By Tori De La Vega

Upon securing a win against Pacifica Mariners on Tuesday, January 16, the Girls Basketball team head coach, Claire Gocke, reached a milestone record of one hundred wins throughout her six years of coaching while drastically changing the direction of the program. Under her coaching expertise, she managed to change the entire culture of the Girls Basketball program by cultivating a family-like environment among the players.  

At the beginning of her coaching career at Tustin High, Coach Gocke was tasked with the makeover of the century with a team that held a consecutive losing record. However, as teams changed and years progressed, Coach Gocke managed to change the entire dynamic of the program. Coach Gocke preaches that in order to achieve any goal, the core necessities for success are communication, commitment, and most importantly—passion for the game. Additionally, some of Coach Gocke’s secrets that have assisted her to her incredible number of wins include encouraging players to build relationships on and off the court in hopes of ensuring that trust and a sense of team comradery is enhanced. In between practices and games, the team has managed to both develop and maintain close-knit relationships with one another. Caylee Hermanson, a junior leading scorer admits that, “[We] definitely all bonded and are a lot more trustworthy toward each other.”

Coach Gocke’s current team is a young team—meaning that a majority of them are underclassmen, but that has not stopped them from earning seemingly implausible victories against higher division teams. Along with new players, Gocke has added new, like-minded coaches like Coach Rocky and Coach Spears that both share similar views and attitudes as her and enforce intensity, respect, and passion in their players.

Congratulations Coach Gocke on receiving one hundred wins at Tustin High! We appreciate you and your Tiller pride and look forward to more of those wins—hopefully even one on Tuesday, January 23 at home against the Western Pioneers at 6 PM. Come check it out!