Coastal Clash field hockey

Tucker (far left) and Amanda Warford (far right)
with their senior players, Nikki Collins
and Nora Joyce, at the Vikings' game
against Bishop's Nov. 2.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Talk about complementary skills, Amanda and Tucker Warford work together in a highly visible way as coaches of the La Jolla High field hockey team, and it seems to be working well.

The Vikings, the fourth seed in the CIF Division 1 playoffs this week, are benefitting from their steadiness and calmness in this, Amanda's first year as head coach of the LJHS program. Tucker, though not named co-head coach, stands right beside his wife, literally, during games and timeouts.

It's a remarkable relationship, here in this day and age of Twitter trash talking and the reality of an increasing number of high school coaches being "walk-on's"--non-classroom teachers--who, instead, specialize in coaching their particular sport professionally.

And Amanda, who does all the talking during the Vikings' timeouts during games, except for contributions from her varsity players, isn't one to do trash-talking at all. She's the antithesis of the LaVar Ball blathery, media-grabbing approach.

"I want to do anything that will promote the sport of field hockey," she told me earlier in the season. And she is believable, putting her time and money where her mouth is. She and Tucker, according to the Coastal Clash field hockey club website (Tucker's area of expertise), are all in with the club, taking over leadership two years ago and devoting considerable energy to the enterprise.

Their locus has changed with Amanda being named head coach at LJHS by Athletic Director Paula Conway earlier this year. Much of the Clash's website is taken up with information on youth leagues more in the North County--Escondido and the like.

Their colleague in coaching the Clash, Ana Loevenguth, who founded the club six years ago, was the head coach at Sage Creek High, one of the newer high schools in the county. It is located a long way north of La Jolla, that's for sure.

The Warfords' stated reason for coaching the sport is to enable all girls, even boys in some cases, to learn and enjoy field hockey--not just students feeding one particular high school program.

That's a rare philosophy these days. It resembles the approach of another local coach, though in a different sport: Beto Vasquez, who is the head aquatics coach at University City High. Beto, who lives and breathes water polo, is getting kids across the county into swimming pools--even one who confided in him, "Coach, I can't even swim very well. I don't know if I can even play water polo."

Beto told the boy: "Do you trust me? I can get you there."

It's the same can-do attitude that Amanda takes. You come, and Tucker and I will develop your stick skills in field hockey.

Right now, even as the CIF playoffs rage toward their competitive conclusion, the couple are up to their necks in non-school field hockey for girls ages 7 to 14. The latest training and play began October 15, and it concludes this week.

A whopping 30 girls, as young as second grade, came out for the month-long event.

My hats are off to the Warfords, because they have priced this "fall training" in the affordable range for families of girls to be able to pay, yet workable for the coaches so that they can continue to devote so much time to enabling girls to play the sport.

The Warfords go back to their earlier North County ties in January with a league taking place at the Escondido Sports Center.

I have talked to girls attending Canyon Crest Academy, one of the high schools I substitute-teach at, and they know Amanda and Tucker. "Oh, we have coached those girls," said Amanda when I asked about the connection.

Amanda, herself, was Grossmont League Most Valuable Player in her high school days at El Capitan High. She received that honor for her senior season in 2006.

She went on to star at UCSD, being named the Offensive MVP in the conference in 2010. Tucker has played the sport and became the instructional chair for the San Diego field hockey officials' association three years ago.