With an end of a successful season that brought his team to the No. 8 seed in the California Community College Athletic Association playoffs, we have the honorable Coach Gerred Link to thank.

Link played point guard at Chaminade Prep High School and later at Sonoma State University, for four-year, is now achieving his goal of bringing a men’s basketball team to their peak and inspiring .

“My father was a coach,” said Link “I wanted to have an impact and give back. The game can do so much for a person.”

For his second year as head coach at Moorpark, Link was chosen as Moorpark’s fourth men’s basketball coach in Raider history. Before receiving the position, he spent his previous year as an assistant coach at the University of California, San Diego.

With no expectations when taking the position, nothing stopped him from creating a great team.

“From an outside perspective, community college can be a mess,” said Link. “So far, Moorpark has exceeded my expectations and everyone I have dealt with has been top watch.”

After capturing a conference title in February, he was also named Western State Conference Coach of the Year.

Besides his interest in basketball, Link also held dreams of his own.

“My dream has always been to be a physician,” said Link. “I almost went to a physical therapy school.”

In the two years since Link joined the Raider family and there has been a lot of improvement. His first season as head coach saw the team greatly improve their record from the previous season and just miss winning their conference. This past year, as we know the team won their conference title and had a home game in the CCCAA first round of the playoffs.

“From last year to this year, I think my expectations have changed. I learned what the level is really like, how to demand and hold the athletes to a higher standard.”

Larry Bush, a sophomore on the men’s team, was grateful to have had a mentor like Link.

“He has a lot of knowledge about the game which is great because we are constantly learning,” said Bush. “He made me a better leader on and off the court.”

Bush finished his career at this past season. He averaged 13.4 points per game during the 2015-2016 basketball season and was the Raiders leading scorer on the team.

“[His strongest aspect] is pushing you past your limit,” said Bush.

Jake Toddy, a freshman on the men’s basketball team, learned a lot from his first season experience with Link.

“He did an amazing job this season unifying our team and creating a family atmosphere,” said Toddy. “He was our leader and we wouldn’t have accomplished anything that we did this season without him.”

Expecting another successful season to come, Link brings hope to his players and supporters.

“I think my coach’s best qualities as a coach is his ability to relate to his players and understand what it takes to be successful because he was a player himself,” said Toddy.

With the hopes of continuing to progress from last season, Link remains coaching with high confidence and intensity.

“I hope to to keep growing as a coach and work hard to continue to recruit high character kids, who can also play basketball,” said Link.