by Ryan Allen
Staff Writer
With the onset of the new academic and athletic year, most of the coaches at the University of La Verne are getting ready for the upcoming competition. However, the new men’s and women’s swimming and water polo coaches will spend this year recruiting for the 1998-99 season.
Tim Hugar will be the head coach of the men’s and women’s water polo teams and will be assisted by John Hallman, the new head swim coach for the men’s and women’s swim team. Hugar will also be assisting Hallman during the swim season.
Hugar, a former Gaucho from the University of California at Santa Barbara, comes to La Verne after coaching for Princeton for the last six years. Hallman coached for Citrus College and Pomona-Pitzer.
Hallman said, “Right now we’re just trying to get the word out.”
All four teams will be using the new state-of-the-art pool at Los Flores Park, which is still under construction.
Hallman said, “It is a full-time program for us with full-time responsibility. If you think about it, we’re recruiting for four teams.”
Those teams will be competing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) against teams such as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona-Pitzer, University of Redlands, Occidental College and Whittier College. The men’s water polo team will also face some Division I teams as well.
Both coaches have a lot of contacts to work with, including other coaches at both the high school and club levels.
Hugar said, “We are looking to create an environment for people to want to excel in and at the same time enjoy being a part of.”
Hugar and Hallman must recruit for all four teams, and with about 20 members on each team. They are looking to bring in about 80 new student athletes for the 1998-1999 school year.
Hallman said, “We are pretty optimistic even though there are no scholarships to offer. Tim and I have had a lot of feedback, and since we have a lot to offer with a great coaching staff and facilities to go along with a great school, it will be an exciting challenge. We have our work cut out for us.”
SCIAC competition will prove to be a challenge for the new swim and water polo teams, but Hallman and Hugar are confident that La Verne will be competitive.
“Numbers will play a big role in how we do next year. If we have a large turnout the first year, we have a good chance at third or fourth in SCIAC,” said Hallman.
The current SCIAC powerhouse teams in swimming are Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer for the women and CMS and Occidental for the men.
The new swimming pool is scheduled to be completed by December of 1998, and until then the coaching staff is enjoying La Verne’s atmosphere.
“I think La Verne is great. Everyone has been really supportive,” said Hugar.
Ryan Allen
