COACH MURPHY SU'A - cal state dominguez hills toros
PING!BASEBALL DIVISION II SPOTLIGHT

After a pair of defense driven, edge of your seat, one run victories last Sunday over nationally ranked Cal State LA, the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros not only won the series over the Golden Eagles, but they earned national recognition of their own earning a spot in the latest NCBWA Division II National Poll. It was the second big series win in a row for the Toros as they bested once ranked Chico State the week before. A tremendous accomplishment for a team picked to finish in the second half of the CCAA at the beginning of the season.

It is somewhat understandable why not a whole lot was expected from CSUDH this season. Last year they went 21-34, and that was with standout star Cody Puckett, who was drafted in the Major League Baseball's 8th round by the Cincinnati Reds. Furthermore, back in 2007 the Toros finished an uninspiring 15-26-1.

However not all preseason prognosticators felt the Toros were only worthy of placing eighth in the ten team league. "For some reason, this year’s team has that special sense about them.” Toro Head Coach Murphy Su’a stated when questioned about his team before the first pitch of 2009.

While Su’a may not be able to pinpoint what makes this team special, to someone from the outside is it easily apparent. Coach Su’a himself has turned his team into contenders. Armed with experience as a former NCAA Division I First-Team All-America selection with BYU, discipline as a golden gloves boxer and a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do as well as compassion as a husband, father of three and grandfather of five, Su’a has the perfect mix of talents to lead the Toros team and built the program into a contender in the always competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association.

After hearing from some of his players and the admiration they had for their coach, Ping!Baseball revisited Carson and were fortunate to have a little Q&A from Coach Su’a:

PING!BASEBALL: In the latest NCBWA Division II National Poll, was ranked 22 in the nation. Obviously you had optimistic expectations going into 2009, but did you think the Toros were going to be this successful?

SU'A: Yes, not because of anything we have done as a coaching staff but because we have that kind of talent. I think in spite of what we do the team is going to play very good. We have tremendous pitching and some guys who can really swing the bat. So my expectation of the team is quote high and they have met those expectations.

PING!BASEBALL: Teams in the CCAA have been knocking each other out week after week this season, a testament to the parity in the rich conference. How do you feel the CCAA stacks up with other conferences?

SU'A: Well I always like to say that arguably we are the number one Division II conference in the nation. And if not number one, not more than number two. There are no weekends off in the CCAA. Even for the teams that are unsuccessful in years past they will jump up and bits someone in the future but for the most part it is a dogfight every single weekend.

PING!BASEBALL: In a recent Q&Q with Ping!Baseball two of your players Kevin Pillar and Phillip Van Doren both praised you on being not just a coach, but a mentor as well. Do you actively try to be more than a coach, but a father figure and counselor for your players as well?

SU'A: I think that first and foremost our responsibility is to develop good young men; good sons, good husbands, goof fathers and when they leave the college career hopefully we will have some influence on that. Baseball is something that we all cherish, and it is special to us but the two things that are most important to me are respect and discipline and if we don’t get past that then we are going to have a tough time playing baseball. And we have fine young men. My goal is to see that they get the proper education and obtain the degree and of course be good people.

PING!BASEBALL: Does being a junior golden gloves boxer, third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a three-time karate grand champion help you when working with young student athletes?

SU'A: I would have to say yes, there is a sense of respect that they may have for you if they know your background and that you know what it takes to be successful, the discipline that it requires. I think that is seen as qualifying your level of coaching and teaching and all those things have tremendously helped my coaching ability.

PING!BASEBALL: You got into coaching early, working with the Brewers as a pitching coach and was a player/coach/manager for the Brewers’ affiliate in Stockton, CA. Yet you got out of the business do pursue other ventures, namely being the CEO of Royal Pacific Express, an airfreight trucking and transportation company. What was behind the temporary layoff from coaching and what got you back into game?

SU'A: In everything that I do I do it with great passion. When I was done playing baseball I actually retired from baseball. I then had an opportunity to get into the airfreight and import export business as a dockworker and worked my way up until I became a business owner and CEO. So the passion was there and I did that for 24/7 and I had a great passion for it. But then my children came along and of course the sons wanted to play baseball and my daughter softball to with dad not coaching I thought it was time to spend some quality time with my children on the field so that passion for baseball came back.

PING!BASEBALL: A man of many talents I saw that you also received a music scholarship for gifted musicians to the Californian Institute of Arts. What is your background in music?

SU'A: In the Samoan culture we are entertainers. My family is very musically inclined we sang since before I can even remember. I could even make a noise I was singing and dancing. My dad had all of us kids, 11 of us, sings and dancing and entertaining. We had a family band, I played trombone, my brother played saxophone, another borhter played drums and my dad played the trumpet but music was my passion at the time but of course we were also very athletic and in the Samoan community boxing was a big thing so I took up the martial arts quickly. Even now music is the number one gift I would list.

PING!BASEBALL: You played at BYU and your son was also a Cougar. Assuming your grandchildren pick up the game are you going to shepherd them to BYU, CSUDH or elsewhere?

SU'A: I tried to get my son to go to UCLA actually, they gave him a very good deal and BYU gave him a good deal but as soon as he met the ‘Steve Youngs’ and ‘Cory Schneiders’ and other professional players so he wanted to follow dads footsteps. Wherever they want to go and pursue the degree, I told my kids that as soon as their kids are old enough, grandpa will take over and start working with them. Wherever their passion lies I will support, BYU is our family school but for me CSUDH is now number one.

PING!BASEBALL: Carson and Cal State Dominguez Hills are both noted for being ethnically diverse. As a coach of a team in a sport with a disparaging lack of minorities, do you find your location to be a hindrance or blessing?

SU'A: The thing about sports and especially baseball is regardless of what race you are end your ethnic background, players will come from all different walks of life to play. Obvioulsy the players that are more local to here they would find CSUDH an easier place to fit into. The players that are coming here now are players that are coming from other areas and recognize that we have a pretty good program. They are coming not only for the great four-year education but for the chance to play with a god program.

PING!BASEBALL: If you were playing today, what would your walkup music be as you headed
to the plate?

SU'A: [A lot of Laughter!] Boy, there are so many good walkup songs I don’t even know the titles, I just hum them! I have no idea what it would be but I would most likely go with Tower of Power’s - “You got to be having fun”