Daily Pilot Chalkboard Series: Eric Tweit

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - It hits Newport Harbor High’s Athletic Director and

girls cross country and track and field coach Eric Tweit at just about

the same time every day that school is in session just how fortunate he

is to be working where he is.

“The best part of my day is when we have our 10-15 minute break and a

good chunk of our coaches are in Judy Ayers’ office,” Tweit said. “Seeing

guys like Jim Kiefer, Larry Hirst, Jeff Brinkley, Bill Barnett, Bim Barry

and so on. There is such a coaching bond here that is so special, it

makes me proud to be part of such a fine group of individuals.”

Even after 21 years as a coach and 11 as an A.D., that excitement and

desire that propelled Tweit into teaching and coaching in the first place

is still there and has only gotten stronger.

“I can’t figure out for the life of me why everyone doesn’t want to do

this for a living,” Tweit said of his profession. “I truly believe that

high school coaching is the best coaching there is. I feel very fortunate

to be a part of Newport Harbor’s tradition. It’s worked out very well

here.”

Tweit grew up just 30 miles from Harborville in Downey. After playing

football, basketball and baseball at Excelsior High, Tweit moved on to

Cerritos College before earning his degree from Whittier College.

“It may sound hokey, but even at an early age when kids were saying

they wanted to be a firefighter or doctor, I knew I wanted to coach,”

Tweit said. “At the junior high I went to, our P.E. teacher, Mr.

McKinney. It seemed like he ran that school and I thought that would be

so cool to do.”

After his schooling, Tweit returned to Excelsior to start his coaching

career.

“I was responsible for the lower-level basketball teams and I helped

out with the track and cross country programs,” Tweit said. “One coach

who was a big inspiration was (current Orange Coast College coach) Gordie

Fitzel. He started at Excelsior when I was a senior there and he really

taught me a lot when I started out.”

After a couple of years at Excelsior, Tweit was offered the track and

cross country programs at St. Paul High, where he coached the Swordsmen

from 1975-79.

“In 1979, I found out from Newport’s cross country coach Jim Newkirk

that there was an opening for a track coach after Bob Hailey’s

resignation,” Tweit recalled. “They couldn’t offer me any teaching at

that time, but I thought it looked like a great opportunity to get my

foot in the door in a great district, so I took it. I was officially

hired full-time on Feb. 1, 1980.”

It was a moment with then boys basketball coach Jerry DeBusk that

really opened Tweit’s eyes on how to effectively run a smooth

organization.

“Seeing how Jerry ran a practice and how organized he was really blew

me away,” Tweit said. “He knew how much he could get out of every player

and how hard to push to make the most out of every practice. It really

showed me a lot.”

With over two decades behind him now at Newport, Tweit is the last

person to ask when it comes to wins and losses for his programs.

“That stuff just isn’t that important to me,” he said. “Of course,

it’s important to win, but my biggest goal is my work with each athlete

and trying to make him or her a better athlete as well as a better

person. If I do that, the wins will take care of themselves.”

With his main focus now on the girls program for cross country (Bim

Barry handles the boys program), Tweit has coached the Sailors to three

state titles (1987, ‘88, ‘91) as well as a CIF Southern Section 4-A title

in 1984.

“I like to think I’m a fair coach when it comes to dealing with my

runners,” Tweit said. “It can be frustrating when I see an athlete not

reach his capabilities, but it works the other way and it’s great when an

athlete far exceeds what anyone thought could be possible.”

With the years zipping on by, does Tweit see his finish line around

the corner? “This may disappoint a lot of people, but I don’t see this

thing ending any time soon,” he said with a laugh. “Besides, if I didn’t

do this, what else would I do?”