Edison Coach Inherits Talent and Tradition

Every day at practice, Ron LaRuffa sees the products of his inheritance. He can’t miss them.

He can view the top-flight high school tennis players and the many plaques, evidence of Edison High School’s Sunset League dominance in girls’ tennis.

Lisa Ammann, the Chargers’ No. 1 singles player, and Tracy Goedecke, half of the No. 1 doubles team, are in their fourth season on the varsity. They are part of the reason why Edison has won the Sunset League championship every season since 1980.

And it’s LaRuffa’s mission--and Ammann’s and Goedecke’s--to keep the Chargers’ winning tradition going.

You see, LaRuffa is new to this tradition. For 13 seasons, LaRuffa carved a niche for himself as the Chargers’ baseball coach before he quit that job to become the pitching coach at Rancho Santiago College last year.

So why did LaRuffa, an English teacher at Edison, return to coaching at the school? And why girls’ tennis?

“I’ve got some time (in the fall) now that I’m over at Rancho Santiago,” he said. “I’ve been playing tennis for the last five or six years. The job opened up and I applied and I was lucky enough to get it.”

So far, LaRuffa couldn’t be happier. Neither could the players, including Ammann and Goedecke.

“I still wanted to keep my hand in coaching at Edison,” LaRuffa said. “It’s something new for me. I don’t have to mow the infield or drag it. That’s great.”

LaRuffa replaced Janice Hopper, who left to pursue a full-time teaching position. He has changed a few things in the team’s workout routine. He has introduced more running and conditioning drills to get the players into better shape and has them trying to be more aggressive in their play. He’s trying to get them to come to the net more and stay away from a passive, baseline game.

“He’s really tough on us,” Ammann said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. But I’ve gotten in really good shape because of him.”

Though Ammann is a veteran of three league titles, including last year’s team that posted a 10-0 league record and a 19-3 overall mark, she is new to the No. 1 singles spot.

Debbie Goldberger, who is playing at UC Santa Barbara, had been the team’s top player and was a member of The Times’ All-County team in 1987.

“We’re going to miss her guaranteed three wins, but we’ll just have to try harder to make it up,” Goedecke said. “(LaRuffa) is putting a little more pressure on us to win. Practice is much harder.”

But in Ammann and Goedecke, the Chargers (1-1 this season) have a solid foundation for another league title defense. Teresa Warren, the No. 2 singles player, and Nikki Turner, a doubles player, are among Edison’s other top players.

Ammann has been playing for seven years and played doubles with Goedecke in junior tournaments before they were freshmen. Ammann’s mother, Barbara, is the coach at league rival Fountain Valley.

“It strikes a sensitive nerve sometimes,” Lisa Ammann said. “We’ve beaten them every time since I’ve been at Edison. It’s kind of fun, too. My mom wants me to win, but also wants their team to win.”

Though Goedecke is one of the team’s top players, she is content to play doubles and leave the singles to Ammann.

“I don’t really care for singles that much,” she said. “I guess I’m better at doubles. It’s easier for me.”

So far, LaRuffa has tinkered with the lineup, trying to find the combinations that will yield the best results. So, Goedecke has been playing with Turner, but that might change.

LaRuffa said shuffling the team’s lineup has been the biggest difficulty he has encountered.

“The biggest problem is settling on the third doubles team,” LaRuffa said. “It’s nice to have about five girls who are about the same (competitive level). This year we have to do it (win) with balance and depth.”

Another mildly disconcerting factor LaRuffa has to overcome is his own intensity while the matches are in progress.

There are rules prohibiting coaching from the sidelines during play and LaRuffa--used to the nonstop dugout banter on the baseball field--has to stifle his enthusiasm.

“He’s always pacing; he’s nervous,” Goedecke said.

Said LaRuffa: “I see those ‘Sunset League Champions’ (plaques) every day when I look over. I don’t want to be the first coach not to win a championship. That’s on my mind.”