City College head coach Jeff Walker inked in his 200th win on Jan. 29 on a walk-off versus Chaffey College.
The Vaqueros named Walker as the head coach in 2012.
“I feel the same after every win, I guess it’s an accomplishment,” Walker said. This accomplishment is nothing new for Walker in his 11 seasons with the Vaqueros, eight Southern California Regional appearances, and three WSC North titles.
“I was excited for our players. They were the ones recognized and reminded me that it was my 200th win,” Walker said. “I thought it was cool they knew and acknowledged that. I guessed that I had forgotten it.”
Walker recognized his players are the ones that helped him achieve his win.
“We have had some on-field success here since I’ve been here. It’s a tribute to the players that I have been fortunate enough to coach and the successful seasons we have had,” Walker said.
During Walker’s coaching career his favorite part has been helping his players to develop on and off the field.
“Walk is an overall great dude. He loves the game, and he knows the game more than any other coach I’ve been around,” third baseman Owen Crevelt said. “Not only does he develop us as better baseball players, but he develops us as young men.”
Walker continues to impact his former players and the players he has now. His coaching philosophy is putting the players and assistant coaches in place to succeed.
“Coach Walker is never going to be one of those guys that’s boastful and isn’t going to brag about getting the 200th win. He treats it like another day,” freshman infielder Justin Deal said.
Walker preaches the idea to his players to never stay comfortable. He wants them to put themselves in uncomfortable situations. His game knowledge helps to evaluate his players to reach their full potential.
“He’s definitely a tough guy, he knows a lot about the game. He’s been coaching for a very long time now his coaching style is definitely one hundred percent effort all the time and you play with one percent effort all the time the game really slows down,” Deal said.
“I just lead by example and it’s helpful. We’re not perfect and we’re gonna make mistakes and we’re going to use those mistakes and learn from them and try to move on,” Walker said.
When players go through Walker’s program, he hopes for his players to come out as growing leaders after their time at City College.
“One of the pillars or foundations of our program is growing leaders and athletics. Our model here within our team is that we have a leader-leader model not a leader-follower model,” Walker said.
As a community college athlete, Walker drew inspiration from his coaches to become a coach.
“The goal was to be a California community college coach, I played for a Community College, the experiences and the doors opened for me,” Walker said. “I think my community college coach did. He was a hall of fame coach. I saw the job he had and saw the impact he had on the players, and I wanted the same.”
“We’re trying to build champions and trying to grow leaders, and that’s what we hope when players go through our program,” Walker said.
