Jim Mastin

Men's Head Golf Coach
Sherwood Center, Whitman College
Walla Walla, Wash. 99362

Telephone: (509) 529-1159

FAX: (509) 527-5960

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Three Titles and Counting: Golf Coach Keeps on Ticking

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- After 15 seasons as head coach of the men's basketball program at Whitman College, associate professor of physical education Jim Mastin retired at the close of the 1993-94 season.

He wasn't ready, however, to severe all ties to the Whitman athletic department. He continues to serve as head coach of the men's golf team, a post he has held since 1980.

Mastin's golf teams have captured three Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges (NCIC) titles over the years. He also earned coach-of-the-year honors on three ocassions.

Mastin joined the Whitman athletic department in 1979 following a highly successful high school and collegiate basketball coaching career in California. During his own collegiate career, Mastin played with eventual Boston Celtic greats Bill Russell and K.C. Jones at the University of San Francisco. He later graduated from San Jose State University.

Mastin said his coaching philosophy over the years has stayed relatively simple, regardless of the sport. "Athletics are no different than any other academic subject. The same innate ingredient that makes a student achieve academically -- self-respect -- can be cultivated so that an athlete can compete with those who have more ability and talent."

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weren't necessarily the most talented athletes," he said. "But they had huge hearts, and we fought for everything all the time."

While Houston doesn't expect any of his players to take the field with broken limbs and reckless abandon, he does expect a spirited, all-out effort.

"Soccer isn't a game where you're allowed to get tired and let down mentally in the last 30 minutes of the game," he said. "I want our guys to play hard and consistently from minute one through minute 90. If they do that, we'll win games."

His coaching goals for his first Whitman season are to give his players a structure and system to play within, to put players into the right spots on the field, and to correct any bad habits his players may have acquired.

"After that, as I've already told them, it's up to them to play hard, and to put up or shut up. It's their season."

With an eye on the larger picture, Houston wants his players to forge a commitment to success on the soccer field and then apply that dedication to other parts of their lives. "There's no question that the principles you learn from soccer and athletics apply across the board to life in general," he said. "For this team to be successful, players must learn some life lessons from the effort they give in practice and the accomplishments they achieve as a group."

Following his graduation from Whitworth College, where he majored in journalism with a minor in sociology, Houston served as the assistant men's soccer coach for his alma mater for one season. He began a master's program in counseling that same year at Whitworth, and he hopes to complete work on that degree within the next year.

In addition to his coaching duties at Whitman, Houston is an assistant in the sports information office. He also will teach physical education classes.

"Brandt is a great addition to our coaching staff," Whitman athletic director Max Seachris said. "His background in soccer is outstanding. He played professionally after college, and he was a very successful coach at the high school level. He brings a great deal of expertise and enthusiasm to our program."

Houston's professional soccer career was a brief one. While coaching his high school team in the Spokane area, he also played for the Spokane Shadow during the 1994-95 season. The Shadow are part of the new U.S. Intercontinental Soccer League, which serves as a farm system for Major League Soccer.

"I really didn't get to play that much," Houston said. "I was coaching my high school team on the other side of Spokane, and I was missing practices with the Shadow on a regular basis. Coaching was my first priority at that time."

In joining the Whitman athletic department, Houston was reunited with longtime friend Scott Shields, who coaches the women's soccer team at the college.

"We basically grew up together (in Richland, Wash.)," Houston said. "We lived in the same neighborhood and played on a lot of the same teams, whether it was in youth leagues or on select teams. Scott is one of my best friends, so the opportunity to coach with him is a great situation for me."

Houston and Shields were soccer pioneers of sorts in Richland. "They didn't have varsity soccer at Richland High School until 1987, the year we were seniors. Scott and I and a few others had to lobby hard to get soccer into the high school."

The summer following his high school graduation, Houston and two friends started a youth soccer camp in Richland. "We ran the camp every summer while we were in college, and it turned out to be very successful," he said. "Many of the kids who came to camp had problems in other parts of their lives, so I'd take an interest and try to help them out. That's what sparked my interest in counseling."

Once he completes his master's degree in counseling, Houston hopes to combine coaching and counseling at the college level as a long-term professional career.

"Coaching is something I enjoy very much," he said. "It's almost as rewarding as playing, and the same holds true for counseling. As early as high school, friends started bringing their problems to me. I guess I'm a good listener, and I like to help."

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message
to Cathy Crosslin, women's head basketball coach and director of intramural sports. 11 Curd 19-9 29 101 28.7% 3 6 50.0% 25 30 83.3% 86 4.5 47 2.5 16 0.8 23 0 Demski 24-9 56 169 33.1% 46 135 34.1% 8 12 66.7% 166 6.9 48 2.0 18 0.8 21 0 Erickson 22-0 2 17 11.8% 0 0 0.0% 5 10 50.0% 9 0.4 23 1.0 3 0.1 4 0 Hager 21-6 18 58 31.0% 0 0 0.0% 12 34 35.3% 48 2.3 76 3.6 3 0.1 12 2 Hutchison 24-11 44 152 28.9% 27 87 31.0% 15 27 55.6% 130 5.4 50 2.1 43 1.8 28 1 Johnson 24-19 38 117 32.5% 2 7 28.6% 23 49 46.9% 101 4.2 127 5.3 40 1.7 21 1 Kafoury 22-9 45 119 37.8% 5 19 26.3% 28 46 60.9% 123 5.6 48 2.2 42 1.9 28 1 Longinotti 24-22 81 237 34.2% 52 126 41.3% 36 54 66.7% 250 10.4 97 4.0 67 2.8 40 2 Sakamoto 21-4 14 53 26.4% 8 28 28.6% 9 14 64.3% 45 2.1 25 1.2 14 0.7 10 1 Saltonstall 7-7 23 61 37.7% 0 1 0.0% 19 25 76.0% 65 9.3 36 5.1 3 0.4 4 3 Totals 24 519 1462 35.5% 158 476 33.2% 277 434 63.8% 1473 61.4 771 32.1 303 12.6 278 22 Updated 2/22/97

Congratulations! Not counting Susan Sakimoto Hubbard, Barbara Cunningham, Jennifer McClure, Katie Rubenser and other past legends from Whitman women's basketball, each of whom receives daily reports via the latest in telepathic communications technology pioneered by Whitman graduates at the Central Intelligence Agency, you are basketball fan number 1 0 3 4 to have accessed this page since Dec. 18, 1995.

Rukavina 11-0 6 7 85.7% 0 0 0.0% 1 3 33.3% 13 1.2 9 0.8 1 0.1 0 0 Schillinger 24-22 30 95 31.6% 18 53 34.0% 31 38 81.6% 109 4.5 49 2.0 145 6.0 34 0 Storey 8-0 0 4 0.0% 0 0 0.0% 5 8 62.5% 5 0.6 4 0.5 2 0.3 0 0 Van Divort 24-12 22 49 44.9% 0 1 0.0% 13 26 50.0% 57 2.4 90 3.8 9 0.4 13 4 Wyatt 24-16 68 170 40.0% 11 34 32.4% 52 75 69.3% 199 8.3 136 5.7 41 1.7 20 7 Totals 24 651 1556 41.8% 226 606 37.3% 303 423 71.6% 1831 76.3 768 32.0 420 17.5 180 83 Updated 2/22/97

Congratulations!

Not counting inquiries from the small town of Ephrata, Wash., where the coffee shop debate still rages as to who was a better hometown basketball player -- Skip Molitor or Travis King -- and where the final vote totals are too close to call and won't be decided until all the absentee ballots are tabulated (and counted, too), you are basketball fan number 2 1 0 0 to have accessed this page since Nov. 27, 1995.