“I’m anxious, there’s a greater responsibility as the head coach and my anxiety revolves around those responsibilities,” said Cristo Ortega, SF State's new women’s basketball coach.

After spending the past five seasons as an assistant coach on the men’s SF State basketball team, Ortega, an SF State alum, accepted the position offered to him in early August while vacationing in Spain with his wife.

“I was ecstatic,” Ortega said about the acceptance of his position. “I actually didn’t take it (coaching position) immediately and talked to my wife briefly about it, but not for long; she was in full support of me and very excited for the girls.”

Ortega, who grew up mainly in the Central Valley, has been coaching since his very own SF State playing days were over in 1995. He has coached various recreational leagues as well as YMCA leagues and basketball camps. He became an assistant coach for the men’s team in 1999 and used that experience to help him achieve his goal of head coach.

Ortega said that he is looking forward to the rigors of coaching a team and doesn’t feel that his lack of head coaching experience will hinder him in earning respect from his players.

“Every coach is given some amount of respect just based on being the coach and having the title of coach,” Ortega said. “When they see how hard I work and how much I will give to them, I feel the staff and myself will earn so much more respect than what is just casually given because of our titles.”

Crystal Hutchinson, a returning player and 21-year-old criminal justice and Spanish major, agrees. “I am definitely confident in him,” she said. “He’s actually one of the more respected coaches, we hope to make the playoffs and I feel that with his coaching and talent that will get us far.”

Having been an assistant for the men’s team and dealing mainly with male athletes, Ortega doesn’t feel that he needs to adjust his coaching style to fit women better.

“I don’t feel as though you have to treat any athlete differently,” he said. “My job is to figure out a way to get them all to perform at an optimum level, to get the most I can out of them and I think that’s the goal of every coach, but the gender of the athlete I don’t believe makes a difference.”

But for a part of the summer, some of the athletes didn’t know who their next coach would be. Ortega commended the players for their perseverance in sticking with the team during this time and attributed that perseverance as one of the team’s strengths.

Ortega hopes to improve on last season’s 14-13 record. With the combination of eight returning players and hard work, there is plenty reason for him to be optimistic about the upcoming season.

“My goal is to win and I hope it’s the goal of every player on this team to win,” he said. “I really hope to see a team that plays for 40 solid minutes a gives 120 percent worth of effort in these 40 minutes.”

With his new coaching position, Coach Ortega is ready to have a great season and hopefully bring the SF State women’s basketball team into the playoffs. “I expect to win and want to win all the time and as a coach you want to see the result of hard work.”