It Took 30 Years for Garibaldi, Shaw to Pool Their Talents

Fred Shaw and Mike Garibaldi never imagined that three decades after competing against each other and last seeing each other, they would be coaching a swim team together.

But the two have joined forces as co-coaches at Pierce College. The men’s and women’s teams are 1-0 in the Western State Conference going into a home meet today against Cuesta, which is 3-0 for both men and women.

Garibaldi took over the Brahma water polo team last fall and was hired to coach the swim team with Shaw, who for years kept both programs afloat virtually single-handedly.

They first became aware of each other in the mid-1960s, when Shaw swam for USC and Garibaldi for Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Both schools were national powers that competed against each other even though Foothill is a junior college.

Foothill won eight consecutive men’s junior college state championships from 1962 to 1969. USC was NCAA champion from 1963-66.

“Fred and I never really met but we remembered each other,” said Garibaldi, who later attended Utah and was an alternate on the U.S. Olympic water polo team in 1964.

Shaw was more than happy to get coaching help. The Brahmas have 18 men and 13 women swimmers, compared to eight men and four women last year and two men and five women the year before.

“We’ve got such a big team, it’s great to have another coach,” Shaw said.

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Painful mark: Freshman left fielder Burke Braun of Ventura College set a school record Monday that nobody will be eager to break.

Braun was hit by a pitch three times in a 6-2 victory over Santa Barbara in a Western State Conference North Division game. He has been hit eight times in 19 plate appearances.

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Dubious achievements: Interest is heating up among members of the Ventura High baseball team about which Cougars will earn some of the dubious honors awarded at the team’s postseason banquet.

Among the many gag presentations made each year by longtime Coach Dan Smith is a baseball with plastic insects glued to it--to the player with the most fly-ball outs--and a paper bag on a plaque to the player with the most “sac” flies.

Stats

Cal State Northridge couldn’t beat Long Beach State in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball match at the Pyramid earlier this week, but it wasn’t all bad for the Matadors.

Northridge, ranked third nationally at the time, had one of its best statistical outings. Four of the team’s six starters had career highs against the 49ers, who were No. 4.

Junior outside hitter Collin Smith had 29 kills, senior middle blocker Dirk Schlueter had 22 kills and 10 digs, junior setter Dan Nash had 90 assists and junior outside hitter Jason Hughes had 11 digs.

Quotebook

“Before coming to Ventura, the only kind of racing I did was on the freeways.”

--Cliff Tietz, a driver in the I-4 modified division at Ventura Raceway.

Things to Do

North Campus at Cal State Northridge will be transformed into a basketball fantasy land this weekend for the NBA-sanctioned Hoop-It-Up street tournament. Approximately 2,500 participants are expected to compete in three-on-three games in nearly 60 different divisions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9-4 Sunday. Other activities, including two dunk contests and a three-point shootout, are scheduled for Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

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Contributing: Fernando Dominguez, Rob Fernas, Irene Garcia, Bryan Rodgers, Tris Wykes.