APTOS — After four years at the helm, Stefan Hocom has stepped down from his post as the head coach of the Aptos High girls’ basketball team, he informed this newspaper on Monday afternoon.
Hocom said there was no bad blood with the administration, and that the decision to step away from coaching was one rooted in family. His son, Quinn, will be a freshman at Aptos next school year and his daughter, Hannah, is set for her senior year.
He’s ready to be a spectator for the foreseeable future.
“Being in the spotlight, I wasn’t ready for that,” said Hocom, an Aptos alumnus. “I live in the woods and that’s where I like to be.”
Hocom compiled a 78-36 overall record in his four years at Aptos, and helped the program capture its first Central Coast Section title since 1983 and first outright Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League crown since ’82.
This year, Aptos finished 26-5 overall and advanced to the CIF NorCal Division III quarterfinals. The Mariners will return all but one player, forward Abbi Saxton, from this season’s squad, which finished ranked 90th in the state by Maxpreps.
Hocom said his job is done, and he is excited to see what the Mariners can do with a veteran roster next season.
“When I took over, the goal was to come in and have Aptos be competitive again,” Hocom said. “We didn’t talk about wins or championships, or anything like that. We just wanted to bring the level of the product back to being competitive with the rest of the league. We’re there now, and I think this is the perfect time to step away. Hopefully, they can get someone who can take them up another notch.”
Aptos Athletic Director Mark Dorfman said the position would open next week when the school returns from spring break.
“We’re open to all candidates because we don’t know if a teaching position will come with it and because Stefan demonstrated that an off-campus coach can run a fantastic program,” Dorfman said.
Before Hocom took over in 2014-15, Aptos had struggled to compete in the SCCAL. The Mariners had not won a league championship since 2001, and finished under .500 in three straight seasons while flipping through coaches.
Hocom went 9-16 in his first season, but was able to record winning seasons in each of the next three years.
Last season, Aptos finished runner-up in the SCCAL and went on to win the CCS Division III championship over Soquel High.
This winter, Aptos went 12-0 in league action and won the league tournament, but lost in the CCS D-III championship game to South San Francisco High.
Hocom shared SCCAL Coach of the Year honors after the 2016-17 season.
