Dean Yoshiyama will experience a first when he steps under the lights
Sept. 8.
That's the night Yoshiyama will lead the Ocean View High Seahawks
into action for the first time in the role of head coach.
He brings with him a new coaching staff, too, composed of Jeff
Anger, Diego Segura, Tommy Harris, Brett Brown, Beau Brown and Brett
Johnson.
It's the first head coaching job for Yoshiyama's at the high
school level, but his he has local ties.
Yoshiyama graduated from Marina High in 1986 and has been a
football coach at his alma mater since 1994.
He brought with him Segura, who coached the secondary, and Anger,
a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, from Marina.
He inherits a program that went 1-9 last year, has won five games
the last three seasons, and hasn't had a winning season since 2000.
Last year's offense was held to a touchdown or less in five games,
including three shutouts.
Yoshiyama , the school's third coach in six years, is aware of the
program's history, and is ready for the challenge.
"I wanted an opportunity to build a successful program," he said.
That process begins from the ground up.
The lineup includes just four returning starters, three on the
defensive side of the ball.
Three of the four returners -- Chris Syfers, Aaron Valenzuela and
Charlie Pickle -- play both ways.
Syfers, a 6-foot-1, 235 senior, is an offensive lineman who also
plays linebacker.
"He's a great team leader," Yoshiyama said of a key player in
Ocean View's lineup.
Valenzuela (6-2, 225), who Yoshiyama called a great athlete, also
figures prominently in the mix.
He also describes Pickle (5-10, 185), a junior linebacker and
tight end, as a "hard-nosed, old-school football player."
Two other key players include senior Nguyen Nguyen and junior
Danny Perez.
Nguyen (5-8, 160) and Perez (5-11, 170), both play tailback and
defensive back.
Nguyen is a returner from last year.
Through early workouts, Yoshiyama has come to see the positives
with this current group of Seahawks.
"These kids work hard and have a great attitude," he said. "We're
going to take care of ourselves and see what happens. [The players']
positive attitude and work ethic is their strength."
Ocean View begins the Yoshiyama era Sept. 8 against Santiago at
Garden Grove High.
The Seahawks also play Century and Santa Ana before beginning
their final year in the current Golden West League with a Sept. 30
home date against Santa Ana.
They go back to nonleague play for an Oct. 7 homecoming game
