Norco High School Softball On A Historic Run

Norco High School Softball On A Historic Run with Taylor Dockins and Kinzie Hansen leading the way.

May 23, 2017 by Dan Pearson

Richard Robinson says it's about the journey not the destination.

The ultra-successful coach of the Norco Cougars finds his team four wins away from a CIF Southern Section Championship, a perfect 35-0 record and a national championship.

He also finds his team on the verge of history. It's been more than 30 years since a California team went undefeated and won a CIF Southern Section championship.

Still Robinson downplays the record, rankings and perhaps a place in the annals of all-time great high school teams.

"It means nothing once the post-season starts. Everyone is undefeated and it's one loss and you are out. They changed the CIF Southern format this year to make sure the best teams were in the top division. Trust me when I say no one in the tournament cares about our ranking or are record."

Robinson, who has already finished number one in the national rankings with Norco (31-2, 2012) and has recorded a 348-92 mark since taking over the Cougars in 2004, has never really placed an emphasis on wins, losses or rankings. "It's always been about the process of working hard and getting better. We've always told our kids, it's okay if someone plays better and beats you. It's never okay if it was because you weren't giving your best effort."

Getting beat is something Norco has yet to experience in 2017.

Despite playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country and also playing in two highly prestigious tournaments -- the David Kops Tournament of Champions and the Dana Housley Memorial -- the Cougars remain unblemished at 30-0 heading into Tuesday's second round playoff game against Vista Marietta (18-6).

Norco is led by senior pitcher Taylor Dockins (30-0, 0.75 ERA), who recently broke the CIF Southern Section record for wins and now has 105 on her career.

Robinson calls Dockins the team inspirational leader after she overcame a life-threatening illness in the form of a rare liver cancer last summer. During her junior season Dockins had complained of intermittent stomach pains during the season. Later doctors discovered a large tumor on her liver that was removed by surgery.

Everyone, except Dockins herself, was devastated by the news. "I went to see her in the hospital and I was trying to hold back tears," Robinson said. "Taylor looked at me and said 'Don't worry coach, I got this. I'll be ready to go when the season starts."

Robinson added her teammates were devastated by the news but Dockins would have none of it. "She's the bravest person I've ever met. An adult would have a hard time dealing with a diagnosis like that. Can you imagine how hard it would be for a teenager? The news hit the team really hard and they were obviously concerned. She just kept telling them not to worry, she was going to pitch her senior year."

Dockins said putting the disease out of her mind made it easier to deal with.

It's not something I dwell on, nobody knows what the future holds so I just decided to live one day at a time. I just decided I was going to fight it and beat it,

Dockins told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in March.

Her success on the mound is do to her ability to locate her pitches. "She's had some big strikeout games but her real success comes with her location. She pitches to contact and relies on her defense," Robinson says of the Cal State-Fullerton signee.

A solid offense has also helped Dockins. As a team, every player in the Norco lineup is hitting between .325 and .500. Stats that do not tell the hole story. "You hear about high school players hitting .750 or something outrageous like that and that's fine. Year-in and year-out we try to play the schedule the best competition possible. Sometimes our stats might not seem impressive. You have to understand they have come against great competition," Robinson said.

Still Norco is loaded with outstanding players.

Catcher Kinzie Hansen is the No. 1 ranked sophomore in the country and possesses a rare mixture of power and defensive prowess. Shortstop Mikayla Allen is hitting close to .500 on the season; while outfielders Toni Camarillo and Naomi Hernandez have also played well.

"We're a tough bunch to pitch around," Robinson said. "We've had 10 different players deliver game winning RBIs this year and 11 different players hit home runs."

As for his team's long run of success, Robinson credits his players and assistants. "We have been spoiled with the number of great players to come through our program. Added to that is the fact that I have been fortunate enough to have the same great staff for a long time," Robinson said. "But it starts with the players. We have a talented group, that works hard and are extremely coachable."

Regardless of what happens in the remaining two weeks of the season, don't look for any drop off next season as Norco has just three seniors in their starting lineup.