Longtime Piedmont High School girls soccer coach Dan Chubbock has been named the new head coach of women’s soccer at Chabot College in Hayward. Chubbock will remain head coach of the Piedmont girls as well – the Highlanders play during the winter and the Gladiators play in the fall.
“I’m going to be busy,” Chubbock said over the telephone while preparing for a weight room workout with his new team. “I’ll still be at Piedmont Soccer Club. That will continue. Piedmont High School, I’ll continue with that.”
Chubbock said he was one of many coaches contacted by Chabot about the opening and decided to apply. His experience is at the high school and club level, so he expected the winning candidate would have collegiate experience.
“I got an interview and thought it was great to go through the experience,” Chubbock said. “(A week later), I got the call offering me the position. I spoke to my family. I said it’s going to be more work, but I’d like to do that.”
Chubbock said he hopes to retain his assistant coaches at Piedmont High and that should make things easier for him. His priority is fielding a team. Chabot didn’t play last year because it didn’t have enough players, although there are a couple of players in school who are returning to the team. Chubbock is now working to recruit more players. Registration starts in April, but he said he has about eight players out for his spring training class.
“Year 1 is get that team formed, Years 2-3-4 you start to look to see how good the team can be and build it from there,” Chubbock said.
Several potential players in the East Bay are on teams in the West Alameda County Conference, which is Piedmont’s conference. Chubbock is looking for players from those teams as well as area club teams.
Chubbock said his two returning players are Margarita Vinciguerra and Giselle Caballero. Piedmont boys freshman coach Emily Hornig went to Berkeley and is also signed up. Three former Castro Valley High School players have also verbally committed – Sophia Amezcua, Marin Michieli and Bella Mora.
City College of San Francisco and Las Positas College in Livermore are two of the top destinations for junior college talent, according to Chubbock.
“I’m hoping to change that and make Chabot the choice that local players will go with,” he said.
Chubbock has coached the Piedmont girls for 14 years, leading them to three North Coast Section championship games and, this past season, the first NCS championship for the school in 23 years.