Pfatenhauer hoping Blue Sox more than just a start at CCSN

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Jan. 22, 1999 | 11:07 a.m.

The idea came to Chris Pfatenhauer during a 12-hour drive in the winter of 1997 from Las Vegas to Ontario, Ore.

A 1992 graduate of Bonanza High School, Pfatenhauer had been selected the Sun's Southern Nevada Baseball Player of the Year as a senior. When it came time for him to select a college to play for, however, his options were severely limited.

"It was either walk on at UNLV or pay $10,000 or $20,000 a year for a community college education out of state," Pfatenhauer recalled.

The Las Vegas native chose the latter, heading to California's College of the Canyons for two years before finishing school at the University of Wyoming.

So in 1997, as the top assistant coach at Oregon's Treasure Valley -- his third community college coaching position in as many years -- Pfatenhauer began to dream of junior college athletics in his home state.

He promptly started working toward that goal, creating a club baseball team at the Community College of Southern Nevada, recruiting local players, putting together a schedule and raising money for his squad.

And now, a little more than one year later, his dream is about to become reality, as CCSN prepares to add varsity baseball and softball -- its first two intercollegiate programs.

Despite all the success, though, Pfatenhauer knows his days with the team he founded may be numbered. CCSN is currently considering as many as nine other applicants for the permanent baseball head coaching position, including successful high school coaches Rodger Fairless of Green Valley and Tim Chambers of Bishop Gorman.

"Since it started, my number one goal was to start a community college baseball program here," Pfatenhauer said. "But my number two goal was that I have a major part in running it. I'll be disappointed if I don't get it, but at least I'll have been a large part in what's been done here."

According to CCSN interim athletic director Gordon Gochnour, the school will likely bring in three or four finalists for interviews on Feb. 10 and 11, with the final selection by Senior Vice President Dr. Robert Silverman expected to come the following week.

"We're just in the process of finishing the evaluation of the applicants," Gochnour said. "Some really top-notch people have applied."

As for Pfatenhauer's chances, Gochnour said that his young age (25) and relative lack of head coaching experience are balanced out by his success with the club team thus far.

"Part of the reason we've moved forward on intercollegiate athletics is because of what he's done," Gochnour said. "Obviously, he's not got the same experience as some of the other applicants, but we do take into account that he's the individual that got it off the ground."

For Pfatenhauer, getting the program off the ground meant finding local athletes willing to take a chance on the start-up "Blue Sox." That proved fairly easy in baseball talent-rich Southern Nevada, with a pair of former major league draft picks -- sophomore Sean Vann and freshman Nick Hobbs -- highlighting a 28-player roster.

"I needed somewhere to play," said Durango graduate David Yancy, a redshirt last year at UNLV. "I had other JCs in mind, but it was a money situation. And I'm a hometown product, so I've got my family and friends around me."

Next came a series of fund-raisers, including a golf tournament, car washes, Christmas tree sales and a search for local businesses interested in an outfield sign at Peccole Field, one of the Blue Sox's two home fields this spring (Durango High is the other).

"We call ourselves self-funded," Pfatenhauer said proudly. "We do it all ourselves."

The squad eventually raised $35,000 for its fall season, $10,000 for the summer and another $35,000 for the upcoming spring campaign, which begins Feb. 1 at Utah's Dixie College.

Lastly, Pfatenhauer compiled a tough 54-game spring schedule filled with contests against top-notch intercollegiate junior college opponents, including Idaho's Ricks College, Arizona Western and Dixie.

That rigorous schedule should give Pfatenhauer's players the chance to impress coaches from four-year colleges, many of whom scout the junior college scene heavily.

"He knows a lot of people at schools he's trying to get me to," said Bonanza graduate Bryan Maynor, who also played for Pfatenhauer last year as a freshman at Treasure Valley.

And as far as Maynor is concerned, Pfatenhauer should be an easy choice when next month's selection process concludes.

"He got this program started. It wouldn't be fair to give it to someone else," Maynor said. "At least give him a chance to see what he can do."

As for Pfatenhauer, he knows things may not go his way. But for now, he's going to continue getting his team ready to play this spring while trying to keep next year out of his thoughts.

"I understand that guys want the job. There's no question it's going to be one of the top programs in the country," he said. "But this is the school I want to be at. I wanted to start this and grow with this for my entire life. And I think I bring more to this school than a lot of others because of what I've done to this point."