Corona del Mar, Ocean View hire new boys’ basketball coaches

Corona del Mar and Ocean View high schools did not have to look far to find their next head basketball coaches.

Jason Simco and Steve Harris were sitting on the bench the whole time.

Longtime assistant Simco is now in charge for the Sea Kings, athletic director Dennis Wilbanks confirmed. He takes over for Ryan Schachter, who has resigned after 15 years at the helm.

Harris is taking over for the Seahawks, athletic director Tim Walsh said. Rusty Van Cleave coached Ocean View for one year before leaving for Mission Viejo.

Simco, a special education teacher at CdM, has previous experience in the top seat. He led Estancia from 2004-2006, before joining Schachter at CdM as an assistant coach prior to the 2006-07 season.

“Day one, he called me and asked me to come be his assistant,” said Simco, 38. “I was going to go back to school and get my credential. It just made more sense to be an assistant ... [but] it’s time. Being a head coach is more in my DNA. It kind of almost felt like we had two head coaches. When [Schachter] stepped down, he gave me his blessing, and I wanted to apply for it. I love the school, I love the kids, the families. It’s time.”

Schachter said in a text message that he was grateful for the relationships he’s made with his CdM players and many of their families, and that he doesn’t see this being the end of his coaching career.

“During COVID there were so many things to reflect on and think about,” he said. “I really wanted to spend more time with my family and make sure I was where I really wanted to be. After 15 years of investing so much passion, love and time into the CdM basketball community, I wasn’t sure if I still had the same energy in year 15 as I did in year one. If I didn’t, it was time to step aside.”

During his tenure, the Sea Kings won eight league titles and the 2006-07 CIF Southern Section Division 3A title. Schachter never delivered the Sea Kings another CIF crown but came close, again guiding the 2014-15 team to the Division 3A title game before losing to Beverly Hills.

At Ocean View, Steve Harris worked as a lower-level girls’ basketball coach for nine years under his cousin, Kim Morris. He was a boys’ basketball assistant coach for the last five years.

Harris, 52, a resident substitute teacher at Ocean View, is the nephew of former longtime coach Jim Harris, who founded the program. Jim Harris passed away at age 67 in 2011, after leading the team to 19 league titles and three CIF Southern Section titles in 33 years in charge.

“I’m extremely honored and humbled to be the head coach of a program that many family members and friends have coached in,” Steve Harris said. “It was a very emotional thing for me. I’m hoping that we can restore some of the tradition of the past, and be as competitive as possible in the future.”

The head coaching seat has changed several times in the last few years. Jim Harris’ son Jimmy and Brendan Holmes each resigned after one season, leading to the hiring of Van Cleave in July 2020. In Van Cleave’s only year in charge, the Seahawks went 11-7 and 10-0 in the Golden West League, advancing to the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs.

“I think the program definitely needs some stability,” said Steve Harris, who has boys’ basketball head coaching experience at Villa Park from 1992-95. “I think that’s what I provide.”

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