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Athletic facility facelifts breathe new life into OCC sports
“If you build it, they will come.” – Field of Dreams
In a world going through constant change, Orange Coast College is changing right along with some whirlwind improvements in its athletic facilities.
Thanks to government funds acquired through the passing of Measure C, the OCC athletic facilities are receiving some rather impressive facelifts, giving the 60-year-old college some of the finest sports homes in the state.
"Athletic excellence is a large part of the history and tradition at Coast and we take enormous pride in all of our athletic teams and programs," Barbara Bond, Dean of Physical Education & Athletics said.
For the football and soccer programs, their fields have been renovated with FieldTurf, a state-of-the-art surface that is played on at numerous NFL stadiums and NCAA universities and has also been approved by FIFA.
 FieldTurf combines soft, synthetic grass with an underlying layer of silica and rubber granules. The surface works well for all sports, notably for soccer, football and lacrosse.
Studies have shown that the FieldTurf is not only easier to manage, it's easier to play on and it helps minimize certain injuries caused by other artificial turf surfaces.
LeBard Stadium and the OCC Soccer Complex were given their introduction to the FieldTurf this past fall and both performed with flying colors.
Says head football coach Mike Taylor, "The new and improved LeBard Stadium with its FieldTurf surface is a dream to practice and play on. It's user-friendly surface is great for training and its markings make every practice gamelike. Many have said on seeing OCC's facilities, 'They are the best in Southern California.'"
 Says head men's soccer coach Laird Hayes, "For soccer players, the smoother and softer surface is not only easier to play on, but the sore legs and minor injuries went down last year because of it. It's really made our facility of the tops in the conference."
Out at the baseball diamond, OCC has completely overhauled Wendell Pickens Field, replacing its playing surface, backstop, dugouts, batting cages and bullpen areas. The final result is a state-of-the-art complex that can compete with any collegiate facility in the state.
"I'm extremely pleased with the way things turned out with our baseball complex," OCC baseball coach John Altobelli said. "The improvements really make the field one of the top playing surfaces around and it's a place I'm proud to call home."
While several sports projects have been completed, there are some still in progress, most notably, a new, multimillion dollar Fitness Center.
The two-story center will house a 6,010 square-foot strength and conditioning lab as well as a 3,360 sq. ft. cardio lab. In addition, a new gymnasium as well as a fieldhouse, locker rooms and storage facilities will also reside at the new fitness center. The Fitness Complex was dedicated on March 15 and classes were scheduled for the second eight-week period of the spring semester.
On top of all those changes, Coast also has a state-of-the-art, all-weather track, a gymnasium that houses basketball and volleyball, a softball field, swimming pool and tennis courts.
 The men's and women's crew teams train and operate out of the David A. Grant Collegiate Rowing Center on Newport Bay, while all of the athletes have access to two weight-training facilities, a fitness lab and a state-of-the art athletic training facility.
Future projects for OCC athletics include renovations to the tennis courts as well as the school's swimming pool.
"The athletic tradition has been entrenched here at Coast," Bond said. "These new facilities will help push those standards even higher for years to come."
OCC - Bigger and better than ever!
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