King opts to resign

Barry Faulkner

The Estancia High boys basketball program is looking for its fifth

coach in six years after the resignation of Russell King, who guided

the Eagles to a 13-14 record in his only season at the helm.

King, hired as interim coach Oct. 16, one day after three-year

head man Chris Sorce resigned, has stepped down citing personal

reasons, Estancia Boys Athletic Director Tim Parsel said.

Parsel said he had invited King back for next season and, after

King expressed reservations about returning, attempted to convince

him to stay without success.

“I really tried to persuade Russ to stay,” Parsel said. “But he

has some personal issues he wants to work on. I’m sorry to lose him.

He did a great job. I’m disappointed Russ can’t stay with it, because

I think he’s good for the kids and good for our school. But I

understand his reasoning.”

Parsel said the mandatory 10-day job posting is scheduled to begin

Monday, as the school looks to fill the coaching void.

“Losing another coach is hard on these kids,” said Jason Simco,

who guided the junior varsity the last two seasons and, along with

freshman coach Tom Rausch, has been supervising the program’s

sixth-period class since King resigned three weeks ago.

Parsel said the program is fortunate to have Simco and Rausch to

continue coaching while it searches for a new coach. Hiring a

replacement could take some time.

“We are hoping to offer a possible teaching position to the next

coach, but that has yet to be determined,” Parsel said. “I told

[Simco and Rausch] they may be running things into the summer.”

Parsel said one potential sticking point would be the availability

of a teaching job.

“You’d like to have those [staffing] decisions made by early

summer, but it could be late summer,” Parsel said. “I’ve found out my

teaching assignment two weeks before school started on two different

occasions.”

Employees within the Newport-Mesa Unified School District will be

considered first, before candidates from outside the district. Parsel

said no one on campus has expressed interest in the job.

The new Estancia coach will inherit All-Newport-Mesa performer

Carlos Pinto, who averaged 17.6 points in his third varsity season.

Pinto helped the Eagles reach the CIF Southern Section Division III-A

playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Orange Lutheran.

Other varsity returners include Hugo Escobedo, who will be a senor

guard and juniors-to-be Mike McDaniels, Shaun Markley and Dallas

Kopp.

The new coach will become the fifth coach in six seasons. Rich

Boyce resigned after the 1999-2000 season. The school hired former

Newport Harbor assistant Rick Cook to take over for Boyce, but Cook

resigned days later, just after the summer league schedule had begun.

Sorce, the Estancia junior varsity coach at the time, stepped in

to take over the program and remained in charge through the next

three seasons.

King, who will remain a teacher at Estancia, played for the Eagles

and had coached in the program at all levels.