New faces, new places to play

Mike Sciacca

New coaches, new artificial turf, new uniforms, new looks to old

playing venues.

New. New. New. New.

That’s the direction the athletic department at Laguna Beach High

School has taken in the past five months, all leading up to the start

of the 2004-05 school year.

Six new varsity head coaches have joined the Breakers.

In addition, major renovations on campus have refurbished Dugger

Gymnasium, the transformed Skip Carrillo Field for baseball, and

installed artificial turf at Guyer Stadium, home to football, soccer

and track and field.

Not only will the football team have a new head coach in Jimmy

Nolan, but the Breakers will don new uniforms this fall, as well.

Also new to Laguna’s coaching ranks is Greg Weiss as the girls’

tennis coach, John Vlahos as boys’ soccer coach, Bill Rolfing as

girls’ soccer coach, Barbara Williams as girls’ golf coach and Dave

Dopf as baseball coach.

“First of all, I appreciate all the time, effort and hard work the

coaches that are leaving us gave to their programs for such little

monetary reward,” said Ron Schwartz, who joined the school as

athletic director at the start of the 2003-04 school year.

“In 10 years as an athletic director, I can’t ever remember being

this excited about a new school year with all the excellent coaches

we now have at Laguna Beach High,” he said. “We were lucky to get

these six new coaches and they join a group of returning coaches that

did an awesome job last year.

“Add these new coaches to Lance Stewart, Dave Brobeck, Rick McKee,

Mark Hill, Stacy Howard and Andrew Priest -- how could you not be

excited? Plus, we have great support from our administration,

starting with our principal, Nancy Blade, who is as supportive of

athletics as she is of academics.”

Stewart guided the boys’ volleyball team to a CIF semifinal

appearance last spring, Brobeck led the school to its first cross

country title since 1989, and along with girls’ cross country coach

Earl Towner, took the squads to the state meet.

McKee took both the boys’ and girls’ water polo teams to the CIF

playoffs, Hill and Howard led the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams,

respectively, to the CIF playoffs and Priest had eight swimmers

qualify for the CIF finals.

Football practice began on the Laguna campus Monday.

Nolan, who played at Mater Dei, previously served as head coach at

Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary in Montebello.

“I drove down to Laguna Beach one night,” Nolan said. “I had not

been to the school before and saw the view of the beach when I got

there and thought, ‘this isn’t too bad.’

“It’s going to be a great year. We have a brand new stadium, the

kids are great, excited and ready to play.”

Matt Doyle, who also played at Mater Dei and served as a Laguna

assistant in 2002, is the school’s new head coach for freshman

football.

“Jimmy is bringing his youth, enthusiasm and endless energy to our

football program,” Schwartz said. “I am as excited as the players are

about the upcoming season. Jimmy is joined by a completely new

varsity staff of young, hungry coaches looking to put Laguna Beach

High on the Southern California football map.”

Barbara Williams teaches golf at Aliso Viejo Golf Course, has

played as an amateur or professional the past 29 years and is part

of the LPGA.

“I had been considering getting into high school coaching for the

past few years, but the timing never was right,” Williams said. “It

happened to be right when the Laguna job opened up.

“I’m very excited about the upcoming season. The program is in a

state of infancy right now and it’s going to take hard work and

dedication by our players to give the program some stability. The

experienced golfers we do have on our team have proven to be great

role models. They have great grades and great dedication, and all of

the girls are very focused.”

For the first time, the school will field a girls’ junior varsity

golf squad.

It will be coached by Andy Crisp, a teacher at Thurston Middle

School, Schwartz said.

Dave Dopf has ascended from baseball varsity assistant to head

coach.

He began his coaching career at Laguna six years ago when he was

hired as the junior varsity baseball coach, and he later served as an

assistant to then-varsity head coach, Mike Schubert.

For the past four years, he has coached club baseball with the

Orange County Dawgs and led the team to the 2003 Mickey Mantle World

Series championship in Norman, Okla.

“I am very excited to be back in Laguna and taking over the

baseball program,” Dopf said. “I’m looking forward to building a

competitive baseball program for years to come. But I am most excited

in the thought of having our first practice on the brand new Skip

Carrillo Field.

“From my past experience, I know the biggest challenge coaching at

Laguna Beach is the numbers. As one of the smallest public high

schools in Southern California, it’s tough to compete with schools

that have twice and sometimes three times as many students as we have

at Laguna. But with Laguna Beach Little League’s new winter ball

season and the local club teams that are forming and allowing the

younger players in the community to play year-round, that challenge

could be overcome in the next few years.”

Greg Weiss coached Laguna boys’ varsity tennis last spring after

Brian Ricker resigned, and now takes over the girls’ tennis program.

“He is the tennis version of the ‘gym rat,’” Schwartz said of

Weiss. “He is on the courts constantly, teaching tennis. I know he

has high hopes for the girls. He wants to go at least one step

further than last year.”

The past two years, Laguna’s girls’ tennis team has reached the

CIF semifinals.

John Vlahos takes over the reigns of the school’s boys’ soccer

program after a turn at Mira Costa High School.

“John will bring a new vision and direction to the soccer program

that has a strong history,” Schwartz said. “He is young and

enthusiastic and wants to build a winning soccer program at Laguna

Beach High.”

Schwartz call’s new girls’ soccer coach Bill Rolfing the “veteran”

of the new crew of coaches.

“Bill has a wealth of knowledge in soccer,” Schwartz said. “He has

played and coached at every high level of club soccer. Bill will

build a girls’ soccer program the school and community can be proud

of.”

With the addition of the six to a veteran bunch of coaches,

Schwartz is excited about the prospects for the upcoming school year

-- and beyond.

“A new, artificial-turf field, remodeled gym and baseball field

and great coaches, equals a great new year,” he said. “Watch out for

the Breakers.”