Ventura College Getting a Kick-Start Under Hoffman

Count Steve Hoffman among those enjoying the booming status of collegiate women’s soccer in the United States.

Hoffman, a longtime area coach heavily involved in California’s Olympic Development Program, has been handed the reins of Ventura College’s first-year program. And he loves it.

“The Ventura administration has really gone about this properly,” said Hoffman, who coached the Agoura High boys’ team last season. “They were determined to do it right. I go in and ask ‘Can I have. . .? Can we get. . .?’ and they always say yes.”

Hoffman’s best acquisition appears to be freshman midfielder Joy Barry of Thousand Oaks. Barry was an All-Marmonte League selection her freshman and sophomore years but did not play during her last two high school seasons while focusing on academics.

However, Barry continued to shine in club soccer and is expected to star for the Pirates as a center midfielder.

“She’ll be a junior college All-American for sure and [Ventura] is immediately going to be a contender,” said Chaminade High Coach Mike Evans, who has also coached at the junior college level and against Barry in club games.

Barry chose Ventura over Moorpark College and hopes a two-year stay on the Coast will earn her a scholarship to USC.

“I don’t think I was ready for [a four-year] university either academically or socially,” said Barry, who will commute to Ventura.

Others expected to be standouts for the Pirates include forward and 1995 Buena High graduate Allyson Munday, who scored 22 goals her senior year, and Roxanne Pena, a second-team All-Southern Section Division II pick last winter.

“You want to get these kids a degree and move them on,” Hoffman said. “We’ll gauge our success by getting as many players as possible into four-year schools.”

*

UCLA men’s soccer Coach Sigi Schmid calls his 1996 recruiting class the Bruins’ best in recent years--high praise when discussing the high-octane program.

Three area players are among UCLA’s seven newcomers: midfielders Pete Vagenas of St. Francis High and Caleb Westbay of Royal, and midfielder-defender Nick Paneno of La Canada.

All three began workouts Thursday with the Bruins, who must replace seven seniors, four of whom now compete for teams in Major League Soccer.

Vagenas, Westbay and Paneno all spent their summers working out in preparation for the jump to high-level college soccer.

Vagenas concentrated on the two-mile run UCLA team members must complete in under 12 minutes.

“I’ve got it down to about 11 minutes and I’d like to run it in 10:40,” he said. “The skills with the ball always seem to be there for me, but I wanted to make sure I was fit.”

The 5-foot-7, 135-pound Vagenas, who led St. Francis to the 1996 Southern Section Division III title, said he is not concerned about the physical toll of college play.

“I’ve always been the smallest guy and I’ve dealt with it all my life,” Vagenas said. “Hopefully I can rely on my skills and knowledge of the game to get me out of tough situations.”

Westbay, similar in stature to Vagenas, chose to bulk up. Through weightlifting, the 5-foot-7 player added 15 pounds and now weighs 150. But the added weight, plus sessions with a sprint coach, have given him a worrisome case of shin splints.

“Right now I’m scared; I don’t know how my legs will hold up for [two-a-day practices],” said Westbay, a member of Royal’s 1995 Southern Section Division I championship team.

Paneno, who helped La Canada to a 50-0 record and two Southern Section Division IV titles the past two seasons, is expected to make the quickest mark in Westwood. He is likely to start this season at left midfield or left fullback.

Paneno readied himself in a variety of ways, from weightlifting and running to working with a flexibility coach and a sports psychologist.

“It’s been a goal of mine for a long time to play at UCLA and I want to make an impact,” he said. “In order to do that I have to close a pretty big gap.”

Vagenas predicts he and his classmates will continue the tradition of a program that has produced players such as Cobi Jones, Joe-Max Moore and Ante Razov.

“It’s exciting. I foresee two or three national championships with this team,” Vagenas said.

*

The Moorpark College men’s team was devastated last fall when, on the eve of the state playoffs, freshman Jamie Surace was found to have participated in an outside club game.

Such participation is a violation of state junior college rules and Moorpark forfeited six victories and four ties.

The forfeits knocked the Raiders out of the postseason and denied a number of their players a chance to be scouted by coaches from four-year colleges. Such coaches rarely appear at regular-season junior college games.

But as Moorpark prepares for this season’s Sept. 13 opener, eighth-year Coach Frank Parodi says some positives have emerged from the bitterness of last year’s 2-14-1 campaign.

“Our credibility went way up,” said Parodi, who turned his program into state junior college officials after being notified of Surace’s transgression.

“People know that we’re an honest program and that we don’t cut corners. That’s why we’ve got 45 quality kids trying out this year. This is our second-best recruiting class since 1990.”