By Cecilia Juarez
Staff Writer
The arrival of a new coach is always a time of heightened expectations tempered by some uncertainty about how the coach will mesh with the existing culture of the team.
But in the case of CSUDH’s women’s soccer team, its new coach, Marine Cano, played a pivotal part in building that culture, as well as the entire athletics department. Cano launched the school’s women’s soccer program in 1984 and served as its head coach until 1993, leading the squad to the university’s first national title in 1991. For most of that time, 1985 to 1993, he also coached the men’s team.
“I’m so excited to be back and I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it and it hit though, in the last month right when preseason started, August 9,” said Cano, a former professional goalkeeper with 47 years of coaching experience, including 25 at the NCAA Division I, II and NAIA levels. “That’s when it really hit me that I’m actually here. I’m so excited to be here.”
Cano inherits a team that finished 4-10-2 last year and has not finished above .500 since 2011. But he said that a combination of recruiting, bringing in talented assistant coaches, and focusing on physical and mental strength in pre-season should help the team turn around.
Cano said his coaching system demands a high degree of physical and mental strength training, a level that he thinks many of the girls may have not been exposed to in the past. But complete fitness is a must he said because his team concept requires all players to be completely involved in all aspects of the game.
“Everybody plays defense, everybody plays offense,” Cano said. “In the past, some players have flat-out refused to play defense, and I will not let them do that. That’s their biggest adjustment. In order to play and get minutes, you have to play defense first…until they learn that, we can never play offense.”
Cano said his recruiting philosophy has always been about speed and finding players who know the game.
“We’ve been very successful in recruiting,” he said. “CSUDH is attracting a lot of very, very good students. It’s not just about soccer, it’s about the academics and about them being good soccer players.”
Through its first three games, the team is 0-2-1, but forced a tough Biola team into overtime in its first game, losing 3-2. It also lost by a goal in its second game against Western Oregon, 1-0, and took Colorado Christian to a 1-1 double overtime tie.
Conference action begins Sept. 14 at Stanislaus State University in Turlock, and the first home game is Sept. 21 against Sonoma State. Cano said all conference games are going to be tough this season, but he believes the influx of new coaches, focusing on the team rather than individuals, and emphasizing physical strength will make the Toros competitive.
“The only way we can go is up,” he said. “To toughen them up and get them very, very fit It is my total goal is to see the entire team physically fit and tough…There is no superstar on the team, it’s all team effort.”
Photo from gotoros.com
