best way I can answer it is by scoring.”

It has been a long road back for Ochs, who led the Wildcats with 17 goals last season. A year ago, he was suspended by Brea-Olinda Coach Manny Toledo before the Wildcats’ first-round playoff game because of his attitude. Afterward, Ochs walked away from the sport.

Ochs returned to the team in October and has overcome a less-than-sunny disposition to again become the focal point of Brea’s offense. He has scored 14 goals this season, getting 10 in the past eight games.

The Western game was not only evidence of the respect other teams are again showing Ochs, but also proof that he has changed.

“A year ago, Jaysn would have turned around and punched that guy’s lights out,” Toledo said. “It just shows how much Jaysn has matured.”

No one knows that more than Toledo.

Toledo said Ochs ranks among the best who have played at Brea. Ochs’ speed and foot technique make him difficult to defend.

However, Toledo said, Ochs was difficult to coach in the past. As a result, the two were at odds for the better part of two seasons.

“I was going to do things my way and no one, including Manny, was going to tell me different,” said Ochs, who has been on the varsity since he was a sophomore. “My attitude wasn’t exactly pleasant sometimes.”

That attitude led to arguments between Toledo and Ochs during practice on several occasions. There were also a few heated discussions during games.

“With Jaysn and Manny, it always seemed like it was a contest to see who could get the last word in,” senior forward Jeff Ortiz said.

The conflict reached the breaking point last season before the Wildcats’ Southern Section 2-A playoff game against Ganesha.

Ochs missed practice on the Monday before the game and then got into an argument with Toledo the following day during practice.

Toledo felt enough was enough and benched Ochs for the Ganesha game. Toledo didn’t tell anyone that Ochs was benched, he just didn’t start him.

“When I wasn’t in the starting lineup, I had a pretty good idea,” Ochs said. “By halftime, it was clear that he wasn’t going to play me.”

Brea, which was the No. 1-seeded team, dominated the game but lost, 1-0.

Toledo said the suspension was for only one game. But because the Wildcats lost it became a subject of controversy, and Ochs and Toledo didn’t talk for nearly seven months.

Ochs then decided to quit the sport. He not only didn’t play for Brea during summer league, he also didn’t play for his club team for the first time in 12 years.

“I just felt like I couldn’t play soccer anymore,” Ochs said. “But when school started, I began to get the itch. I was a senior and I wanted to go out with a good year.”

The problem was, he didn’t know how to approach Toledo. Several of the Wildcat players encouraged Ochs to come back, and he even talked with a school counselor about the situation, but remained indecisive.

For Toledo, the problem was similar. He had been told by some of his players that Ochs wanted to rejoin the team. However, he didn’t want to be the one to make the first move.

“We’re too much alike, both of us are very stubborn,” Toledo said. “That was a big part of the problem all along. But my job as coach is to educate kids. You have to give them a second chance.”

So, when a school counselor came to him to talk about Ochs, Toledo said, “Tell Jaysn where my office is located.”

The two met in early October. Ochs was nervous about talking to Toledo because he didn’t know how Toledo felt about the situation. But after the meeting, Ochs was back on the team.

“I was surprised how receptive Manny was,” Ochs said. “I think the guys on the team really helped, they supported both of us. It made coming back a lot easier.”

Although the off-field problems were resolved, Ochs was far from ready to play. His summer away from soccer had lasting effects physically.

It took nearly three months for Ochs to work himself back into shape. He was used off the bench, but didn’t have the stamina to play an entire game.

Ochs’ comeback was also slowed by tendinitis in his foot, which forced him to miss two games.

The Wildcats struggled during their nonleague schedule and, at one point, lost six consecutive games. But, when Orange League play began, Ochs was ready and, soon after, Brea got hot.

Ochs came off the bench to score two goals against Anaheim in the Wildcats’ second league game. He has been in the starting lineup since.

The Wildcats have not lost since Ochs returned to his starting forward position. They finished the regular season 14-7-2 and won the league championship, their sixth title in the past seven seasons.

In a key game against Valencia two weeks ago, Ochs had two goals and two assists in the first half. Brea went on to win, 6-2, to move into first place.

It was after the Valencia game that opposing teams began to mark Ochs with a defender. It was a tactic used against him constantly last season, but Ochs had not seen it much this season.

“Teams used to do it last season to rattle me,” Ochs said. “They knew I had a short temper. They would push me and trip me. There was even one game when some guy started talking about my mother and Manny had to take me out. I would let it affect my play. But that tactic doesn’t work anymore. Now, I just laugh in their face.”

Toledo said Ochs’ change in attitude has been remarkable. Against Western, Toledo kept waiting for Ochs to explode, but it never happened.

“Jaysn has improved his attitude tremendously,” Toledo said. “We need him to keep his cool and score goals. If he does that, we will be hard to beat in the playoffs.”

And this time, the playoffs will include Jaysn Ochs.