BOYS’ SOCCER PREVIEW:

For Estancia High boys’ soccer coach Gannon Burks, a 2.0 just isn’t enough.

Blame it on the teacher in him.

Burks is a math teacher at Ray Everett Elementary, but lately, he’s been focusing on Estancia students as well.

Losing athletes because of grades has been a problem, he said. In an effort to retain more players, Burks has instituted mandatory homework hours, and created a tutor system. Players on the team with better grades tutor their teammates who need help.

Even though the CIF Southern Section mandates a 2.0 grade-point average to be eligible for sports, Burks has been holding the team to a higher standard.

“I had to change the program around,” Burks said. “I didn’t like the way it was heading. We might as well have a team concept in school as well.”

That concept doesn’t just apply to grades, but behavior too. Burks said he wouldn’t play a student if he discovered they’d been dismissed from a classroom, or had been mouthing off to an instructor.

“School is important,” Burks said. “It’s more important that soccer is. We want them to be successful life learners.”

Junior halfback Rony Argueta has been one of the leaders for the team, both on and off the field, which is why he’s one of the captains. Burks expects Argueta, who has a 4.4 GPA, to help his teammates if they’re struggling.

Senior captain and center midfielder Eric Duarte (3.2 GPA) and Ricardo Medina (4.2 GPA) have been pitching in as well.

“Accepting the help is hard,” Burks said. “Sometimes people don’t want to admit they need help.”

Now in his fifth year as head soccer coach at Estancia, Burks has been working to change a program that Newport Harbor once shunned because of fighting and dirty play.

When Estancia played Newport Harbor Dec. 5, it was the first time the two teams had met since 1999. Harbor stopped playing Estancia because the emotions of the game just boiled over into punches and fists.

When he interviewed for the coaching job, Burks was told he’d have to quell the team’s penchant for getting red cards, and stop the boys from fighting.

He thought his Army background — Burks spent four years as a staff sergeant to earn a college scholarship — might help him establish the discipline that was missing.

At first, Eagles’ soccer players met the regime change with eye rolling and skepticism.

“If you’re a senior or a junior, and you’ve got a new coach who’s going to change your philosophy, that would be a tough pill to swallow,” Burks said. “You can still learn a lot from a loss and grow from your weaknesses. At first the guys don’t want to hear that. They think you’re a preacher.”

Cesar Gonzalez, who now coaches the Eagles’ freshman girls’ team, was one of the skeptics. Initially, he didn’t buy into Burks’ sermons, either. Gonzalez graduated in 2005.

As a coach now, he sees things differently.

“He told me, he realized now that he wished he would have been more on board,” Burks said, recalling a recent conversation between the two men.

Estancia beat Harbor this year, 1-0, and Sailors Coach Ryan Hernandez was impressed.

“Estancia’s come a long way,” Hernandez told the Daily Pilot after the match. “They’re a classy, good team. They did well.”

After the Eagles lost to Santa Margarita Nov. 28, Coach Curt Bauer felt similarly.

“Estancia is a good team in that they always battle hard,” Bauer told the Daily Pilot. “They play clean, and it’s just always a good game.”

Burks’ approach appears to be working. Estancia was 7-2 in the Orange Coast League last season, good enough to take first place.

The Eagles lost 12 seniors from that team, so they’ve been leaning on newcomers, including freshman goalkeeper Edgar Vega. In Estancia’s first game of the season, Vega stopped a penalty kick in the 80th minute to secure a 3-3 tie with Savannah, saving the team from opening the season with a loss.

Vega, the only freshman on the varsity team, will miss a couple of weeks because of a shoulder injury he sustained against Warren. He may be ready for the Eagles’ league opener against Costa Mesa Jan. 11, but Burks doesn’t want to rush his recovery.

“From the first moment I saw this kid, from my gut, I thought he has something that not many players have,” Burks said. “He has an instinct and a drive.

“He was only going to be the backup goalie given his experience. He stepped up and did an outstanding job and made a believer out of the rest of the team.”

ESTANCIA

COACH: Gannon Burks, fifth year

2006 RECORD: 11-6-5

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE RECORD: 7-2, first place

RETURNING STARTERS: Eric Duarte, Sr.; Rony Argueta, Jr.; Tony Flores, Jr.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Edgar Vega, Fr.;Danny Martinez, Jr.; Jose Reyes, Jr.; Ricky Gomez, So.; Jose Garcia, Jr.; Earvin Bahena, So.

KEY DATES: Jan. 11 at Costa Mesa, Jan. 16 at Calvary Chapel, Feb. 6 vs. Laguna Beach

OUTLOOK: Expectations are high for a team that took first place in the Orange Coast League last season, even one that lost 12 seniors. The Eagles lost 1-0 to Corona del Mar in the first round of the 2006 CIF Southern Section Division III-A playoffs.

“Everybody knew we were very senior heavy, so it opened positions up for the underclassmen,” Burks said. “When we had summer camp, a lot of guys came and put forth a lot of effort.”

So far, Burks and the team have been experiencing the growing pains of the preseason.

Estancia fell 2-0 to Division I powerhouse Santa Margarita, and lost two matches in the Millikan tournament to Saddleback and Warren.

But they tied another Division I-A powerhouse, Edison, 3-3, Friday.

Freshman goalkeeper Edgar Vega will sit out for at least two weeks after getting hurt in the Millikan tournament.

“He definitely has some kind of shoulder injury,” Burks said. “I don’t want to push him too hard because he’s going to be the future of the program.”

NEWPORT HARBOR

COACH: Ryan Hernandez, fourth year

2006 RECORD: 10-9-4

SUNSET LEAGUE RECORD: 4-3-2, third place

RETURNING STARTERS: Garrett Heiser, Sr.; Cory Hanley, Sr.; Will Reichenstein, Sr.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Rodrigo Rubalcaba, So.; Francisco Moreno, Sr.

KEY DATES: Dec. 21, vs. Corona del Mar; Jan. 2 Sunset League opener vs. Marina

OUTLOOK: The Sailors lost two players who would have been returners to club soccer.

Evan Locker chose to play with the Pateadores and Chris Celis is playing with the Irvine Strikers. Newport Harbor also lost Jeremy Anish, who is playing soccer in England on the academy team for a professional club.

Senior captain Garrett Heiser is now in his fourth year on the Sailors’ varsity team, and Hernandez was optimistic about the leadership Heiser would bring to the team.

Hernandez is also optimistic about the Sailors’ chances once they regain Rodrigo Rubalcaba, who is missing the beginning of the season because of a broken arm. Sophomore forward Joel Gonzalez has a sprained ankle, and goalkeeeper Kyle Evans may miss the season because of an injured right knee. If Evans has to sit out, Hernandez is hoping to find a new goalkeeper to join the roster.

CORONA DEL MAR

COACH: Pat Callaghan, eighth year

2006 RECORD: 9-12-2

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE RECORD: 5-3

RETURNING STARTERS: Mitchell Williams, Sr.; Miles Kellerman, Jr.; Paolo Iaccarino, Sr.; Albert Buffet, Sr.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Brian Ford, Fr.; Reed Williams, So.

KEY DATES: Dec. 19 at Costa Mesa, Dec. 21 vs. Newport Harbor, Jan. 9 vs. Beckman

OUTLOOK: The Sea Kings made it all the way to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division III-A playoffs last year, and they’d like to get back.

Callaghan thinks they’ll do it by relying on Mitchell Williams and Miles Kellerman, both strong midfielders. The team returns 12 seniors, which Callaghan also found encouraging, particularly for defense. The offense is also pleasing the coach.

“Our two forwards looked really sharp and aggressive,” Callaghan said, referring to Paolo Iaccarino and Albert Buffet. “I feel like they’re going to be a great combination up top.”

COSTA MESA

COACH: Eugene Day, eighth year

2006 RECORD: 4-11-3, 1-8

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE RECORD: 1-8, fourth place

RETURNING STARTERS: Abel Benitez, Jr.; German Briseño, Sr.; Armando Partida, Sr.; Omar Ortega, Sr.; Emanuel Castellon, Sr.; Carlos Vargas, Sr.; Hector Solis, Jr.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Benjamin Briseño, Jr.; Arturo Delgado, Fr.

KEY DATES: Jan. 16 vs. Laguna Beach, Dec. 19 vs. Corona del Mar, Jan. 1 vs. Estancia

OUTLOOK: The Mustangs lost two of their best players from last season, according to Day. However, Costa Mesa earned its first win of the season against Newport-Mesa rival Newport Harbor Friday. If the team can continue to build and improve on that win, it should fare better than last year’s team.

With senior German Briseño returning at goalkeeper, the Mustangs have a key defensive resource.

“Last year, he did a phenomenal job,” Day said. “Hopefully, he can keep his focus and do what he did last year. Last year, we didn’t win a lot of games, but his goalkeeping skills definitely have gotten up another level.”

SAGE HILL

COACH: Noureddine El Alam

2006 RECORD: 15-1-2

ACADEMY LEAGUE RECORD: 10-0, first place

RETURNING STARTERS: Beau Caillouette, Sr.; Jake Blitzer, So.; Max Ellison, Jr.

KEY DATES: Jan. 11 vs. Brethren Christian, Jan. 14 at St. Margaret’s

OUTLOOK: The Lightning no longer have wunderkind Alex Edelstein, the only player in the history of the Academy League to twice be named player of the year, and that will make the road back to the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs a little rockier. But Sage Hill returns both its goalkeepers, senior Beau Caillouette and sophomore Jack Blitzer, which should smooth things out more. Junior forward Max Ellison also returns, and can help fill Edelstein’s void on defense when necessary.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.