Good News and Bad : Player Reaction to Torgeson Leaving Northridge Depends on the Perspective

All-American Shannon Jones is happy for Gary Torgeson, the long-time Cal State Northridge softball coach who said this week he is leaving his alma mater to take a dean’s position at Sacramento City College.

“He’s probably ready for a change,” the Matadors’ third baseman said. “That’s great for him.”

Not so pleased, however, is Scia Maumausolo, an All-American utility player as a freshman in 1993: “I’m really disappointed. He didn’t even tell us he was leaving.”

So there you have it, opinions based entirely on perspective. It all depends on whether the player is coming or going.

Jones and other seniors who have completed their eligibility have accepted Torgeson’s sudden announcement easily, even though it comes just three weeks after he led the Matadors to the brink of a national championship.

But Maumausolo and those who have remaining eligibility are struggling.

“I know a lot of people coming back, and other people just coming in, were looking forward to playing for him,” said Maumausolo, who will be a junior next season. “Now I don’t know what we’re going to do. I’m basically clueless to what’s going on.”

Torgeson, who has been associated with Northridge as a student, football player, assistant football coach, head football coach and softball coach for 30 years, leaves with a school-record 644 coaching victories.

His softball teams won four NCAA Division II national championships, and the Matadors, in only their fourth Division I campaign, last season finished second in the nation--losing, 4-0, to No. 1-ranked Arizona in the championship game of the Women’s College World Series.

Torgeson’s departure hit the rumor mill last week at a high school all-star game and at an amateur softball tournament in Bakersfield. However, the coach dismissed those reports until earlier this week.

“I’ve been in denial until this morning when I picked up the newspaper,” Torgeson said Wednesday.

Some of the players would prefer he stayed in denial. Kathy Blake, Northridge’s top returning pitcher, broke into tears when she heard the news. Other returning players are withholding judgment until a coach is hired.

Janet Sherman, Torgeson’s top assistant the past three seasons, is a strong candidate. The former Granada Hills High and UCLA catcher has Torgeson’s support and the backing of several players.

Jessica Cunningham, a recruit from Simi Valley High, said that Torgeson told her Sherman likely will get the job.

“We’ll be OK as long as they don’t bring in a new coach,” said Lee Ann Taylor, an infielder with a year of eligibility. “Janet has been around a long time and she knows how things are run. As long as she takes over I think Northridge will stay successful.”

Sherman, reached by telephone while on vacation in the Sacramento area, said she will pursue the job. That the players seem united behind her is not a surprise.

“I helped recruit all of the ones coming back,” Sherman said. “I feel like I have a good relationship with all of them.”

Northridge will not announce Torgeson’s replacement any time soon. His job as dean of health, physical education and recreation at Sacramento does not become official until the college’s board of trustees approves the hire at a July 20 meeting.

Sherman, for one, has a hard time accepting the idea of her boss actually leaving the coaching ranks. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said.

At least one player is gearing up for whatever the future brings.

“We all still have the fire Coach instilled in us,” Taylor said. “We have a reputation to uphold.”