COMMUNITY COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Outgrowing Baseball, OCC’s Strouse Gets His Kicks Playing Soccer

While soccer is an acquired taste, Andy Strouse took to it the first time he played.

Strouse, who plays for Orange Coast College, started in youth soccer at age 7. By the time he reached 11, he quit playing baseball so he could concentrate on one sport.

“There was just something about being on the grass and being able to run around,” Strouse said about playing as a child. “Now, I thoroughly love the game. It’s hard to explain. I could play every day the rest of my life and be the happiest guy on earth.”

There is little doubt one of the reasons Strouse enjoys soccer so much is the great success he’s realized. Last season, he collected nearly every award possible in leading Orange Coast to the state title.

Strouse had 21 goals and was selected Orange Empire Conference player of the year. He was a collegiate Far West All-American and was picked the 1989-90 Orange Coast male athlete of the year.

While some might find the awards an added burden to carry into a new season, Strouse doesn’t seem bothered.

“I work as hard as I can and I try not to make predictions,” he said. “The process is more important to me than the outcome anyway. . . . But with the talent we have this season, we could do very well again.”

One of the reasons for his success is his determination. Church admits to yelling at teammates, but as Coach Laird Hayes points out, he does it in a positive way.

“He talks so everyone will pick up their intensity,” Hayes said. “He’s a real force on the field. . . . He’s smart. It’s like having a player/coach on the field. He just hates losing.”

Strouse’s determination carries over to other sports, especially golf. He has close to a five handicap and works at the Costa Mesa public golf course three days each week, playing as often as possible.

Strouse plans to continue playing soccer at a four-year college and hopefully beyond.

“He’s got the talent to play on any Division I team,” said Maruricio Claure, Orange Coast assistant coach. “He could go on and play on the national team as well if he continues to get better. What he needs is to play against the best players, so he can learn their tricks.”

Despite some misprints, El Camino (2-0) actually beat Taft, 33-32, Saturday and remains at the top of the Southland Poll.

Bakersfield (1-0) is second, Riverside (1-0) third, Rancho Santiago (1-0) fourth, Fullerton (1-0) fifth, Moorpark (1-0) sixth, Pasadena (2-0) seventh, Mt. San Antonio (2-0) eighth, Orange Coast (1-0) ninth, and Golden West (1-0) is 10th.

It will take some doing for El Camino to remain undefeated this season. The Warriors have eight games left, and six are against ranked teams.

El Camino plays unranked Saddleback at home Saturday and unranked Cerritos (Oct. 20).

Otherwise, El Camino plays Rancho Santiago (Sept. 29), Riverside (Oct. 6), Fullerton (Oct. 13), Pasadena (Oct. 27), Mt. San Antonio (Nov. 3) and Pasadena (Nov. 10).

Here’s a look at some things that happened during the summer break:

--Ray Rodriguez left Valencia High School to become an assistant to Dana Pagett and the state championship Rancho Santiago men’s basketball team.

--Vladimir Nieto of Kennedy High and Manny Toledo of Brea-Olinda have taken over the Cerritos College men’s soccer program. Nieto will be the head coach and Toledo the assistant.

--Maurie Gerard has come out of retirement to be the walk-on coach of the OCC men’s tennis team. It is his second tour as OCC coach. Gerard, 80, ran the team from 1958 to 1976. Gerard replaces Tim Mang, who is a teacher at Edison High.

--OCC baseball Coach Mike Mayne returned to the top spot after taking a year off to work as an assistant. Mayne has added Dave Bowman and Jon Hockenberry as assistants.

Bowman is the former Western High School coach and was an assistant at Cypress College for two seasons, including 1989 when Cypress won the Orange Empire Conference title.

Community College Notes

When Fullerton’s Eric Robinson (145 yards) and Brian Williams (124 yards) each ran for more than 100 yards Saturday, it was the first time two backs have rushed for more than 100 yards in the same game in 29-plus seasons under Coach Hal Sherbeck. Robinson also became the first quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards in one game under Sherbeck. . . . The second annual Steve Van Horn Memorial Golf Tournament takes place Sept. 26th at the Costa Mesa golf course. The tournament benefits the Steve Van Horn scholarship fund. Steve, who was killed in a camping accident in 1982, is the son of Fullerton teacher Ezra Van Horn. For more information, call 992-7383 or 979-9260.