GLENDALE — When Greg Osbourne was asked if he would consider increasing his work load, he didn’t hesitate.
Osbourne, already the college’s men’s golf coach, reached a quick decision before informing Glendale college men’s Athletic Director John Cicuto and women’s Athletic Director Terry Coblentz that he would also coach the women’s program.
Osbourne accepted the position as the women’s coach Nov. 12. He replaces Kirt Kohlmeier, who coached the program the first three years since its inception.
“I’m proud that they selected me to take over the women’s program,” said Osbourne, who has coached the men’s team during its first two seasons. “[Cicuto and Coblentz] told me what happened about Kirt and I said sure.
“The top goal will be to keep the program moving forward. The men’s program is on a tremendous upswing and we want to be able to do the same thing with the women’s program.”
Kohlmeier, a full-time teacher at Toll Middle School, said he relinquished coaching golf because he couldn’t put enough time into it, in addition to teaching.
Kohlmeier, who previously coached boys’ basketball and softball at Hoover High, said teaching and coaching entailed plenty of hours.
“It just got to be too much,” said Kohlmeier, whose team finished fourth this season in the Western State Conference after placing fifth in 2008. “My days would go from 7 a.m. until I got home around 8:30 p.m.
“I thoroughly enjoyed working at GCC and enjoyed working for Terry. It’s an honor to be hired by GCC because they have great athletic programs and that shows well for the city of Glendale and the community.”
Osbourne, a former Glendale college golfer and football player, said he will try to build a competitive women’s team that will be pitted against top teams in the state like College of the Canyons and Santa Barbara City College.
The Vaqueros figure to have sophomores Hayoun Seo, Brittany Gonzales and Alexa Petroski on board. Gonzales, who missed qualifying by one stroke for the State Tournament in 2008, and Petroski missed last season because they were both academically ineligible.
Osbourne, a PGA Pro and the head pro at De Bell Golf Club in Burbank, said Gonzales and Petroski are now eligible academically to return to the team.
Osbourne, a former All-American at California Lutheran University, said he’s already outlined a short-term goal.
“It’s the only college around here in this conference, so it’s a huge area that we are representing,” Osbourne said. “It’s a privilege to be playing for GCC.
“I want them to come here and work hard for two years in golf and in the classroom and then move on to get a scholarship and a degree from a four-year school.”
Coblentz said the coaching change should prove to be seamless.
“Kirt worked hard, but coaching conflicted with his teaching,” Coblentz said. “Greg seemed to be the best choice, and he’s got a lot of connections when it comes to recruiting from local schools that have boys’ and girls’ teams.
“John and I talked about Greg being the women’s coach and it seemed perfect.”
