COACH OF THE YEAR : Smith Bright by Dawn’s Early Light

Jack Smith was proud of the commitment his Nordhoff High basketball team showed in the first week of practice, thrilled by the girls’ energy and drive to succeed.

But all things considered, the Rangers’ coach would rather have been asleep.

Smith’s squad was forced to practice from 5 to 7 a.m. that first week because it had to share the school gym with the volleyball team. At first, practicing before sunrise was a novel experience. But only at first.

“By the third morning the novelty had worn off,” said Smith, The Times’ Ventura County coach of the year. “I was thinking, ‘Geez, this is pretty early.’ ”

But through eyes bleary from lack of sleep, Smith saw his team’s determination.

“To make that commitment was kind of amazing,” Smith said. “They knew they wanted to have a good team.”

The Rangers finished 23-2--their best finish in school history--and advanced to the Southern Section Division IV-AA semifinal.

After four years of coaching girls’ basketball, the sport is still relatively new to Smith, 46, the varsity football coach for 15 years. And he and the team are constantly improving.

Nordhoff was 13-10 in 1991-92 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. That team was composed mainly of sophomores, and the inexperienced group “took their lumps,” said Smith.

A year of experience helped change that. So, too, did Rachel McSorley.

McSorley, a reserve at Buena in 1991-92 as a sophomore, transferred to Nordhoff in the spring of 1992. Smith knew she was an unusually skilled player from the moment he saw her play.

“I went, ‘God what a great shooter for a post player,’ ” Smith said. “She’s mixed in really well. Anybody who knows anything about basketball knew she would be a great addition to our team.”

The 6-foot-3 junior proved Smith right. McSorley was named the Frontier League player of the year and was the catalyst for the Rangers’ undefeated league season (8-0). Nordhoff won its first two playoff games before falling to eventual champion St. Bernard in the semifinal.

But McSorley’s individual accomplishments and the team’s triumphs are not what Smith recalls about this season so much as the girls’ work ethic, as evidenced on those chilly, dark autumn mornings.

“Their efforts are what made it special,” he said. “That’s what I’ll remember, how hard the girls worked.”