Returning to a rivalry

Returning to a rivalry » Ventura County Star
By Rhiannon Potkey

A young male coach returns to his alma mater with a goal of building the girls’ volleyball program into a Channel League title contender again.
The description fits the profile of Jared Godinez. It also fits the profile of Cameron Ohl. The first-year head varsity coaches have a lot in common.
There is just one big difference — they happen to coach at rival schools.
Godinez has taken the reins at Ventura this season, while Ohl is across town at Buena.
Despite the rivalry’s inherent friction, they share a mutual respect for each other’s abilities and aspirations.
Their teams will square off tonight as Ventura (5-3, 0-2) hosts Buena (9-3, 1-1) at 6:30.
“I feel like we are all friends off the court, but once we are on the court, we are going to be playing some hard volleyball,” Ohl said. “That’s not only going to make our team better, but I think it will also bring more attention to the sport in our area.”
Ohl, 32, was a three-year varsity player at Buena before attending Northern Arizona and obtaining a minor in athletic coaching.
“I only tried out for volleyball at Buena because I didn’t want to do P.E.,” said Ohl, who is now, ironically, a physical education teacher at Rio Vista Middle School in Oxnard. “I was one of those who played basketball, football and baseball my whole life and volleyball was always looked at as a girls’ sport. But once I tried out, I fell in love with the pace of the game and the teamwork aspect of it.”
Ohl returned to Buena as an assistant boys’ volleyball coach right after college, and watched some guy named Godinez “pretty much take over and whoop us pretty bad” when Godinez was a senior at Ventura.
Following a one-year stint as an assistant girls’ coach at Ventura, Ohl spent last season at St. Bonaventure assisting former Buena girls’ coach Jack Richards.
“It helped me out a lot just to be able to be near Jack and listen and watch him,” Ohl said. “I have been lucky enough to learn a lot from him as I have from a lot of other coaches.”
After Godinez, 27, graduated from Ventura, he accepted a volleyball scholarship to UC Santa Barbara.
During his college career, Godinez began coaching club volleyball in Santa Barbara and realized how much he enjoyed it.
“I was itching to get back to toward Ventura,” said Godinez, who works for the Pacific Coast Business Times in Santa Barbara. “It is my home and it is really where most of my volleyball support came from. I wanted to start giving back.”
Having spent time in both counties, Godinez understands why the schools up north have been successful in the Channel League.
“I get to see how much the Santa Barbara community gets involved in volleyball and I think Ventura struggles to keep that consistency,” Godinez said. “It seems like we have waves when the high school teams do really well here. That is why I am glad to see someone like Cameron at Buena. He will do a great job.”
Godinez has assembled an impressive coaching staff at Ventura. His assistants include Maurice Shimabuku, who led Hueneme High to a state title in 1986, former Ventura head coach Debbie Litten and former Ventura College assistant Melissa Yeto.
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity. I doubt I will ever get a chance to work with this high caliber of coaches again,” Godinez said. “I am really learning a lot from them.”
It’s also helped prevent any family feuds. Godinez’s younger sister, Cheyenne is a junior outside hitter for the Cougars.
“It is an interesting dynamic,” Godinez said with a laugh. “I have my challenges with her like I have with any other player and that is why I think it’s really important to have Maurice involved for the time when it breaks down beyond the coach-player boundary.”
Buena and Ventura have already registered some big wins this season and have shown definite signs of progress.
“This is probably one of the stronger teams we’ve had in a long time here,” Ohl said. “We have a lot of experience and everyone plays club volleyball, so we have high hopes. It’s a great group of girls and parents. I have been really happy so far.”
Godinez can say the same, even if he’s been forced to coach on crutches after rupturing his achilles tendon for the second time.
“I have been enjoying it immensely,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happened in my day, good or bad, coming into the gym you feel completely focused on what needs to be accomplished.”
As Godinez and Ohl settle into their new roles, they can’t help but ponder the future of their programs.
“I am excited not just for this year, but down the road,” Godinez said. “We are positioning these girls to dream big and set goals that we think we can accomplish.”