Forever Pirates -- Bailey Coffin

This week's Forever Pirates feature comes courtesy of women's volleyball standout Bailey Coffin, who attended Orange Coast College from 2018-20.

Coffin wrapped up her sophomore year at OCC with a team-best 234 kills, to go along with 275 digs and 35 total blocks. For her career, she totaled 474 kills and 564 digs. Her 564 digs are ninth-best in the history of OCC volleyball. Twice, Coffin was a second-team Orange Empire Conference selection and she helped the Pirates to a 40-13 record with two trips to the CCCAA playoffs over her career.

Oddly enough, being an athlete who enjoyed playing all kinds of sports and being active, volleyball was not one I discovered or fell in love with until later in life. Volleyball was just not a sport I had ever sought after or thought of pursuing. Eventually I finally decided to give it a shot and I tried out my sophomore year of high school, and to my surprise made varsity as a defensive specialist/libero. That year was the year I fell in love with volleyball. Fast forward to my senior year and I get moved to outside hitter in the off-season.

After a more successful senior year than anticipated, it came time where I needed to make a decision on what sport to pursue for a scholarship in college. I did not think I was good enough to continue playing volleyball at the higher level -- especially after just moving positions -- but I needed a way to pay for college and I wanted to continue playing a sport at the higher level as they have always been a big part of who I am. I was not sure if I was going to be able to handle the pressure, commitment, and toll of a NCAA, or even NAIA level of volleyball, so I decided I would look into junior colleges. Orange Coast College immediately caught my eye. They had a solid record; they weren't the worst, but also not extremely good. I knew I had to at least reach out, so I told myself that if the head coach, Chuck Cutenese, said yes and was interested in seeing me play, then that was my sign to at least try and continue playing at the higher level. Sure enough I got an email back. After coming to my game, he continued to reach out and pursue me. He kept asking me to come for a campus tour and to meet the team. I remember specifically that I never actually made a decision, said yes, or "committed", rather the next thing I knew, Chuck was having me register at Coast, get my ID card, and signing up for his spring volleyball indoor class to get adjusted to the team dynamic and the "OCC System". Chuck's urgency and commitment to recruit me only made me want to play for him more.

People, myself included, underestimate the level of play a junior college is. They think it is similar to the high school level, is not very competitive, not taken as seriously, a place to get extra reps and just have fun, etc., but after preseason of my first year, I realized it was the opposite of all of those things and that only excited me more! Playing in a conference where most games went to five  sets because all of the teams were just as athletic and of high competition as us, was the most thrilling thing about my seasons at Coast.

Surrounded by an entire team who were all competitive and wanted it as bad as I did only fueled my fire even more for a position on the court. I spent extra hours working on skills, took weightlifting more seriously than others, asked the coaches questions, and pushed myself harder than I ever had with any sport. That hard work earned me a starting position. The work, the struggle, the pain, the long hours ... everything was worth it when Coach Chuck said my name for the starting lineup at my first-ever collegiate level game against Ventura College. That day was 1 of 2 major highlights of my Pirate volleyball career. From then on, my dreams were coming true and my desire to get better and continue playing at a higher level only increased.

The second major highlight of my career as a Pirate was in the playoffs of my second season. We had a bumpy season so our placing for playoffs was not exactly what we had hoped for, however, it was a game I will never forget. We were down 2-1 in sets and down in the fourth set 24-21 against Long Beach City, a team we had beaten in preseason, but one that was not to be taken lightly. My career at Coast looked over as I knew it. You have not experienced incredible stress as an athlete until you are one point away from your season and career being over and you are the one that's up to serve the ball. Thankfully after a few kills from our team and some errors from Long Beach, we came back and beat them 27-25. Heading into the fifth set and I, aligned with my team, were fired up like nothing I had ever seen or experienced before in my life of sports. Eventually, we were down 14-10 in the fifth set. Again I became discouraged as my career as a Pirate looked as though it was coming to an end. But after rallying the girls up and all of us choosing not to give up, we came back with a 6-0 run to beat Long Beach City 16-14, pushing us into the second round of playoffs. The adrenaline, excitement, passion, and energy I felt rushing through me that night will forever be the greatest highlight in my volleyball career and the most memorable event as a Pirate. I have never cried in a sport, but that night when my best friend Preslee Richelieu grabbed and hugged me as we walked off that court, we both cried, knowing our season was so close to ending, but we also cried happy tears realizing we had just beat the notorious Vikings once again! 

Academically, OCC provides a wide range of classes, professors, and times to work within your busy schedule as a student-athlete which helped a lot. The staff and school itself really takes care of their athletes with academic support. The coaches and staff, in the athletic department specifically, become like family and when you're there for only a short time, that leaves such an unforgettable, positive impact on you. I will forever be grateful for that impact and the family I grew with my two years as a Pirate. 

Choosing to continue playing volleyball at Coast was the best decision of my life. Playing at a junior college allows for many great opportunities and growth both athletically and academically. It taught me many valuable things and was the perfect opportunity for someone like myself -- who started playing a sport later in life than others -- to become a better athlete which opened doors for four-year universities where I got the chance to continue playing the sport I love at a higher level.

Eventually I signed to La Sierra University in Riverside on a scholarship which would not have been possible without the guidance, push, and coaching from Chuck Cutenese who took me under his wing. Though I would have liked to play all four of my athletic years as a Pirate under Coach Chuck, Coast gave me some of the best memories of my life and molded me into a better student, athlete, and overall person and I could not be more grateful to have been apart of the Coast family and to be a Forever Pirate!