Coast Coaches Corner -- Chuck Cutenese

Our final Coast Coaches Corner comes from longtime volleyball coach, Chuck Cutenese, who talks about his nearly three-decade career as the skipper of multiple Pirate programs. 

One tick away from the odometer reaching the 30-year mark as a coach for the OCC Pirates … how do you feel about that? When people tell you that you're the "old guy" of the department now, what comes to mind from your earlier years?

"I have to say I think I've evolved as a coach and I'm almost apologetic to the first few teams I've had. When I got hired, I replaced Bob (Wetzel) and Jane (Hilgendorf) at the same time. There was no pressure from the school, but I wanted to have success because THEY had success. Now I know that it's not about winning, it's about giving the athlete a great experience, but there's also pressure with the banners in the gym … and at the pool and around campus. You see the success throughout the department and you feel like you have to be successful too. When I was younger, I measured success differently than I do now. When I was first at Coast, I measured it on wins and losses and it was an easy way to get lost in success. There were years where we had great teams, but we got tough draws and we didn't advance. Now for me, success is getting athletes to the next level, with or without volleyball. Sometimes, their career ends after OCC, but I want them to continue academically."

Looking through your bio, you were actually earning your stripes as a coach while you were still playing, helping out with Davis Junior HS and Costa Mesa HS in the 80s. Was being a coach something you always wanted to pursue as a lifetime career?

"Actually … No. It's funny – the year I graduated, I was asked to come back and coach. My family owned a restaurant and major was hospitality so taking over the family restaurant was the career path I was planning out for myself. I started working there since I was 12 and it's something I thought I'd carry on after my father retired. Coaching and teaching wasn't something I was pursuing, but Jane came calling in 1990. At the time, I was the boys coach at Foothill HS and I was waiting for them to hire me. But once Jane called, she told me her plans of retiring in a few years and it was a great opportunity to learn from her and perhaps take over that program once she retired."

Upon retiring as a player, you jump right into OCC as an assistant coach and you eventually follow in the footsteps of a pair of OCC Hall of Famers, Jane Hilgendorf and Bob Wetzel. If you had to pick 1-2 things from each of those coaches that you incorporated into your coaching style, what would it be?

"I played for Bob and I took away from him the conditioning aspect of the sport. Things that we worked on outside of the gym really opened my eyes to that facet of the sport. It's not just the two hours we spent in the gym working on volleyball. He taught me to be in all-around shape and conditioned me to be a top-level volleyball player. With Jane, she was big with visualization and affirmation … she taught me the mental side of the game. Before each match, she made her players write goals and that's something I still do with my players."

Unlike most new coaches, you weren't in a "rebuilding mode" upon taking over the men's and women's programs at OCC. There was already a strong winning tradition here. Was that something you felt when you came into the job and do you think that put a little extra pressure on you to succeed right away?

"My first year after Jane we were like 4-12 or something like that. I remember Jane telling me that I was going to be fine. Later on in my career, we had another coach in a different sport have a rough first ear and I made sure to tell them that they were going to be fine too, just like Jane did for me. I came in wanting to be successful immediately, but it takes time to build a program and establish your name. For the men's team, it wasn't like Bob stepped completely out of the volleyball community, so I had people asking me where Bob was. With Jane, she was taking me to all the meetings and I got to know all the coaches. For the early years … trying to establish myself as a coach at this level was hard and it definitely took some time."

Without giving away too many secrets, what is your advice for any new coaches who want to hold a long and successful career at one place like you have had at OCC? What has been the key to your ability to turn out a successful program year in and year out?

"I always say one of the hardest things at the community college level is that there are no letters of intent with the athletes and you simply can't promise them anything but an opportunity. It's important to stay true to who you are and what you believe in. Sometimes the kids want a promise of a starting position, but I simply don't do that. I promise them a uniform and an opportunity to play. I never know who is going to walk through that door. That's always the biggest surprise. Sometimes you get someone who comes up to you and says they're registered at OCC and the want to play volleyball and you've never seen them play. Or, you might get a bounce-back athlete who wants to play at OCC after a tough time at the four-year level. Stay true to your beliefs because you just never know what might happen."

One guy who has been at your side throughout this entire journey has been Adrian Delgado. Tell me about your relationship with him and just how important has he been to your success?

"I've always said this … and it's more so with Adrian. I'm the head coach of the program and everything falls on my shoulders, good or bad, but at the end of the day, it's a coaching staff decision, led by Adrian. He's totally in charge of our serve-receive and defense. We are truly co-head coaches. I hold the title and I have the final decisions, but we talk every day before and after practice. I honestly can say, if I had to take time off, I'm 100% comfortable with him running the programs."

In addition to Adrian, you've also had several of your former players come back to coach with you on the bench. Looking back, how proud are you of your players that you've had over the years return and give back to the program that helped them so much?

"It's really an honor when an alumni player wants to come back and coach. It solidifies that they had a great experience here. Someone who has been through the program and know me and Adrian … they really can make the transition so smooth. And some of them have even gone on to coach at the four-year level which also makes me very, very proud."

You've had championship success at OCC … not only as the coach for both the men's and women's programs, but also as a player way back in 1987. When you think back to that year as the setter for the Pirates, what springs to mind?

"Well, they dropped the men's program in 1983 and 1987 was our first year back, so there were no expectations for success from our team. When we brought it back, we happened to have some really good athletes and we quickly managed to put together a really good team. Back then, our colors were red and black and our uniforms were all black, so our warmup song was always AC/DC's "Back In Black". That song always got us going. I think we only lost two matches and we really had an unbelievable season. One of our losses was to Long Beach during the season and we played them for the championship and we came back to beat them in the finals."

Most coaches I've talked to always have a special place in their heart for their first-ever state championship. Yours came in 1994 with the men's VB program. What can you tell me about that year? You were still just starting in the coaching world at that point …

"To me, it was the group that made it special. They were all freshman in 1993 and in '94, I had five returning starters and we added a standout player in Jason Crone. We were expected to be in the playoffs in '93 but came up just a little bit short. That year, we went 1-6 in first round of conference and 6-1 in the second round, so we were really becoming better as a team. The team goal for '94 was that we were going to do this. L.A. Pierce had a really good team and we played them early and they swept us in three. I told them that we were going to put that match aside and come into the gym and improve on what we struggled with in that match. Then, for the state championship at Santa Barbara City College, we played Pierce again and beat them in three. The entire group came together and led by our captain, Lance Perry, everything just clicked that night. I remember every set we played was within two points and that was back with traditional scoring. I love the fact that I still keep in touch with those guys from 1994."

One of the most dominating runs ANY program has had here at OCC came in 2005 and 2006 when your women's program went a perfect 26-0 en route to your first state women's title. Then … you followed that up with a 25-2 campaign and a second straight state title. What did that group of young ladies mean to you back then and what do they mean to you still to this day?

"Before that first year had started, I knew we had some talent but I didn't know how good we were. We had some Division I coaches tell me that we were REALLY good, but I didn't know how good. It wasn't really much of a 'rah-rah' kind of team. They did their job and got it done did the work they needed to do to be successful. It was not a season or a run that I would've expected. Not dropping a match or even a set for the majority of the season. Finally, in the playoffs, the pressure was keeping the focus on them and not letting up or being content. We went five sets in the finals to Delta and we were pushed for the first time all year. Then, in 2006, we were again pushed in the playoffs with Delta and nearly had a call end our season. I remember Kiwi (Winkler) hit the shot and it was clearly in, but the linesman called it out … but, the up official turned the call and called it in. For an up official to overrule a linesman on such an important point … I give him credit for doing the right thing. And, after the match, I had someone from Delta tell me that the ball WAS in and confirmed the right call, so that was nice to hear."

What is the most rewarding part of coaching? Besides individual/team championships? What gives you the most joy about this profession you have chosen to take?

"It's how a player becomes a part of your friendship and a part of your life even after they're finished playing at OCC. Every year, I get Christmas cards from former athletes and most recently, I received an invite to (former player) Karlee Riggs' wedding! I love getting invited to my former players' adult lives. And the funny thing is … I'm never introduced as 'Chuck' … I'm always introduced as 'Coach'. Another former player an assistant coach, B.J. Lightvoet introduced me to his second child and called me 'Coach' … that's pretty special. Those are really the rewards. When my coaching career ends, I'm going to look back at those special bonds with my players and be the proudest of that."

Ok so here's a fun question for you … so I asked some of your players about you and what it's like to play for you. What do you THINK they said … and what do you HOPE they said?

"I think they probably say that I'm really a hard coach and hard on them. But, what I hope they get from me is that I'm very organized and that I'm going to do everything possible to make them successful, both on the court and off the court. I'm there for them whenever they need me. When they walk through the doors, it's business time and we have things to get done. But outside of volleyball, I want to help them get to the next level. I currently have a beach player who's academically ready and athletically ready for the four-year level she never played for me! But that's what we are here for at OCC and I want her to go to the four-year level. I care about them and not just as athletes."

Finally … how much is left in the tank, Chuck?? Still got a few more years left in you?? And … when all is said done … how do you want to be remembered here at OCC?

"I had three goals when I got hired. I wanted to make sure the women's program stayed successful … the same for the men's team as well. And, I wanted to outlast Leon Skeie's tenure of 42 years here at Orange Coast College. During this pandemic and being home has reaffirmed me that I want to be back at OCC and how much I miss all of this. I want to get back to doing what I was doing, which is to be on campus, help our athletes and make a difference. I don't see me retiring at a certain age. Leon said it perfectly … he was always already ready to go back after summer and finally, one year, he wasn't. I'm going to coach until that summer break comes and I ask myself, "do I want to go back?' I want to be here longer than Leon. Having coached a few alumni's kids has been exciting and I look forward to doing more of that. That's something I never thought I'd do in my career. I love what I do! Jane really paved the way for me, and I have to give her a lot of credit. She wanted me to be her assistant and I was already a head coach and that's what I wanted to continue to be. We'd go to lunch and she told me she was stepping out as head coach in two years and she wanted me to take it over. All of this paved the way."