Maria Christine, now in her 30th year, is the senior member of Coach Mircetic's staff. Maria has helped lead the Pirates to a 806-136 record since 1994 (a winning pct. of .855), including a 297-15 (.952) Western State Conference mark and a record of 68-20 (.773) in playoff games. In 17 of Maria's 26 years, the Pirates advanced to the state Elite Eight, reaching the state championship game seven years in a row (1996-2002), in 2010 and again in 2014. She has played a significant role in each of Ventura College's seven state championship teams.

Coach Maria was born in Marina de Pisa, Italy, where her father was stationed with the U.S. Air Force. She lived overseas in Italy and Germany, and in Maine, Atwater, CA and Santa Maria, CA before her family settled in Oxnard. She was a standout basketball player at Santa Clara High School, where she graduated in 1976, and continued her playing career at Moorpark College. She completed her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of LaVerne in 1991. Maria received an M.Ed. degree from Azusa Pacific in 1996.

Maria's coaching career began in 1983 at Camarillo High School. She began her collegiate experience with Ventura College in the 1994-95 season. That year the Pirates went 28-3, winning the WSC championship and advancing to the state final four.

The following season, the Pirates sailed through the season with an undefeated 35-0 record and a state championship. In 1997, Maria helped the Pirates earn back-to-back state titles.

Ventura returned to the state championship game the next two seasons, losing in the finals each year. In 2000, VC posted the best record in state history with their 38-0 state championship run. Maria helped Coach Mircetic with four more championship teams in '01, '02, '10 and '14.

Throughout all of these championship seasons, Coach Maria has been a steady influence on the bench for Coach Mircetic and an outstanding role model for the players. Maria's presence has made a tremendous impact on the success of the Pirates.

Maria retired from the Ventura County Sherriff's Department and now works on call for the federal Emergency Management Agency, traveling across the country to assist victims of natural disasters navigate federal assistance. She has one son, Gregory, who played football and graduated from the University of Washington. Three years ago, Maria celebrated the birth of her first granddaughter.