Coast Coaches Corner -- Chris Ketcham

This week, our Coast Coaches Corner spotlights the career of Orange Coast College men's and women's tennis coach, Chris Ketcham. In addition to his time at Coast, we discuss his connection with soccer and how the two sports impact each other as well as his coaching philosophies and what it takes to be a top-level community college tennis player. 

So tell us about your athletic background growing up … when did you first realize that you had potential at tennis to play at the collegiate level?   

"My mom was the main reason why I got into playing tennis. When my brother and I got older, she would play like five days a week and she'd playing in an adult league. When we were at home, we'd all be watching tennis on TV, watching all of the majors. Tennis was all around us. We'd always have balls and rackets around. I grew up here in Orange County and I played a lot of sports growing up … tennis was just one of them. But, as I got older and more into it, I started to play more competitively around 10 years old. I'll never forget my first tournament I played in, I made it to the semifinals and I just kept going from there. I never really got so committed to tennis because I was pretty good in soccer too and for me, they had a real good balance. If I had stuck with tennis 100%, I'm not sure I'd be coaching it now at OCC. It really helped me to have a balance in two sports. I positively affected my development in both sports, playing club soccer and junior tennis tournaments around Southern California.  In high school at Newport Harbor, I played both soccer and tennis there before going to UC Irvine to play soccer. Playing soccer instead of tennis gave me a better opportunity to play that sport at the Division I level. After my junior, I transferred to Chapman and there, I got to play both soccer and tennis, which was great. Both coaches were happy to share me and the level of play was still very competitive, but maybe just a little less intense. After graduation, there were more opportunities to coach tennis than there was to coach soccer, so that was the path I ended up taking."

In addition to playing tennis at a high level, you also played soccer at a high level as well. Besides the obvious help of endurance that one sports lends to the other, what are some other traits that soccer has that helped you excel in tennis and vice versa?

"With soccer, I think they really both help with agility, balance and moving feet. I know for tennis, I definitely got more power and strength from playing soccer and it gave me more of a competitive edge on the court as well. Being able to last longer against my opponent in long matches or even the ability to play long points better really helped my overall game.  What I was getting out of soccer, not many tennis players were able to duplicate. In tennis, being able to be light on your fight and make decisions quick … all of those things helped me tremendously. And as a defensive player in soccer, playing tennis also helped me perform well if I went 1-on-1 with an offensive player with the ball. The two sports really work well for one another."

When did coaching first enter your mind as a possible career choice?? Was that something that you wanted to aspire to at a young age, or did that come later in life?

"When I stopped playing at UCI, I knew I wanted to continue to play at the college level, so when I was looking to transfer, where could I play? Turns out it was Chapman and play both. I knew I'd have a better resume if I played two sports. I remember walking thru the athletics hall at Chapman after a class and I met the tennis coach and I told him I was playing soccer but I wanted to play tennis in the spring. I was someone that showed up and helped the club. With tennis, I knew you could do more with coaching in terms of clubs, academies etc. … but not the same for soccer. I always wanted to stay in sports and when the opportunity came up when I graduated, tennis ended up being the better opportunity as a career with more money, with private tennis lessons and group clinics."

When did Orange Coast College first enter the picture for you? Growing up around these parts, I'm sure you knew of OCC, but did you know about the tennis tradition here as well?

"To be honest, I didn't know much about the OCC tennis program. I took a summer school statistics class at OCC when I was at Chapman. The instructor at OCC took me aside and told me that I had a lot of potential and to think seriously about what I wanted to do … so that was nice. I really didn't think about coaching here. I was teaching at Balboa Bay Racquet Club and I was teaching next to a lady who taught there and she had become the new men's and women's coach at Cypress. She asked if I wanted to be her assistant. Cypress had just finished their new courts, so I made that work and that was my first experience with working with an actual tennis TEAM … not just individual work. She wanted to do everything with the women, so I worked with the men for two years and coached the guys and had a lot of fun. Grew up playing team sports and it was great to coach tennis in a team format. Then I went to Irvine Valley, where I assisted the men and women's programs there for one year. There was an opening at OCC the following year and I got to meet (former coach Janice Maran and former Dean/Athletic Director, Barbara Bond), but I didn't get the job. It opened up again in the fall of 2006 and I went for it again, and I got it and here I am!"

So coming to OCC, you not only took over the Pirate men's program, but you also were able to see the conclusion of one of the best coaching careers of ANY sport here at OCC in Janice Maran. Were you able to pick up a few coaching tips from Janice during her last few years here?

"Janice was really great to work with. She always had her players be very respectful of others and they always seemed to be on their best behavior. Her players really respected her and really wanted to play so hard for her and that's the reason why she always had such a great program. I remember we practiced at the same time and she treated me, even in my first years, as her equal, even though I wasn't. The six courts near the baseball field were always the best and I just volunteered to take the back courts but she always shared the good courts, which was very nice. Respecting others and getting her players to respect others … that was really important for me to see early in my coaching career and it's something I try to pattern as a coach to this day."

Now you're the head coach for BOTH of our programs. What are some of the biggest differences in coaching philosophies when dealing the men's program vs. the women's program?

"In terms of drills and physical stuff, that's pretty much the same. On both sides, it's really more about the players and the effort they put into every drill and practice. A lot of what we do with the men on Tuesday and Thursday, we do with the women on Monday and Wednesday. In terms of discipline and motivation and some of the intangibles, sure there are some differences."

What does it take to be a successful tennis player at the community college level? What separates the good players from great ones?

"I think a lot of it comes from commitment and discipline.  Players say they want to get better and play at a four-year college or even a Division I program. I hear that a lot and early on, they want to put in the work, but they seem to fall short with their goals, whether it's being constantly late or lazy in practice.  If  you're with me – if you're committed and disciplined -- you're going to improve and get better. It's about effort and how hard they work. Plus, it's about discipline … little things like making sure they bring their own water, doing work outside of practice, better eating habits, bringing two strong racquets to play … little things like that. All of those things make a difference."

For those who know you, you come off as such a nice guy! If I were to ask your players what type of coach Chris is, what would you HOPE they'd say to that question?

"Honestly, I think they would say I was fair. I try to get them to enjoy themselves out there, but I also stress the importance of working hard in order to get something out of the practice or training. I tell them the TEAM is the most important thing and that's sometimes hard for tennis players to understand. I have everyone play with everyone, whether you're a 1 or a 10 and I really try and make a point that if I decide to let a player do something, I need to decide if I want everyone to do it … so that's usually a no. I just try to be fair with every scenario that comes up out there."

In addition to running these two programs, you also have offered your services to the OCC men's soccer program. How much fun is that for you to keep a foot in that sport as well?

"It's similar to my story growing up and as a coach, having the balance is still within me. I'm out there because I want to be out there, and I enjoy it. Being able to spend a lot of time with (Soccer coaches Kevin Smith and Glenn Strachan) … they're great people and great coaches. Working with the men's program more, I've learned so much from Glenn and I apply a lot of what he does on the soccer field and I've taken that to my tennis teams. Things like personal development with the athletes … that's something that crosses over to all sports. I enjoy just being out there and trying to get those guys to play as hard as they can for themselves and for each other."

In your short time as the women's head coach, you've helped guide the Pirates to two state championships in 2017 and 2019. Tell me about those experiences and what do you remember the most from those two championship seasons?

"When I was with Cypress and coaching the men, we had a season where we didn't win a single match. And the last season with the women's program here in 2019 … we didn't LOSE a match (22-0).  I don't feel like I've changed all that much as a coach. I worked just as hard with our winless program as I did with our undefeated program. With the winless team, we'd set up little goals, like winning at least one game in each set or winning 2-3 points in a row. When I used to go to Ojai and I'd watch the awards ceremony, I wondered if I would I ever get to coach a team that would compete at the highest level. What Janice built with the women's program here at OCC has made that team a traditionally successful team. The men's side has been successful as well, but the women's success just continues to live on. It's a place where girls want to go to be successful. For our 2017 team, I thought we were good, but not THAT great. We had great players in Clarisa Colling and Karen Trinh and I knew all of our girls worked hard. I thought it was a team that if we made the playoffs, that would be a great accomplishment.  But they really worked for each other and for me and for our school. There were several teams that I thought were better than us, but we ended up with a little luck on our side. We had 20 wins that year and I think 10 of them were 5-4! In the playoffs, we barely squeaked past Bakersfield, 5-4 and I think we won the rest of the 5-4 or 5-3. There was no pressure on them at all and they went out and just had fun.  Went to the finals, was 4-4 and it came down to Karen at No. 2 singles. The girl Karen was playing was a great player and if they played 10 times, she'd probably beat Karen 9 times. But Karen played great tennis and won 7-5 in the second set to get us the state title. For me, it was my best coaching year – making a lot of adjustments here and there to find ways to pull out wins. But in 2019 … it was an 180-degree difference. We were just really, REALLY good! I think our closest match all season was like 7-2. I could sit back and just know we would be the better team. Then in Ojai, we won the state team title and won state titles in singles and doubles play. We all knew are probably going to win it, but I always had to keep them in check and I had to keep working."

Finally … there's been so much talk about the "OCC Pirate Family" this year with all that's happened in 2020. What does the "OCC Pirate Family" mean to you and how would you like to see that feeling continue to grow throughout our department and throughout our campus?

"One of the first things I think about … I remember my final interview for the full-time job. I'm not sure what came over me, but I said something about wanting OCC to be a long part of my life … and then, I just broke down. I couldn't control my emotions! A lot of it was knowing how close I was to actually becoming a part of this school and what it represents. How important OCC is to me now … how important the people are … how we all support each other. We can talk to anyone about anything. It can be serious talk, or it can be fun. I loved how we all got together at the end of the fall semester last year at Costa Mesa Country Club and everyone was so connected. I love the fact that I consider the people I work with really good friends and I want that to continue for years and years to come."