The 1999-2000 California High School athletic season was one that will be remembered for many years to come.

The varsity girls soccer team won its first North Coast Section title and finished the season ranked the No. 10 team in the nation.

The boys/girls swimming team also won the NCS title, marking the first time in 12 years two Cal teams claimed more than one section title in the same year.

The varsity football team, on the heels of an 0-10 campaign in 1998, went 5-1-1 in league last year and earned an NCS berth.

This leaves a simple question:  What has caused this sudden improvement in Cal’s athletic program?

The issue on the minds of many Cal students this year is the sudden increase in student population.  While most frown upon growth because it means more crowded classes and longer lunch lines, Cal's athletic program has welcomed the growth with open arms.

“There is a correlation between the increase in student population and the increase in winning because the selection (of athletes) is greater,”  Principal Mark Corti said.

Cal High’s student population for the 1999-2000 school year was 1,930, a 58 percent increase from the 1989-1990 school year, when 1,200 attended Cal.

Last year, Cal's athletic teams had a combined winning percentage of .581, a 66 percent increase from the combined winning percentage of .349 during the 1989-90 season.

Is this a true correlation or just a coincidence?

Rick Moitoza, a physical education teacher at Cal since the year it opened in 1973, believes the rise in student population has drastically increased the athletic talent pool.  Cal's sports teams have benefitted as a result. 

“With more than 2,000 kids, you have about six times as many athletes to choose from (than the coaches did when the school opened)," Moitoza said.

When Cal High opened in 1973, there were only 750 students combined in the seventh through 10th grades.  That first year, there were only 76 sophomores attending the school. Varsity teams those first few years were tough to field, having only about 400 athletes to choose from since only freshmen and sophomores were allowed to play high school sports.

“There were still some outstanding athletes, but just not enough of them,” said Moitoza.

Moitoza said some of the students transferred to San Ramon Valley, Monte Vista and private high schools during Cal first few years because the small student population led to a struggling  sports program.

Cal’s varsity football team joined the EBAL in 1976 and promptly lost 34 consecutive EBAL games.  They won their first EBAL game against Foothill in 1980, four years after joining league.  

But as Corti points out, many teams at Cal have had a long winning tradition of success that people fail to recognize.

“While tennis and volleyball were very competitive, the high profile sports were not,”  he said.   "Many people measure success by the talent of the high-profile sports teams, like football.”

Cal varsity football coach Brad Tubbs has seen the improvement of his team firsthand. When Tubbs came to Cal in 1996, the football program wasn’t preforming very well. 

But the team has continued to improve over Tubbs tenure, culminating with an NCS berth the last two years. 

Tubbs attributes some of the team's success to having more players to choose from each year.  A bigger selection translates into better talent.  

However, some people don’t think that there’s any correlation between the improvement in sports teams and the increase in student population. 

Corti feels that student population growth cannot single-handedly improve a sports program. 

“First, you need athletes to win," he said.   "Then, you need coaches that are passionate, who care about their players.  They build a winning formula through hard work and sportsmanship.  Here at Cal, we have great coaching and direction.

"A lot of the credit also has to go to (former Cal principal) Rob Stockburger.  He had students believing that we could win.”