5 More Questions About The Southern California Breakers

As I mentioned in recent weeks, the Southern California Breakers are gearing up for the next season of women’s football. I caught up with Enrique Hernandez, the backbone that keeps the team going and member of their Board of Directors for an update.

1. What are the Breakers doing to prepare for the 2009 season this winter?

Back in September we started to have workout sessions at Velocity Sports Performance in Irvine. There was enough interest from the team to get together and workout on weekends. Vanessa Santillan, a Sports Performance Coach at Velocity and current player, was able to work out a deal with the facility so that she could bring the team in to work out as a group. It eventually carried over to weekdays and now we have two to three sessions available per week. They aren’t mandatory but it’s a good way for the players to start getting back into shape until regular practice begins January. We have also been inviting prospective players to join us and we have seen a handful new faces attend. Vanessa has done an excellent job with everyone.

2. What changes, if any, can we expect to see from the team in this season? If any?

The biggest change in the offseason was in our team management and coaching staff. The team is under new ownership and has established a Board of Directors that will run most operations of the team. Manuel Ojeda Jr. AKA “Coach Manny” who was our Assistant Head Coach last season, has accepted his new position of Head Coach. He has expressed enormous passion for the Breakers and wants to see us improve. He has brought us additional coaches who are knowledgeable and experienced in the sport and we believe they are a great addition to the Breakers. We are relocating to a more central location in Orange County for our home games so that fans from all over the county can attend. We think our fans will see a great deal of improvement both on and off the field next season.

3. How many of the same players will be returning? Do you find that the same core of women play every year? How large is that core?

Like any season we hope that all of our players from the previous one return. We find that some players do not commit until regular practices begin, but most of them will return. We have a good core of 10-15 players and every season we gain and lose some.

We begin in January and finish in June so time commitment is the biggest issue for most players.

4. The world of women's football is rather "small" so to speak in the Southern California area, is it not? How often to you see players changing teams or do you see the same core in each local squad?

The world of women’s football is rather small in Southern California and we think that exposure is the biggest issue. You can approach random people on the street and ask them they have heard of women’s football and they would probably tell you no. There are a lot of women who would love to play, but don’t know there is a team in Orange County or in the Los Angeles area; or even a national league. We have such a huge population in Southern California and women’s football is known to just a fraction of a percent of that population. In previous years we have not seen very many of our players jump to other teams. Our players develop a sense of loyalty after spending a lot time together on and off the field.

5. What are the team goals for the 2009 season? How will you get there?

One of our biggest goals for 2009 is increasing the level of enjoyment for our players and for our fans. We believe that enjoyment will guide us to the playoffs and possibly a championship. Our management team and coaching staff will be open to feedback from our players and our fans. Ultimately the player and fan satisfaction will help develop a strong team on the field and a good fan base off the field; two things that will make our organization successful.