Mauricio Claure: No nonsense

Tony Altobelli

Players in all sports turn to coaches for guidance and those “magic

words” that will help them achieve whatever it is they want to achieve.

For Orange Coast College men’s soccer co-coach Mauricio Claure, he has

those two magic words that help separate the good athletes from the truly

special ones.

Hard Work.

“You have to have a strong work ethic in anything that you do,” Claure

said. “If it’s playing soccer, be the best soccer player you can be. If

it’s digging a ditch, well, then dig the best darn ditch you possibly

can.”

Hard work is what Claure instills in his players because that same

advice was instilled into him while growing up in Cocha Mba Mba, Boliva.

“I actually grew up as a swimmer,” Claure said. “My family really

pushed me in that direction and I competed in some national meets. I

really didn’t get into soccer until I was around 10 or 11 years old.”

Claure’s father was the president of the Bolivian National Soccer Team

and Mauricio had the opportunity to get tips from some of the best

players in the world.

“I got to see Pele in his prime as well as some of those dominant

Argentinan clubs,” Claure said. “I was such a little runt growing up, the

national players I would talk to really stressed fundamentals to me.

“I really focused on handling the ball, dribbling, that sort of

thing,” Claure continued. “I played on my brother’s team and I was scared

to death I was going to screw up, so I really made sure my fundamentals

were strong.”

Claure played for various youth teams and junior Olympic teams in

Bolivia before coming to the United States in the early 1970s.

“I had a choice of going to England with my brother, or coming to

California,” Claure said. “I chose California because of what I saw in

movies growing up with all the pretty girls out here. I decided at that

point that’s where I wanted to live.”

Claure played for OCC in 1978-79, and was team captain and MVP for the

Pirates.

From there, Claure played professional soccer for the Los Angeles

Aztecs before returning to OCC as an assistant coach.

“Before I got here, OCC has had a tremendous tradition in soccer and

hopefully I’ve helped make it even better,” Claure said. “I think we’ve

set up a pretty good example for all community colleges throughout the

area to follow.”

Claure’s coaching style is very simple. He demands 100% effort not

only in practice, but academically and personally.

This philosophy is something that Claure believes has been lacking in

the soccer program the past few years after a rather impressive run of

conference championships and state titles in the late 1980s and early

90s.

“After last year, I took a look at myself and saw that I was being too

lenient on some of my players in certain situations,” Claure said.

“That’s going to change this year.”

Another coaching style that seems to suit Claure and his players is

his participation during practices and drills, giving the athletes a

hands-on form of teaching.

“It seems to work for me the best,” Claure said. “However, I am

starting to notice that the older I get the better I used to be. I can

still out-dribble and ball handle almost anyone I come up against.”

It’s not all wind sprints and intensity for Claure. “You have to be

able to have intensity when you’re out there, but you have to have a good

time while you’re doing it,” Claure said. “The good players out there

naturally know how to work incredibly hard and strive to win, and have

fun while you’re doing it. Our goal is to surround ourselves with players

like that.”

Claure is excited about the players he and co-coach Laird Hayes will

put out on the field this year.

“It’s going to be a fun game to watch if you come out to see us,”

Claure said. “This group works very hard and they are sold on our team

concept. They play physical, but fair and I know they will put everything

they’ve got into each game.”

One thing that Claure is trying to eliminate is the stereotype of OCC

playing in a “junior” college level of play.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Claure said. “There is no

better caliber of soccer played at this level anywhere in the country.

With all the players from this area that move on to four-year schools and

eventually, professional soccer, there’s too many to list.”

Besides soccer, Claure enjoys fishing and claims he’s smarter than

most fish, and enjoys, “playing bad golf to feel good.”

However, his biggest hobby, and the most important, are his three

daughters, Chelsea, 14, Caroline, 11 and Kendall, 10.

“They are, without a doubt, the best thing I’ve ever accomplished,”

Claure said. “They’re always keeping me on the move. Chelsea is into

soccer and basketball, Caroline is convinced she’s going to be the

culinary expert in the world and Kendall is big into martial arts, so I’m

going in all sorts of directions. But I love it.”