Ventura Gets Kicks With Locals

VENTURA —  The players execute an attacking brand of soccer that shows opponents little mercy. What would you expect from a bunch of Pirates?

The coach is a gregarious sort and a polished salesman. What would you expect from a former butcher who loved the job because of the people he met?

But that the Ventura College women’s soccer team would be a state power, less than two years after its inception? Almost no one expected that.

The Pirates (18-2-1, 11-0-1 in the Western State Conference) are poised to clinch successive WSC titles this week and are ranked No. 2 in the state. A successful playoff run could land Ventura in the four-team state championships, which it will host Nov. 29-30.

Key to the meteoric rise has been Coach Steve Hoffman, a 41-year old Englishman and 15-year Ventura resident. Coaches at Moorpark, formerly the conference’s top program, and Oxnard, a traditional doormat, have fallen short of Hoffman’s success at harvesting the county’s bountiful crop of high school players.

Selling prospective Pirates on education close to home and a chance to play in a fun, aggressive style, Hoffman has assembled a 20-player team that includes 19 county residents.

“[Hoffman]’s the best coach I’ve ever had,” said sophomore midfielder Joy Barry, last season’s conference player of the year. “He loves us all and believes in us. When I get down on the field, I think that I don’t want to disappoint Steve.”

Hoffman’s engaging personality and his deep involvement in California’s Youth Soccer Assn. and Olympic Development Program have allowed him to build a network of cronies.

“I’ve met so many people that they come up to me and start asking how I’m doing, and I don’t even know who they are,” Hoffman said. “When [Ventura] hired me they knew I was connected in the soccer community. We’ve developed a reputation that you can go and play for Steve and have a good time, but learn and be successful as well.”

Hoffman had no intention of coaching when he and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 1983. His playing career was ended at 17 by a knee injury while with a low-level professional team in his hometown of Southport, England.

But when his wife Kathy signed up one of their children for an American Youth Soccer Organization program shortly after the family’s arrival, Hoffman was recruited to coach. He has since worked in various soccer organizations at the local and state levels and coached at Agoura High and Cal Lutheran before being hired at Ventura in May 1996.

For many years, Hoffman also worked full-time as a butcher in Ventura and Santa Barbara. Two of his customers were former Ventura College basketball coach Phil Matthews and the school’s current athletic coordinator, Dick James.

James is so enamored of his soccer coach that he lists a top priority as “keeping Steve Hoffman here as long as we possibly can.”

The clearest reason for Ventura’s success is a loaded roster born of the county’s outstanding youth teams. Eight Pirates are products of neighboring Buena High, including standout freshman midfielder Barbara Almaraz, who has 14 goals and 12 assists, and freshman forward Krista Janik, who has a team-high 19 goals.

Almaraz and Barry, a 1996 Thousand Oaks graduate, were each NCAA Division I prospects but struggled academically.

Some Pirates had the grades and talent, but not the money to attend a four-year school. Others had a variety of reasons for remaining at home. From this mix Hoffman has molded a team, though not without some difficulty.

“Last year was coaching; this year is coaching and trying to keep [the players] off each other’s throats,” Hoffman said with a laugh.

Nine players, including seven starters, returned from last year’s team. But with the addition of nine freshmen, three of the 1996 starters are now reserves. In addition, Barry’s decision to split time between soccer and kicking for the Ventura football team upset some of her teammates.

Barry acknowledged that team unity took longer to build this season.

“A lot of really good players came in and people wanted to show each other up,” she said.

The internal strife did little to slow Ventura. The team is 40-5-3 and 24-1-2 in conference play in its two seasons. The only dark moment was an upset loss at home to Orange Coast on penalty kicks in a first-round regional playoff match last November.

Last season, the Pirates tended to give Barry the ball and watch her dribble through opponents. Now they have the talent to move the ball from player to player, with only rare losses of possession.

For a program with such little history, each step is to be savored.