Sorce takes over Estancia hoops program

Roger Carlson

COSTA MESA - Chris Sorce, who had taken five straight sophomore

basketball teams to league championships at Estancia High, but who had

previously begged off coaching the varsity in the wake of Rich Boyce’s

resignation earlier this year, has changed his mind.

And with that change came the quick offer from Estancia High Athletic

Director Tim Parsel to take over the varsity reins for the Eagles.

“I feel good about this,” said Parsel. “If Chris had expressed

interest in this earlier, we may not have even gone on a search as we

did.”

That “search” resulted in the naming of Rick Cook, a veteran coach who

was most recently on the Newport Harbor staff, as the Eagles’ new

“walk-on” coach. That was June 27.

By July 4 the Eagles were back to square one when Cook, after watching

the Eagles lose by “about 60 points,” to Newport Harbor in a summer

league game, according to Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst, decided the

Estancia program needed an “on-campus coach.”

Today the Eagles have that “on-campus” coach in the form of Sorce, who

has been a full-time teacher at Estancia in the special education area,

and will be assigned to a sixth-period basketball class.

For Sorce, it became an easy decision as the summer session

progressed.

“I really enjoy the kids,” said the 38-year-old Fountain Valley

resident, a product of Costa Mesa High and the Newport-Mesa School

District, from start to finish.

“I’ve coached most of them in the past (as sophomores) and it’s a good

group of kids to work with. They made great strides in the summer. It was

fun. We got along and I enjoyed myself.”

“I’m just glad he caught the fever this summer,” added Parsel.

Sorce took the temporary reins of the varsity for the balance of the

summer season (seven games), ending with another confrontation with

Newport Harbor.

Harbor won again, but this time the margin was six points.

Sorce, a cousin of former Newport Harbor High placekicking sensation

Art Sorce, has been with the Fountain Valley High baseball program as an

assistant for several years, and chances are he’ll continue with Ron

LaRuffa’s highly successful program in the future, although possibly with

fewer responsibilities.

“The No. 1 priority will be our basketball program,” continued Sorce,

whose team this winter will feature just one varsity returner (Elisar

Maldonado).

“We’ll probably be slow coming out of the blocks,” said Sorce,

alluding to the fact half his squad is locked up with football duties

until at least mid-November (and hopefully longer).

Among the football talent are the Valbuena twins, Ken and Danny,

Freddie Rodriguez, Cesar Romero, David Stoddard and Richie Berame.

A Cal State Fullerton product, Sorce said his team’s major focus will

be on pushing the ball up court when it’s there, or establishing a

halfcourt game when necessary. Defensively he likes the “in-your-face”

philosophy, which has been an Estancia trademark since the school opened

in 1965.

He and wife Wendy have two sons, 3-year-old Nicholas, and Dylan, who

made his debut about two weeks ago.