Returning to the community college football coaching ranks after a 22-year hiatus, Steve Valbuena begins his second year as an assistant offensive line coach. In fact, his duties will be two-fold, as he will also focus his attention to generating advertising money and fundraising for the football program. It was 1986, when Valbuena spent the year as the wide receiver coach at College of the Desert that he last coached at the community college level. But his 20 years of coaching and teaching experience covers both football and baseball, as he has spent time as the head baseball coach at Yucca Valley High (1977), defensive backs coach at Palm Springs High (1978-79), as well as time at Indio High, Palm Desert High and Fountain Valley High. During the 1999 and 2000 seasons, he helped lead Fountain Valley High to the CIF Playoffs.

While a student at Fountain Valley High, Valbuena was a football, baseball and basketball player, while playing as a wide receiver and cornerback on the football team. While on the baseball team, he was an all-league selection as a first baseman. A knee injury ended his football career, but he went on to play one year of baseball at Orange Coast College and was on the junior varsity baseball team at Cal State Long Beach for one season as a starting pitcher.

In addition to earning his Associate of Arts degree at Orange Coast College, Valbuena went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Cal State Long Beach (1973) and Master’s degree in Education from Cal State University, San Bernardino in 1987.

Valbuena and his wife of nine years, Lynn Rae, reside in the City of Orange. He has two step-children; Rich (35) and Sabrina (34).