By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Reporter
What’s orange and black on the outside, but blue and gold
on the inside?
Oregon State Head Coach Kirk Walker.
Walker’s story is one that every UCLA student hopes to
emulate. He graduated from UCLA in 1988 with a degree in
kinesiology and is now climbing the professional ladder in the same
occupation he wanted when he came to Westwood.
Most career-minded students know that to fill your resume in the
field in which you want to work, an internship or volunteer
position is the place to start. Walker knew that too, and he knew
where to go.
“I got started (with the softball team) my freshman year,
just helping out managing, throwing batting practice,” he
said. “I knew two of the players that were freshmen and one
that was a senior from summer ball, so they encouraged me to go
help out.”
But by the start of the 1984 season, Walker was doing more than
throwing BP. Rather, he was rearranging his schedule in order to
travel with the team. In fact, in that first season, he would
travel with them all the way to a national title, their second of
the NCAA variety.
“After my first year, they put me on a full-ride
scholarship as an undergraduate assistant,” he said. “I
was just a sophomore in college, helping out with recruiting and
working with pitchers and hitters.”
“He’s extremely bright, and we noticed that right
off the bat, so we just kept giving him more and more
responsibilities,” said UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist.
Enquist, along with longtime coach Sharron Backus, were
Walker’s mentors while in Westwood.
He was hired full-time after he graduated, but despite making
the Women’s College World Series in 10 of his 11 years,
winning six titles and finishing second three times and third once,
the time came for Walker to move on.
An NCAA rule put in place during Walker’s tenure allowed
for a team to have a set number of assistant coaches plus a
“restricted-earnings” coach whose salary was
capped.
“I knew by the end of my second year coaching that
coaching Division I ball was probably where my professional career
was going to go,” he said.
He said, though, that he might not have left UCLA had it not
been for the restricted-earnings position.
“It cut my salary by about $5,000,” he said.
“It made it very difficult to live in L.A.”
Oregon State came calling, and Walker made the move for the 1995
season. The Beavers had little softball tradition, and you’d
think that being in a conference where he might face his mentors
several times a year would be a deterrent. But Walker considered
these factors as positives.
“I knew that Oregon State was not a great program, but I
could definitely help the program out,” he said. “My
relationship with Sue will never be affected by the score. That
allows us to step on the field against each other and compete all
out.
“It’s a great thing to be able to compete against
your best friend and love the competition,” he added.
Enquist saw Walker’s intra-conference move as a plus.
“I was thrilled because I knew there was going to be
another good coach in our conference,” she said.
Walker proved his mettle by turning Oregon State’s program
around. In 1995, his first year, OSU went 13-43. By 1999, the
Beavers were 47-25 and made it to the WCWS.
“We knew he would do great things,” said
Enquist.
Adept softball fans can’t help but notice the aspects of
Oregon State’s game that Walker learned during his time in
Los Angeles.
“The one thing that I see Kirk taking from UCLA is that
his players play with a lot of class,” said Enquist.
“He’s done a great job of establishing the mind-set
that you’re a professional out there.”
Walker says the things he learned at UCLA are too numerous to
name and perhaps too subtle to articulate.
“I don’t think I can honestly say where my
philosophy stops and Sharron and Sue’s philosophy
started,” said Walker. “They gave me so much
responsibility and so much respect. I don’t know why they
did, quite honestly, but it made us as a program so
strong.”
It will be a tough task for the Beavers to complete the
three-game sweep of the Bruins that started April 20 with an
OSU
2-1 win in Corvallis. But if it happens, it won’t be a
total loss for UCLA.
After all, it will be a Bruin winning the game.