Getting to know Mauricio Ingrassia
8/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 2, 2011
Can you detail your coaching path to Long Beach State? I've been fortunate to have done all my coaching within my community, starting at my alma mater Los Alamitos High School, where in 1991, I was named the boys' freshman-sophomore coach. I continued on there as a varsity assistant in 1992, and varsity head coach in 1993. In 1994, I was asked by Bill Finnerty to be his assistant at Long Beach City College for the men's team. That's where I met Mickey Davis and she asked if I would be interested in coaching their women's team in August of 1995. After some great years at LBCC, I had the honor of being hired at Long Beach State in June of 2004. It was my third time applying for the job ('98, '01, '04). I guess the third time was the charm.
Beyond winning a championship, what are your goals for the upcoming season? My goal is to continue to build the program and honor its legacy of hard work, perseverance, and success. These values are daily goals for me and my players.
Who is an exciting new player we will see on you team next season? There are several new freshmen that will hopefully adjust quickly to the D1 level, but a player that we did not get to enjoy last season that I think will be a great contributor is Jaz Strozier. She is recovered from her injury, fit, and ready.
What is your recruiting philosophy? We recruit people as well as players. We need players that will fit into our locker-room mentality, and be good people off the field. We have settled on a system over the past couple of seasons, so it's become more about targeting certain positions which has made recruiting easier. Our recent success has also brought some attention from a higher caliber of player than ever before. Players want to play for a program that has promise of participating in the NCAA tournament.
How important are the summer months to the development of your team? Summer months are extremely important. With only two weeks of practice to prepare for our first match, we need our players doing a lot of work on their own to hit the ground running.
If someone asked you for a recommendation for where to eat in the Long Beach area, where would you send them and what would you tell them to order? I'd send them to Legends and tell them to order the open faced steak sandwich, it's fantastic.
Outside of coaching and sports, what are your hobbies? I love to ride bikes with my daughter Madison, and I've also been getting into paddle boarding lately, that's a lot of fun to do and a good workout.
If you had a weekend off during the season and you weren't allowed to work, what would you do with the free time? I'd spend it with my family at the beach riding bikes.
What vacation spot has been your favorite to visit? The Caribbean.
Dodgers or Angels, and why? Lakers or Clippers, and why? Dodgers. My first memories were of Fernando Mania, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Tommy LaSorda...nothing like a good Dodger Dog.
Lakers! I grew up with Showtime!! Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Jamal Wilkes, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, Bob McAdoo, Kurt Rambis, Pat Riley...what great years!!!
