Coach, players get experience

Mike Sciacca

Nicholas Ilagan says that summer ball is all about a team gaining

experience that it can take into the upcoming prep season.

He says that’s what he wants of his Laguna Beach High girls’

basketball team, which opened summer camp Monday and began playing

summer games and tournaments last week.

The summer will not only provide a learning curve for his players,

but for Ilagan, as well.

The 2005-06 school year will be his first year coaching the girls’

varsity team at Laguna Beach. It also will mark his initial foray

into the ranks of head coach, as well as coaching girls’ basketball.

“I’m really, really excited to have this opportunity,” said

Ilagan, 25, who prepped and played at Irvine High before transferring

to and graduating from University in 1998.

“In meeting with the team, parents and athletic director Ron

Schwartz, I’ve seen a very unique dynamic in regards to support and a

great environment,” he said. “That’s something I want to be a part

of.”

Ilagan comes to Laguna Beach having gained coaching experience

through his involvement with the Irvine Boys & Girls Club, as well as

stints at two Orange County high schools.

Following volunteering to coach various teams at the Boys & Girls

Club, he says he “got a break” when Westminster High boys’ head coach

Jesse Miramontes took him on as an assistant varsity coach. He was at

Westminster for 1 1/2 , he said, adding that his time at the school

allowed him to get “hands-on experience coaching at the high school

level.”

He took a one-year sabbatical from coaching to finish up his

studies at Chapman University in Orange, where he graduated from its

School of Business.

Ilagan got back into the prep coaching ranks when he was hired at

Irvine High, where he was head coach of the boys’ freshman team and a

varsity assistant to then-Vaqueros boys’ varsity coach, Peter Linden.

“What was great about both of those coaches is that they allowed

me to coach with a hands-on approach, and not just take stats,”

Ilagan said. “That was great. It gave me invaluable experience. I

like to call myself a student of the game, and I learned a lot from

those coaching experiences.”

Ilagan said he had originally applied at Laguna Beach for the

boys’ varsity basketball coaching position, which became available

after Mark Hill resigned his post following the 2005 season.

That spot eventually would be filled by Bret Fleming, who

previously coached for 10 years at the school.

But Ilagan was offered the head coaching position of the school’s

girls’ program, and it peaked his curiosity.

“Ron Schwartz said that he was really impressed with my interview

for the boys’ position, and he then offered me the girls’ position,”

Ilagan explained. “I actually had been thinking this past year about

getting into coaching a girls’ program, so this seemed perfect

timing.

“I met up with some of the girls and some parents right after the

offer, and that meeting solidified my decision. I was blown away by

that meeting, at how committed and supportive everyone was. They were

eager to learn, eager to move on.”

And so was Ilagan. His first day on the job was June 15. He was

able to practice the team for one day, then took a week’s hiatus, due

to finals and the conclusion of the school year.

Assisting him on the varsity staff is Michael You, who handles

strength and conditioning duties.

Ilagan replaces Stacy Howard who, in the past two years, has taken

the program to heights it had never experienced.

Laguna is coming off consecutive CIF playoff appearances. Last

year, the program played its first-ever home playoff game, won its

first-ever playoff game and got to call itself a “league champion”

for the first time in school history.

Ilagan was not left with an empty cupboard, either, as eight key

players from last year’s team will be back in 2005-06. He said he

hopes to keep the roster on the “smaller side,” around “10 players,”

and is aware that expectations for the team are high.

“There is a tremendous roster coming back next year,” he said. “I

think the big challenge is holding up to the expectations. This core

group of girls has been successful these past few years. But from the

program’s history, from past experience, I’ve told the girls that

there is no goal other than winning a CIF title this year.”

Lofty expectations, but a goal every team aspires to.

Laguna has begun the grunt work toward that goal with summer .

The Breakers play summer games each Tuesday and Thursday at

Saddleback High, have already played in the University Tournament and

has upcoming games at the Liberty Christian Tournament in Huntington

Beach, and the American Hoops Classic in Anaheim.

“These summer games are about sticking the girls in different

situations, so that they can get used to things,” Ilagan added.

“Right now, we’re playing against schools who are in higher divisions

than we are. I tell these girls that these games don’t count, but the

experiences do.

“We’re still getting accustomed to each other, but I think it’s a

good fit, though.”