Jack Brooks, who has served as the assistant coach of the Cerritos College baseball team for the past three seasons, takes over as head coach this season for Ken Gaylord , who led the team for the past 17 seasons.
‘This year to compete and battling’ is not what we are looking for, Brooks said. ‘We are here to dominate.’
For the third consecutive year, the Falcons were bounced in the first round of the state playoffs.
‘One of the’ goals this year is to get out of the first round of the playoffs. That has been our nemesis the past three seasons.’ Brooks said
Last season also saw a first for the Falcon, they were swept for the first time in the schools history by South Coast Conference rival Compton College.
‘Compton beat us up a little last year, we overlooked them, but this year that won’t happen,’ Brooks said.
One key returner for the Falcons is second basemen Joe Terry, who was named the South Coast Conference player of the year last season.
Terry hit .417 last season and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 17th round of last June’s amateur baseball draft but decided to not sign with the Mariners.
He believes he still has much to improve on the field.
‘This off-season I worked on conditioning, getting slimmer and faster,’ he said.’ Also have been working on my defense because that is the biggest weakness in my game.’
Terry doesn’t see much difference in the style the Falcons will play this year, but says that the coaching style of Gaylord and Brooks are slightly different.
‘Gaylord was much more intimidating then Brooks.’ he said. ‘Don’t get me wrong, if you mess up Brooks will let you know, but he will also sit down and talk about what you need to do next time out.’
Another returning player is pitcher Chris Villalobos, who was named to the South Coast Conference first team last season as a Freshman.
Villalobos started last season in the bullpen but because of injuries, was forced into the rotation and finished with 9-3 record and an ERA of 3.55.
‘During the off-season, I really worked hard on my conditioning so I can stay healthy all season and improving my curveball, he said.’
Villalobos also hasn’t seen much of a change in the style the Falcons will play but the difference is in the attitude the team has this season.
‘Practices have been more intense so far this year, but everyone seems looser,’ he said.
‘Last season, we all were Freshman and didn’t know what to expect, this year we come in here knowing what to expect and know each others strengths and weaknesses.’
The Falcons will start the season at home on February 4 at 2 p.m. against Fullerton College.
