COLLEGE DIVISION / MITCH POLIN : Juarez Has Time Only for Soccer, but Isn’t Kicking

In NCAA Division III circles, the success of Coach Carlos Juarez of Cal State San Bernardino men’s soccer team is already well documented.

Juarez, 29, has a 62-35-5 record in six years with the Coyotes, including his 1987 squad that finished third in Division III.

The Coyotes are rated No. 14 in the nation and No. 2 in the West in the first Division III rankings this season with a 3-2 record.

They also have developed a knack for playing Division I schools. In its only two Division I encounters this season, San Bernardino defeated Loyola Marymount, 4-0, and gave a scare to ninth-ranked San Diego State before losing, 2-1.

But Juarez’s impact as a soccer coach hasn’t been limited to the colleges. He also is making an impression as an assistant for the U.S. women’s junior national team and has been a coach in the women’s U.S. Olympic Development program since 1985. He coached the East team at the 1990 U.S. Olympic Festival in July at Minneapolis.

Juarez said he hopes his work will lead to a position as an assistant for the U.S. in the first women’s World Cup tournament in 1991 in China.

“I hope I have a chance,” he said. “I don’t know about it at this time, with all the changes that have taken place in the U.S. Soccer Federation, but I would hope I could be on call for that. All I can do is keep working hard and hope that I’m asked.”

In the meantime, his work with the women’s program consists mostly of coaching at camps and clinics and scouting for talent. “I do camps every summer, and I go to regional tournaments and look at players who we might want for the team,” he said.

Juarez also coaches the Olympic Development team for the West in tournaments mostly during the spring and summer and expects to take squads to Japan and Denmark next spring. His next assignment will be in November, at a regional player development program in Dallas.

Juarez does not receive much financial incentive to coach in the national program but says that he is not participating with money in mind.

“With the U.S. women’s program, you do a lot of things as a volunteer,” he said. “You don’t get a lot (of money) for doing it, but that’s not why I do it. When you’re coaching women’s soccer, this is the highest level you can achieve. So it’s quite an honor.”

With his responsibilities at San Bernardino, there is little time during the year when Juarez is not coaching soccer. “There was one point during the summer when I was gone (at soccer events) 12 weekends in a row,” he said. “I’m busy all year round. But it’s something I enjoy, so I don’t mind doing it.”

Though his position with the junior national program may be more prestigious, Juarez realizes that he probably couldn’t afford to participate without cooperation from San Bernardino.

“I think I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a full-time position,” he said. “I know a lot of coaches aren’t in that position. Because of my teaching and coaching position here, it also allows me the time to do these other things. The school has also been very understanding and that really makes a big difference.”

For the moment, Juarez said he is focusing on his team at San Bernardino, and the Coyotes are off to an impressive start.

“I think we have a lot of good players returning and, if everything goes well, it could be one of our better teams,” he said.

Juarez is also looking ahead to next season, when San Bernardino will move up to Division II and compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Juarez, who starred as a midfielder for Cal State Los Angeles from 1978-81 and was named conference most valuable player and a Division II All-American in 1981.

“We’re very excited about going to Division II and, as a player, since I competed in Division II in the same conference we’re going into, I know how difficult it could be,” he said.

Although he is not about to predict a title for the Coyotes in their first year in the CCAA, Juarez predicts his team will not be outclassed.

“I think we’ll be able to compete in Division II next year,” he said. “I don’t know how long it will take to compete for the conference title, but I know we can hold our own.”

In many respects, Juarez said, he enjoys coaching a college team more than the national program.

“With a college team, I’m able to be with them longer and I can teach them more,” he said. “You can make more long-term plans. With the women’s program, you don’t have a lot of time together as a team, so you have to work a lot faster.”

But the coach isn’t ready to toss aside either position.

“I’m really happy doing both,” he said. “As long as I’m able to do a good job, I’m going to continue this way. But when one starts to suffer, that’s when I’ll have to make a choice.”

College Division Notes

The Pomona-Pitzer football team equaled its victory total of the past two seasons with a 42-35 victory over Colorado College on Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Sagehens were 0-8 in 1988 and 1-7 last year. Pomona was sparked by quarterback Scott Hamburg, who passed for 312 yards and three touchdowns. . . . Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Redlands are the only undefeated College Division teams from the Southland after the first two weeks of the football season. San Luis Obispo improved to 2-0 with a 32-7 victory over Sonoma State and Redlands moved to 2-0 by defeating LaVerne, 22-13, in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener last week. . . . Occidental suffered a serious setback when its leading rusher from last year, Gary Little, broke his leg in a scrimmage two weeks ago and was lost for the season. But the Tigers have found a solid replacement in freshman Brian Madlangbayan, who ran for three touchdowns in Occidental’s 38-13 victory over Whittier on Saturday. . . . Cal State San Bernardino men’s soccer Coach Carlos Juarez will be among the instructors at the school’s second annual youth soccer clinic from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday in San Bernardino. There is no charge for the event, which will also include a clinic for coaches. . . . The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team, which finished second in the NCAA Division II last season, entered a four-game road trip last week ranked No. 2 in Division II and first in the West region. But the Toros could drop after going 1-3 on the trip, including losses to Division II rivals Sonoma State and UC Davis.