Of course, Terri Bamford loves to win.
The La Jolla Country Day School girls basketball coach has won four state championships, 15 CIF San Diego Section titles, 16 league crowns and nine Southern California regional titles as head coach of the Torreys, part of a 32-year career spent on the bench.
“Coaching is about relationships,” said Bamford. “Sure, anyone who coaches wants to win. The most-rewarding thing, though, is the relationships you build. And not just with your players, but with your fellow coaches, administrators and parents.
“Honestly, and I’m not lying, I can’t tell you how many games we’ve won or how many championships we have.
“What I treasure are the relationships.”
Bamford will be inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame at Monday’s San Diego Sports Association’s Salute to the Champions dinner. She’s part of a three-person class that also includes former San Diego Chargers star Eric Weddle and former San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey,
Bamford’s Torreys are ranked No. 2 in San Diego and No. 25 in the state, continuing a tradition of basketball excellence. Bamford has coached some of women’s basketball’s greats, from Kelsey Plum and Candice Wiggins to fellow McDonald’s All-Americans Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams, during her time at LJCD. She says she’s “blessed to be coaching here.”
The La Jolla Country Day program took off in Bamford’s second season, when Wiggins enrolled in school.
Plum followed, as did wins and championships.
Wiggins starred at Stanford and the WNBA. Plum is an Olympic gold medalist in 3-on-3 and is a key to the success of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.
Scores of La Jolla Country Day players have gone on to star in college, including Cunningham and Williams, who are freshmen at Arizona, Te-Hina Paopao at South Carolina, Jazzy Anousinh at Cal Poly and Sumayah Sugapong at UC San Diego. Kiera Oakry, one of Bamford’s assistant coaches, starred at USD.
“La Jolla Country Day gets ultra-competitive kids,” said Bamford, the 2020 Wilson Sporting Goods/WBCA High School National Coach of the Year. “Kids who come here want to work. There are no special favors for athletes. We will get you help, we’ll figure it out and get you help.
“The school has a system where the teachers check in every week. Nothing falls through the cracks.”
Jeff Hutzler, longtime athletic director at La Jolla Country Day, is most proud of the way the school’s teams act in public.
“We tell our athletes that they are the most-visible people on our campus. And no team is more visible than our girls basketball squad,” he said. “I went with the team last year for games in Washington, D.C. We had middle school girls meet us at the bus, They wanted to see us because they saw us on YouTube. ...
“Terri Bamford understands that. She has a great understanding of where her program fits.”
Bob Petinak has been friends with Bamford for three decades, from the early days at San Pasqual to La Jolla Country Day.
“I met Terri when I was 19,” said Petinak, who has spent the last 22 years as the public-address announcer for the Torreys girls basketball games.
“I was helping with JV basketball at San Pasqual, watched Terri’s first practice as head coach, and I was hooked. Her outlook was contagious. She brings so much more to the game than Xs and Os.
“Over the years, she has stayed true to her message ... practice hard, play hard, study hard. And she has evolved with the times.”
Friday’s 61-54 win over Francis Parker was Banford’s 715th career victory, the second-most all-time in San Diego. Poway’s Jay Trousdale, who is now retired, was 726-286 in 35 years as leader of the Titans. Bamford will likely pass Trousdale sometime early next season.
“I’ve been a witness to her success,” Trousdale said. “She knows how to put good groups together. She has stars, but her girls have always played as a team. That’s the key to her success.
“For what she has accomplished in our section, at the state level and with USA Basketball, you have to tip your cap.”
Bamford is still full of energy. Are 800, 900 even 1,000 victories a possibility?
“I still love it,” she said. “Each year, each team is a different journey. And I love the journey.”