Community Circles Featured Sports Event

Women's Soccer Big Seven Conference Games at Diablo Valley College

This event took place on October 7th, 21st, 28th at 3:30pm., Women's Soccer Big Seven Conference Games Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA

About the Community College League of California's Commission on Athletics

The Community College League of California's Commission on Athletics (COA) is an integral part of California's extensive community college system. As authorized by the State Legislature, the Education Code provides the COA the opportunity and authority to establish the rules and regulations to administer the athletic activities of the nearly 25,000 men and women student athletes in the state.

"Community College Intercollegiate Athletics provide millions of people, athletes, students and alumni and the general public with great pleasure, the spectacle of extraordinary effort and physical grace, the excitement of an outcome in doubt and a shared unifying experience. Thousands and thousands of men and women in the country are stronger adults because of the challenges they mastered as young student athletes at community colleges. Sports are education in the best sense of that word because they teach the participant and the observer new truths about testing oneself and others, about enduring values of challenge and response, about teamwork, about discipline and perseverance" - an excerpt from coasports.org.

About the Big Seven Conference Games

We are fortunate that all the colleges in the Big 7 Conference have great reputations as educational institutions, good solid programs and excellent coaches. This is a high skill-level athletic conference and the competition is stiff.

Bruce Werner, Commissioner of the Big Seven Conference.

The Big Seven Conference was organized July 1st, 2005 under the jurisdiction of the Community College League of California's Commission on Athletics (COA). It consists of seven Community Colleges: American River College, Cosumnes River, Diablo Valley College, Sacramento City College, San Joaquin Delta College, Santa Rosa Jr College and Sierra College.

20 competitive sports are a part of the conference. They are: Men's Baseball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Women's Golf, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Women's Softbal, Men's Swimming, Women's Swimming, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis, Men's Track & Field, Women's Track and Field, Women's Volleyball, Men's Waterpolo, Women's Waterpolo and Men's Wrestling.

The purpose of the Big Seven Conference is:

• To provide structure to community college competition. The conference orgainzes the schedule, who play's who, etc.
• To verify all athletes are eligible to compete.
• To interpret rules, resolve disputes, investigate violations and apply penalties where appropriate.
• To recognize outstanding achievements by individuals and teams within the conference.

About DVC Athletics Department

I am extremely happy to be coaching and teaching at Diablo Valley College. I feel that we have an excellent environment to develop a very successful program, improve our student-athletes as soccer players, and assist them with their academic goals

Cailin Mullins, Women's Soccer Head Coach

At Diablo Valley College, men and women compete in 17 different intercollegiate athletic sports. Men's teams include baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, swimming, tennis, track and field and water polo while women compete in basketball, cross-country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and water polo. DVC Athletics has one of the highest transfer rates in the state and we publish these transfers of our student-athletes each summer.

DVC Athletics has just begun and elected its first ever Athletic Hall of Fame Class. The Induction ceremony is Thursday, February 9th at the Crown Plaza in Concord. The first Hall of Fame Class is as follows: Hugh Boschetti, Altie Taylor, Willie McGee, Karl Drexel, Bob Ericson, Ed Miller, Steve Heaston, Timothy White, 1977 State Champion Baseball Team, 1970 State Champion Wrestling Team, 1973 State Champion Men’s Swimming Team and the 1978 State Champion Women’s Swim Team. The 1978 women’s swim team was the first team to ever win the state championship (after Title IX this was the first year it was offered in California Community College’s). Potential sponsors who want to help make this event an annual occurance, or those who wish to attend: call Steve Ward at 685-1230 ext. 2742.

Steve Ward – Athletic Director: Steve Ward is currently in his eleventh year as Athletic Director at Diablo Valley College in Northern California. He was selected Athletic Administrator of the year in 2005 by SCOPE (State Community College Organization of Physical Educators). His coaching experience has included assistant and head coach positions at the high school, junior college and Division 1 levels. He has also coached several semi-pro teams and in the Alaska summer collegiate league.

Ward was born in Cleveland, Ohio and played high school baseball in Toledo, Ohio before moving to California. He played junior college baseball at both Laney (Oakland, CA), where he set single season school records (at the time) for wins and innings pitched, and at Chabot (Hayward, CA). His last two years of college baseball were played at the University of California, Riverside. Steve was named leading pitcher in the National Baseball Congress World Series in the summer of 1978 at Wichita, Kansas. He finished his playing career with 1-1/2 years in the California Angels minor league system.

While coaching baseball at DVC, he served for four years as a member of the executive committee for the C.C.C.B.C.A. and was the Bay Valley Conference Baseball Coach of the Year for the 2000 season.

Ward retired from coaching after twenty years in June 2000, his final fourteen years as the head baseball coach at Diablo Valley College. He was named Bay Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2000. He posted 357 wins which is a school record for victories in any sport. He was inducted into the California Community College Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002. He is currently in his fourth year on the State Athletic Management Council and is the Administrative Representative to the State for swimming and diving.

About The DVC Women's Soccer Coach

Cailin Mullins; Head Coach. Coach Mullins is going into her fifth season as the Vikings head coach. She came to Diablo Valley College after working as the assistant women's soccer coach at Stanford University for six seasons. Prior to Stanford, Mullins was a four-year starting goalkeeper at the University of Maryland from 1990-1994. Mullins played semi-professionally in the USWISL for the Baltimore Bays and the Sacramento Storm. She holds her USSF "B" Coaching License and NSCAA "Advanced National" Coaching Diploma. Mullins completed her Bachelor's of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland in 1994, and her Master's of Science degree in Kinesiology; Skill Acquisition from California State University Hayward in 2001.

About Diablo Valley College, the Location for this Event

Pleasant Hill's Diablo Valley College (DVC) is growing, adding new courses, new formats, new degrees and certificates, new transfer agreements with CSU, UC and private colleges, new updated technologies, new and remodeled buildings, and even a new campus in Dougherty Valley. In the past two years, DVC has added 17 new degree programs and 14 new certificate programs, while many more are in various stages of development. In addition, DVC's existing degrees are continuously being evaluated and updated to keep in step with the changing needs of local business.

As for technological advances, the top 10 digitally-savvy community colleges for 2005 have been named by the Center for Digital Education (Center) and American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and Diablo Valley College ranks number four. The ranking was established based on the Center's second Digital Community Colleges Survey, which examined how colleges are deploying technology to streamline operations and better serve their students, faculty and staff. Ben Seaberry, DVC's executive director of information technology, is responsible for the college's technology use, and is moving DVC in the direction of becoming a wireless campus. Currently many areas, including the media center and library already have wireless hot spots, making studying on campus more convenient for students.

When it comes to class formats, students can choose between full-term and short-term classes, day and evening classes, weekend classes, and over 60 different online courses. Because many working adults are returning to college, the growing Weekend Program at DVC is designed for busy adults who work full time, have family responsibilities or travel. Courses are offered on Friday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday, and several classes focus on working adults considering a career change. DVC's weekend career development courses cover employment trends, work attitudes and values, job-search techniques, interpersonal work relationships, legal issues in the work place, advancement on the job, career change, and mobility. After acquainting students with the current job market and career options, students can follow-up with a visit to the DVC Career and Employment Services Center, which offers students the latest materials and technology while they can research current job opportunities.

DVC also offers choices of where to take classes. Classes are taught on the Pleasant Hill campus, at the Walnut Creek Center, and at the campus in San Ramon Valley.

If you have any questions about Diablo Valley College and what choices it can offer you and your family, please contact DVC's Information Center at (925)685-1230, ext. 2578. DVC is located at 321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill