James Couch :: Women's Basketball

James Couch took over as head coach of Pierce's outstanding women's basketball team in 1997 after 16 years as head coach of the girls' basketball team at Bellarmine-Jefferson High School in Burbank. While at Bellarmine-Jefferson, the Los Angeles Times selected Couch as its "Coach of the Year" in 1993 and 1997. In addition, Couch has been a cross-country and track and field coach at the high school level for 27 years. Couch attends several clinics each year, including the Nike Basketball Coaches Clinic and the Southern California All-Sports Clinics. Each year, Couch assists with Youth American Round Ball Leagues.

Contact Coach Couch: (818) 710-2821 Click here to email

Rajeev Datt :: Men's Tennis

Coach Rajeev Datt is an alumnus of LA Pierce College, who played for the recently deceased Paul J. Xanthos, on one of many of Xanthos' championship teams. After playing for Xanthos, he secured a tennis scholarship for himself at California State University Los Angeles. Coach Datt has been involved in teaching tennis for eighteen years now and has had the opportunity to work with such coaches as: Robert Lansdorp, Bil McClain (former coach at SMU), Anand Amritraj, and Billy Martin (current coach at UCLA), amongst others. Due to being exposed to such great tennis minds from varying generations, Coach Datt is bringing a fresh approach to coaching tennis at LA Pierce College. His intention is to mesh tradition with the newer coaching techniques in training student athletes, not only to excel on the court, but in the classroom as well.

Contact Coach Datt:  Click here to email

A successful coach in the high school ranks, Pat Grennan took on the challenge of coaching at the community college level in 1999. Before coming to Pierce, Grennan spent five years as varsity softball coach at Agoura High School and eight years as a coach in the Westlake/Agoura Softball League. Each year, Grennan attends the Orange County Softball Coaches Clinic, one of the premier clinics in Southern California. Grennan and his players are proud to participate in organizations for the homeless.

Contact Coach Grennan: Click here to email

Bob Lofrano has guided one of the most successful programs on campus since 1990. Before coming to Pierce, Lofrano enjoyed many successful years as Baseball Coach at Chatsworth High School. An outstanding second baseman for the Brahmas, Lofrano played on a Pierce infield that included future major leaguers Doug DeCinces and Rick Auerbach. As Pierce's coach, Lofrano has guided the Brahmas to eight Western State Conference titles. In addition, Lofrano's teams reached the state playoffs seven times in an eight-year period, from 1991-98. Also, appeared in State Playoffs in 2000, 2003 2006 and 2007. In 1992, he led the team to the state final four. He is currently also a professor in the men's Physical Education department while serving as Athletic Director.

Nabil Mardini is considered one of the finest volleyball minds in the region, if not the country. As Head Coach of the Pierce Women’s Volleyball Program, Nabil saw his 2010 squad win the CCCAA California State Championship for the first time in school history, with the added bonus of his being named AVCA 2010 National Two-Year College Coach of the Year. As current Club Director of LAVA Girls as well as Co-Director of SMBC Boys, he has extensive knowledge of the operational and training aspects of the club volleyball world. His network of contacts is extensive, owing largely to his reputation as one of the most ethical and upstanding personalities in the coaching world today. All this, in addition to time spent training professionally as a young player himself in his home country of Lebanon, not to mention an advanced degree in Electrical Engineering. Nabil handles much of the day-to-day operational side of LAVA, including content for coaches, correspondence with players and parents, and scheduling, in addition to myriad other duties. He also coaches the top team for the Los Angeles Volleyball Academy, the South 18-1’s.

Nabil’s playing career spans the globe: he competed internationally with the Lebanese National Team and professionally with regional power Club Relevement Social Knat before coming to the United States, where he earned All-Conference and All-State honors at Santa Monica College, including recognition as the school’s 1996 “Athlete of the Year.” He moved into coaching shortly after the completion of his playing days and swiftly made a mark for himself, earning a Gold Medal in 1997 at the Junior National Championships as a coach with the Santa Monica Beach Club Boys program—while in the same year earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Nabil continued to coach for both the SMBC Boys and Girls programs until the year 2000, when a series of events changed the course of his life and brought coaching volleyball firmly to the forefront: he gained exclusive ownership of SMBC Boys, was named Club Director of SMBC Girls, and was hired as the Head Coach for the Women’s Volleyball Team at Pierce College—and under his tenure, all three organizations flourished.

Nabil revitalized a flagging program at Pierce College and, in his first two seasons, took the Lady Brahmas from last place in the Western State Conference to its first Conference Title in more than twenty years. In ’04-’05, he led his program to its first Elite Eight appearance in the school’s history and a #5 ranking in the State of California. His ’06 squad posted an impressive 27-5 won-loss record, winning the Western State Conference for the sixth straight year and soaring all the way to the finals of the State Championship, while his ’08 team finished its season with a 32-2 overall record, a Conference Title, and nine consecutive weeks ranked as the State’s #1 team. Prior to 2010, Nabil had collected an impressive 250 wins to 50 losses (80% winning percentage) and been named the Western State Conference (South) Coach of the Year in ’02, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’10 and ’11. It was the 2010 Pierce team, however, that took the Lady Brahmas to their greatest and most glorious heights: a 29-3 overall record, yet another Western State Conference Title, and the capture of the first California State Championship in school history—cementing the ’10 squad’s legacy as one of the most successful teams ever, in any sport, for Pierce College. Nabil, too, was honored for these tremendous accomplishments, winning the All-Southern California 2010 Coach of the Year, the AVCA 2010 Two-Year College Southwest Regional Coach of the Year, and the AVCA 2010 Two Year College National Coach of the Year, receiving the last at a ceremony held annually in Kansas City before an audience of his peers. In 2011, Nabil led his squad to another milestone as his squad, not only captured the program’s second State Championship in a row, but became the fifth college in the history of the game (NCAA D1, D2, NAIA, etc.) to go undefeated with a record of 33W-0L. Nabil, once again, was honored with the All-Southern California 2011 Co-Coach of the Year.

It is worth noting that in the past eleven years, the program is winner of ten Western State Conference Championships, an Elite Eight Appearance in 2004, a Final Four Appearance in 2005, a State Runner Up in 2006, and two-time State Champions in 2010 and 2011.

Nabil is also credited as one of the driving forces behind the rise of the Santa Monica Beach Club as a regional and national club volleyball powerhouse. Under his leadership as Club Director for both the Boys and Girls Programs, several hundred SMBC athletes, male and female, went on to play collegiate volleyball, the vast majority on scholarship of some kind. Nabil revamped and revolutionized the SMBC training systems, worked tirelessly to secure and train one of the finest coaching staffs in the region, and was responsible for the institution of swing blocking, up-tempo offensive systems, and other emerging volleyball concepts at top age levels. As Head Coach of the SMBC Girls 18-1’s team for nearly a decade, his teams were consistently competitive in the SCVA region, finishing as high as fourth in overall points in 2006, in national travel tournaments like Junior National Qualifiers and the Las Vegas Classic, and at the Volleyball Festival, where he led the squad to four consecutive Top Four finishes, including a trip to the 18’s Division finals in 2011. As Co-Director of SMBC Boys, Nabil has helped guide the club to eleven medals at the Junior National Championships in the past seven years, including a pair of Open-level silver medals at the 2011 event in Minneapolis.

With all that said, however, Nabil is perhaps best known within the volleyball community for his excellent reputation for honest and ethical dealings. His network of loyal contacts is extensive, owing largely to his upstanding personality and outstanding character, and a great many of those contacts, for this very reason, joined him as he launched the Los Angeles Volleyball Academy (LAVA), an affiliation of junior club volleyball organizations in Southern California. Subscribing to the notion of Volleyball Done Differently, LAVA strives to do differently, to do better, in every single aspect of its enterprise—a philosophy by which Nabil himself has been living for some time, and worked to impart upon all those working with him.

One of LAVA’s four principal members, Nabil oversees and handles much of the day-to-day operational side of the organization as Director of Operations, including content for coaches, correspondence with players and parents, and scheduling, in addition to myriad other duties. He is also the Club Director for LAVA Girls, the flagship girls volleyball club for LAVA and one the biggest clubs in the country, as well as head coach of that club’s top team, the South 18-1’s.

Contact Coach Mardini:(818)710-4429 E_Mail Nabil

Efrain Martinez:: Head Football Coach

Contact Coach Martinez: (818) 719-6415  Email Click here

Adolfo Perez :: Women's Soccer

Adolfo Perez is a graduate of Birmingham High School and Cal State Northridge. At CSUN he earned his mark as an aggressive midfielder, a trait still reflected in his coaching style. After college he played professionally in Guadalajara, Mexico while earning his "A" coaching license. Upon his return to Southern California he coached in the Junior College (Mission College - 1995/96) and high school (El Camino Real - 1994) systems. He has coached extensively at the highest levels of club soccer. His LA Force Girls U19 team, which played in the Premier Division of Coast Soccer League, won the State Championship in 2000, and his current LA Force Girls U17 team (also CSL Premier) won the State Cup Open Championship in 1998. Adolfo's teams play with great intensity, a reflection of his work ethic and dedication. With his experience and expertise he has developed a Pierce College Women's team that can compete at the highest level.

In 2010 under Coach Perez leadership; Pierce was Western State Conference Southern Division Champion with a record of 21-1-2 advancing to the Southern California Regional Playoff for the 10th year in a row earning the #1 seed.  His team has won 6 straight WSC championships in a row and 8 in 10 years.  He has accomplished an incredible overall record of 181-27-30 in 10 years, since the program's inception in 2001 and He was named the Western State Conference (South) Coach of the Year in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, and 2010. 
His team finished 13th in the Nation, making this the 4th time Pierce is ranked in the Adidas College Top 15th at the end of the season.

Contact Coach Perez: (818) 710-4208   E_Mail Adolfo

Judi Terhar began her swimming career in Seattle Washington in

 1966 on a swim team featuring two Olympians.  Her coaches

attention to detail and swimmers model of excellence had a

profound impact on her.  After moving to California she was

again fortunate to have a coach who excelled,  and he guided

her to a top ten time in the United States in the 200 fly. In High School she was an All American in the 100 fly and 200 IM,

qualifying third for each race in the CIF Finals. She was offered

a full scholarship to CSUN where she

swam for Peter Accardy.

Judi set four school records at CSUN as a freshman and was a four time All American in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM. Some of her records lasted for over 20 years. She was awarded the Most Valuable Swimmer in 1977, and the Most Inspirational Swimmer in 1978, as surgery ended her swimming career that year. Although it was difficult to be unable to compete, Judi went back to her high school in 1978 to coach the team she started in 1974. The team had grown from a few swimmers to over 40. Having been impacted by so many coaches who helped her to be successful, it became her desire to do the same.

In 1979 Judi began lifeguarding at Pierce College and helping Steve Schofield with the Master's Swim Program. In 1984 she was a chaperon for the college team on a three week trip to Australia where she also competed. The following year she became the Women's Head Swim Coach at Pierce College. Many of the women she coached set school records and qualified for the State Championships. She coached until 1990 and left to begin working as a Therapist at Simi Valley Hospital in Acute Rehabilitation.

In 2000, Judi returned to CSUN to get a Master's Degree in Counseling and going back to school afforded the opportunity to coach at the High School, Club, and Master's level again. After graduating from CSUN with her Master's Degree, Fred Shaw invited her to coach as his assistant at Pierce College where she has coached for the past 7 years. Judi is looking forward to being the Pierce College Women's Head Swim Coach this year of 2012.

Contact Coach Terhar at: Click here for email

 Moriah Van Norman :: Women's Water Polo (Fall 2012)

                                        Men's Swim Coach    (Spring 2013)                                           

Former USC and USA Olympic team member Moriah Van Norman enters her first year with

the Brahmas, ready to drive her to the successful playing levels she once enjoyed. The

starting center for the USA Olympic water polo team (coached by Guy Baker and Kyle Kopp),

this Division I athlete earned a silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games as well as three world

championship medals (2005, 2007, 2009) when the United States was widely recognized as

 the most dominant team in the world. Van Norman credits much of her success to the

dedication and passion generated by Baker and Kopp.

During her collegiate years, Van Norman competed at USC under legendary coach Jovan Vavic. There, she won the Peter J. Cutino Award given annually to the nation's top player (2004), won a national championship (2004), and was named a 4x All-American.

Van Norman also played professionally in Greece for Vouligemeni (2008) where her team won the European championship.

With a burning passion for the game, Van Norman has taken the natural leap into coaching where she looks forward to sharing the many valuable fundamentals imparted to her through years of international coaching. Her vision includes developing strong women both in the pool and in the classroom so they may pursue personal goals after their time at Pierce College. By creating a structured program, Van Norman is confident her athletes will move forward to do great things. 

Van Norman is a graduate of the University of Southern California (2006) with a degree in English and recently earned her Master's in TESOL. She resides in Northridge with her husband and daughter.

Contact Coach Van Norman at: Click here for email

Lance Walker:: Men's Volleyball Coach

Lance is in his first year as Head Coach at Pierce College. Lance was also a part of the 2000 State Championship Team, where he was named State MVP. After graduating Pierce College, Lance transferred to Pepperdine University. He helped the Waves get to the NCAA Finals in 2002 where he was awarded Final Four Tournament Honors. After receiving his BA in Psychology from Pepperdine University, he traveled to Europe to start a career playing volleyball. Lance played for the USA National Team and 7 seasons of Pro Volleyball. He played in Belgium,Turkey, Switzerland, Greece, Puerto Rico, Japan, and South Korea.

After graduation from Pepperdine, he has been involved coaching for a number of volleyball businesses and clinics. The past 10 years he has worked with Gold Medal Squared Volleyball, Marv Dunphy Volleyball Camps, Nina Matthies VB Camps, Sports Shack, and SMBC. Lance is also the Owner/Partner for Brahma Sports. He has helped build this company with the help of Aaron Wong for the past 5 years. "

 

Contact Coach Walker:  Click Here to Email