Every now and then a smile would appear on Cassidy Olson’s face, yet his eyes were constantly gleaming and it wasn’t only from the sun on an unseasonably warm Sunday in mid February. Olson was soaking up every minute of our national pastime and a day of baseball that provided the second-year head coach a glimpse of the past, present and future of Mira Costa’s baseball program.
After the former UCLA and minor league player held an early-morning clinic for local youth coaches who will help build the foundation for future Mustang teams, Olson was on the move – setting up the sound system, organizing batting practice and overseeing two teams that would go head-to-head in the program’s annual Alumni-Varsity Baseball Game later in the day.
Before heading to the third-base dugout as skipper of the alumni team, Olson gave a quick pep talk to the teenagers on his varsity squad.
“Go out, have a good game and work on what we’ve practiced,” Olson said. “But remember, this is their (alumni) day.”
Olson was delighted to have many players from his 2010 championship team return to their old stomping grounds. Seven players from last year’s squad are currently playing for Harbor College. Olson was even happier when his varsity players came back from an early deficit to beat the alumni 5-4.
Olson began his coaching career in 2002 as an assistant coach to long-time Mira Costa varsity head coach Mike Neily before serving as head coach of Mustang’s junior varsity team in 2006-07. After spending a tumultuous season as the head coach at rival Redondo, Olson returned to lead Mira Costa to a Bay League title in 2010 going 9-1 and an appearance in the CIF semifinals. The Mustangs finished with a record of 18-15.
He knows his team will have a bull eye on its back when it defends its league title this year and admits there are many questions marks regarding his inexperienced 2011 team.
The Mustangs enter the season ranked fifth in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 poll.
“We lost 11 seniors but we have 11 more,” Olson said. “We have seven from junior varsity so we some really big, talented players but they’re inexperienced. If they rise to the occasion we can be really good and make a run at the Bay League title but they need to step up because we don’t have the experience we’ve had in the past.”
Olson believes the strength of this year’s team will be on the mound but is optimistic about his returning players.
“We have six or seven arms that we will depend on,” Olson said. “Right now, Sean Isaac has kind of taken charge. We don’t have one player that we’re going to depend on. It will be different than last season when we had three aces that we relied on. Last year we didn’t even have a closer because Robert (Parucha) and Drew (Van Orden) would throw complete games. This year will be more about guys taking on their roles and doing things by committee.”
Olson said he has plenty of faith in all of his players and expects great things from his returners.
“Anthony Lombardo, our center fielder has already signed with Cal Poly Pomona,” Olson said. “Left fielder Bret Collins was a .400 for most of last year and catcher Ian McLoughlin was up and down as a sophomore so he has varsity experience. Derek Largent is coming off a great football season and will be in the outfield for us somewhere. He’s just a great athlete who’s becoming a better baseball player.”
Lombardo batted .336 with five home runs in 2010 while Largent hit .324 and Collins hit .398 with 12 doubles.
Olson is excited about an infield that includes Garrett Fedor, Ryan Erickson and sophomore Austin Henning, players he feels are all interchangeable.
“Ryan Erickson has power for a little guy,” Olson explained. “He had seven or eight home runs in last summer’s Senior League playoff run in and coming from junior varsity, he’s still figuring it out but we expect him to do a lot for us.”
This season’s varsity squad will include seven members from last summer’s Senior Little League team that reached the semifinals of the World Series in Bangor, ME.
“That was a great experience for some of our younger players to go and play under that kind of pressure, take a long road trip and playing against teams like Aruba was something that helped prepare them for that jump from JV to varsity,” Olson stated.
McLoughlin was a member of last summer’s World Series team and will handle the catching duties for the Mustangs this spring. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior is optimistic about this year’s team.
“Although we lost a good amount of seniors last year, I’m still very confident in our squad this year,” McLoughlin said. “In our line-up, we have tons of kids that can crush the ball, and several strong pitchers that can throw strikes and give us a chance to win each game. Last year’s team was a lot of fun, but I’m even more excited to see what we can do this year.
McLoughlin feels his experience last summer will pay big dividends.
“The Senior League World Series benefited me in countless ways, but the one thing it truly taught me is how to relax under pressure, and I believe the rest of my team learned that as well,’ McLoughlin explained. “As a team, we were in tons of high pressure situations like our game against Aruba. Even though there were intense instances in those games, I really learned that relaxing and having fun as a team is when we played best. Enjoying our selves and becoming a cohesive unit is what pushed us to go as far and play as well as we did.”
Mira Costa competes in the Loara Tournament beginning Friday with a first-round game against Cypress at 7 p.m. at Glover Stadium in Anaheim. ER
