GOMEZ TAKES CHARGE : HEY, BUSTOS: A LITTLE HELP?

Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff Writer

An open telegram to former Canyon High softball coach George Bustos from his replacement, former Alemany High standout Krista Gomez:

Have not had a chance to talk to you - stop - Wonder if you would be willing to help me out - stop - Could use all of it I can get - stop

The ink has barely dried from the contract Gomez signed last month to take over the Cowboys' struggling program beginning next season, yet the 24-year old three-time NCAA softball champion at Arizona is already thinking of ways to revive a program that often cowers in the shadow of Foothill League powers Saugus and Hart.

``It'll be a great challenge for me,'' she said. ``From what I've seen these girls have a lot of potential. This was an opportunity I couldn't let pass by.''

It seems many things are zooming in Gomez's life since she left Arizona last year. After winning three national titles with the Wildcats, she spent 1997 as a graduate assistant there, learning all she could about the sport she loved.

She returned to the area last fall, a family studies degree in hand, taking a job as a full-time math teacher at Canyon.

In June, however, it all came to a screeching halt when her father, Bruce, died from liver cancer. He was a parent, friend and softball guru to Gomez.

``I learned so much from him,'' said Gomez, who moved from Canyon Country back to her childhood home in Sylmar to be with her mother. ``I know he knows what I'm doing, though, and he's watching out for me.''

Soon after, Gomez was offered the head softball job, taking over for Bustos, an off-campus coach who watched his team finish 1-9 in league play in 1998 - his first and only season. The Cowboys' lone Foothill victory came against Saugus to break the Centurions' lengthy league winning streak.

Bustos' removal continued the high school's trend of replacing non-staff coaches with staff teachers. It happened most recently at Hart High, where boys' soccer coach Robert Benavidez was let go in favor of Ron Linberg, a science teacher.

``I have no problem with it,'' said Bustos, who coaches the Under-14 Panthers Gold travel team year-around. ``I have no bad feelings, but I wish they had given me another year.''

In a way, he might get his chance. Gomez said she wants to talk to Bustos about a possible stint as her assistant.

``(The administration) asked if I would like to have him coach,'' she said. ``I haven't been in contact with him. At least not yet.''

Said Bustos: ``I've been thinking about it and I'm still thinking about it. She'll have a lot of returning juniors. I wish her luck.''

Gomez is realistic about the program turning around so soon. It is a team where few players play with summer clubs, a near-requisite when competing with the Harts and Sauguses of the world. She does have a nice nucleus with pitcher Nicole Furuya and shortstop Justina Kahaku, but more club-level players will be needed - players like Gomez was when she starred with the Simi Valley Wildcats and Batbusters before earning a full-ride to Arizona.

``I think we're starting to bring in some major travel players,'' she said. ``A lot of people have heard (about their new coach) and are excited about it.

``Still, it's a young team, a building team. I think the administration is very supportive and they understand things won't happen all at once in the first year.''

In the meantime, Gomez stays close to the game by giving private batting lessons from her family's backyard, where a batting cage stands as a symbol of her father's influence.

It gives her a chance to continue his memory.

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Photo

PHOTO New Canyon High softball coach Krista Gomez, right, instructs Lauren Watson, a Valencia catcher, during private instruction at Gomez's home.

Myung J. Chun / Daily News