Prep football: Authority figures

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - With a nucleus of experienced returners, Corona

del Mar High football coach Dick Freeman said leadership is abundant as

the Sea Kings’ continue the second of their three weeks of spring

practice. But, Freeman said, it’s the style of leadership being

administered that pleases him most.

“This is the best group of seniors we’ve had since 1995 (when the Sea

Kings went to the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinals),” Freeman

said. “We have 19 or 20 seniors who are all taking this leadership thing

to heart. We’ve talked a lot to the seniors, who have been through a few

hills and valleys along the way. We told them that rather than pushing

their teammates through things, we’d like them just to set a good example

and get the rest of the guys to come along with them. What we didn’t want

was the seniors turning into a bunch of foremen. I didn’t need bosses, I

needed leaders.”

Thankfully, Freeman believes, an understated leadership pattern has

emerged as the Sea Kings begin preparation for the 2002 campaign.

With so much experience, that preparation is already ahead of years

past, with Freeman and his staff able to do more in the way of

fine-tuning than introductory instruction.

“We haven’t had to go back and start from zero,” Freeman said. “We’re

tweaking things this spring, more than dwelling on fundamentals. For

instance, rather than teaching our linebackers when to drop in coverage,

we’re teaching them how to drop more effectively. We’ve been able to just

take that next step.”

And while veteran assistant Ed Blanton is stepping in for departed

offensive coordinator Lyle Lansdell (now assisting the varsity at Aliso

Niguel, where his son plays), Freeman said the emphasis this spring has

been on defense.

“We’re working on doing a little more defensively, while still putting

in a couple new wrinkles on offense,” Freeman said.

Freeman reports about 60 players are attending workouts, which run

every weekday except Wednesdays. He was also pleased that almost half of

those are linemen, which has been an area of need in recent years.

“We have 28 linemen, which is more than we had healthy on the whole

team last season,” said Freeman, whose 2001 squad finished 5-4-1 and

missed the playoffs.

One standout watching from the sidelines this spring is two-time

All-Pacific Coast League offensive lineman John Daley. Daley, a

second-team all-league honoree as a sophomore and a junior, broke his leg

recently in a freak accident at a concert and is not expected to be back

on the field until late in the summer session.

In addition to his seniors, Freeman is also impressed with a strong

group of next year’s sophomores. The unit that contended for a PCL crown

as freshmen, will provide depth, as well as allow the Sea Kings to field

a sophomore team, said Freeman, who also expects the sophomores to

practice separately from the varsity next fall.

The Sea Kings will not play a spring game.