August 1971. I was standing on El Camino Real in my hometown of Belmont, my thumb out, my green Goodwill army duffle bag on the road beside me, stuffed with everything I owned: my soccer boots, school clothes, my JC State Championship wool blanket, and a couple family photos. I was a JC transfer student and headed for Chico State hoping to make the soccer team.
Four rides and five hours later I was dropped off in downtown Chico asking for directions to the Nord Garden Apartments. A week later ,after six days of Rookie Camp and two-a-day tryouts in 105 degree heat, I wiped the sweat from my eyes to locate my name towards the bottom of the posted final roster. I made the team! After two regional championship seasons, four of us (my college coaches, Don Batie, Bob Russ, Ed Walser and myself) started youth soccer in Chico (now CYSL).
I also founded and was player/coach of the Chico Challengers, Chico’s first adult soccer team. We competed (and won) against several cities throughout Northern California. I would’ve loved to stay in Chico, but I knew I would have to make my mark elsewhere if I ever wanted to move back.
I was ready to move on. In the early summer of ’76 I was asked to be the assistant coach for UC Davis, where we had the best finish in program’s history. That success propelled me to Dream Job No.
1, head coach at the University of Washington! We turned a struggling program into a squad that earned national rankings within three years. A few of my players were.
