Jim Jorgensen: Foreman of OCC’s Crew

Tony Altobelli

Orange Coast College men’s crew coach Jim Jorgensen best describes

what it’s like to be a part of an eight-man, cohesive unit on the water.

“Pretend you’re playing golf and you hit that perfect nine-iron right

onto the green,” Jorgensen explained. “Now, get eight guys to hit that

exact same crisp shot at the exact same time every single time. When a

boat is rowed with that same precision, there’s nothing quite like it.”

It’s that precision that Jorgensen is looking for as fall preparations

begin for the 2000 season in the spring.

The funny thing is that each year, Jorgensen has more than just rowers

on OCC’s crew.

“This fall, we have 60 guys,” Jorgensen said. “There are 14 returning

sophomores and eight freshmen with rowing experience. That means 38 of

these guys have never rowed before.”

Where do they come from?

“I’ll get ex-football and basketball players who were burned out from

their sports, late bloomers who are just getting into their growth

spurts, like I was, and swimmers and water polo players. Usually taller,

athletic people are the most successful and we’re still looking.”

Like he said, Jorgensen was a late bloomer, getting into crew after

years of abuse on the football field.

“I was recovering from a knee injury and I was introduced to rowing by

my sister’s boyfriend,” Jorgensen said. “He said I had the shape of a

rower and there were no blind-side tackles out on the water, so it

sounded rather appealing.”

Jorgensen began his rowing career (where else?) at OCC in the fall of

1966 and rowed on the freshman-eight squad.

The following year, he helped lead the Pirates’ JV squad to an

undefeated season and the JV championship.

“When we went to the National Championships, nobody had even heard of

OCC,” recalled Jorgensen. “We ended up finishing second overall to a

powerful University of Pennsylvania team.”

After taking fourth in the 1968 Olympic Trials, Jorgensen resumed his

rowing career at UCLA in 1969 and was named captain in 1970.

“After I finished rowing I became the freshman coach at UCLA and I

found out then I was a pretty good teacher,” Jorgensen said. “I did that

for three years (1971-73) before getting into yacht sales.”

It was 1974 when OCC’s legendary crew coach David Grant invited

Jorgensen back as a sailing coach, which he did for 10 years.

“I enjoyed coaching sailing, but when the opportunity rose for me to

assist David for crew, I jumped at it,” Jorgensen said. “I was excited to

make that transition back to rowing.”

The demands made on OCC’s rowers are more than possibly imagined.

“It’s nine months of training, hard work and sweat, for basically an

hour’s worth of competition,” Jorgensen said with a laugh. “That’s what

it boils down to. I think what makes it worth it is the sense of

teamwork, friendships and accomplishment, which carries you beyond the

water, into the classrooms and into being an adult.”

The friendships and support for OCC’s crew makes Jorgensen’s job even

more rewarding for him.

“It’s way more than just wins and losses here,” Jorgensen said. “It’s

about living your youth and making lifelong friends. Each year at our

banquet, we’ll have alumni from 10, 20, even 30 years ago return to show

their support. Also, the community has really embraced our program and

helped make it such a success.

“It’s great for the new guys to see our alumni,” Jorgensen continued.

“It allows them to see what they could possibly achieve through real-life

examples.”

OCC is the only community college crew team on the West Coast, so the

Pirates have to face some of the top four-year schools like UCLA,

Stanford, Cal, University of Washington and San Diego State, as well as

legendary crew schools such as Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Northeastern.

“In the past, we’ve had the opportunity to compete in the world famous

Henley Royal Regatta in England, and in 1985, we competed in China,”

Jorgensen said. “Each year we try to do something special for each class

so they can have a piece of history to take with them.”

Grant passed the torch to Jorgensen and he’s been able to continue the

Pirates’ success with a very simple teaching philosophy.

“I coach people, not rowing,” Jorgensen said. “I try to be very

organized, enthusiastic, positive and most of all, caring.”

For those interested in learning more about the OCC Crew or students

that might be interested in racing for the Pirates, contact Jorgensen at

(949) 645-3505.