BUILDING SOCCER FROM THE TURF UP; COACH MUST CREATE WOMEN'S PROGRAM.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

With his boyish face and hip wardrobe, Philip Marcellin could have been mistaken for one of the students who began spring semester last week at College of the Canyons.

Maybe that's why the first things the newly hired women's soccer coach hung on the wall of his tiny office were his framed college diplomas - the bachelor's degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and the master's degree from the University of Toledo.

The Santa Clarita Community College District board of trustees this month hired Marcellin, 30, to coach COC's first women's soccer team. The squad, which will begin play in the fall, was added to comply with federal gender-equity mandates.

Marcellin reported to work Tuesday, the first day of the spring term. In order for him to have enough free time to recruit athletes and build a soccer program from the turf up, Marcellin's sole teaching duties this semester will be limited to an off-season intermediate soccer class.

So where exactly do you start when you must create a program from scratch - with no built-in traditions, no fan base, no equipment, no staff, and, oh yeah, no players? Marcellin has reacted by tackling his task with enthusiasm.

``So many things are going through my head. I want to do this. I want to do that,'' he said.

``I had three young ladies visit me that (first) day. I was pleasantly surprised (to) have people showing interest,'' Marcellin said.

By Thursday, the outlook seemed even rosier. ``I've got 19 names already of girls just at this school,'' he said. ``I feel real good already about the response from the girls.''

Of course, Marcellin's primary source of athletes for COC's inaugural team will be Santa Clarita Valley high school seniors. For that reason, watching girls' soccer games at Valencia, Saugus, Hart and Canyon high schools will occupy a lot of his time this semester, as he scouts for talent and gets to know the head coaches at each campus.

The women's collegiate soccer season runs roughly Labor Day through Thanksgiving, meaning Marcellin has about seven months to assemble a roster and forge the players into a team.

``If I can get 18 to 20 girls the first time out, I think I would be pleased with that,'' he said.

There's also the matter of equipment purchases. The college can't field a team without nets, flags to mark the field boundaries, two of the 8-foot-tall, 24-foot-wide goals, and about 30 soccer balls. Marcellin hopes his budget also will pay for the athletes' home and road uniforms, soccer cleats and pads.

Then there's the travel budget to consider. About half of the estimated 22 matches in the soccer season will be road games; there could be an additional four games if the Cougars advance to playoffs.

COC will become the 10th women's soccer team in the Western State Conference. During the 1998 season, the Cougars likely will face Ventura, Oxnard, Moorpark and Glendale colleges, along with Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara City College, Santa Monica College and - a campus well-known to Marcellin - Bakersfield College.

For five years, Marcellin compiled a 58-29-18 record coaching the women's soccer teams at Bakersfield College. In 1994, the Renegades won a conference title and he was named Western State Conference soccer coach of the year.

Marcellin, a Bakersfield native, played soccer all through high school, then for California State University, Bakersfield before transferring to Cal Poly and joining the Mustang squad. ``I've been playing this game since I was 5 years old,'' he said.

The Santa Clarita Valley is soccer country, fertile ground for youth soccer, club teams and high school teams. ``I know it's been entrenched here for a while. It's kind of fun to put together a collegiate program in an area that's so supportive of it,'' Marcellin said.

As a coach, Marcellin favors what he calls a ``possession-oriented passing game,'' a style that emphasizes mastery of skills, a high level of physical fitness and ``real hard'' defense, he said.

``You want to spread the ball out as much as possible,'' he added, explaining he prefers to keep opponents off base by developing several players who can move the ball upfield and score goals, rather than building an offense around a few star players on which the other team can focus their attack.

``My goal has always been (to build) as unselfish a team as possible, because that makes you much harder to beat,'' Marcellin said. ``It's a lot more exciting to watch, and it's much more fan-oriented soccer.''

To convince high school seniors to come play for the Cougar squad, Marcellin said he'll mention how his Bakersfield College soccer players had a high transfer rate to four-year universities. In retrospect, he said, he wishes he had attended community college instead of his hometown Cal State University.

``I would have probably had a much more productive (playing) career had I chosen to go the junior college route,'' Marcellin said. ``I try to explain my experience and say this is what I would have done differently.''

Soccer will become the seventh women's sport at College of the Canyons. The other intercollegiate athletic teams for women are swimming, track and field, cross-country, basketball, softball and volleyball.

``It's a great thing to be a part of an inaugural team - to have a chance to be the first person to score a goal,'' Marcellin said.

Although Marcellin has settled in to his office and filled one drawer of his filing cabinet, one detail that will remain unresolved for a while is his home base. He and his wife, an environmental consultant, will remain in Bakersfield for the time being.

Until they can find a home in the Santa Clarita Valley, Marcellin will make the long commute through the Grapevine every morning and night. But he's not complaining.

``It's exaActly 75 miles,'' he said. ``It's pretty easy freeway driving.''

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PHOTO College of the Canyons' women's soccer coach Phil Marcellin is the school's first ever.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News