FALL SPORTS NOTEBOOK : Class of City Soccer Falls Short in the Classroom

When San Fernando High claimed the championship title of the 45-team soccer competition at this summer’s L. A. Games, the Tigers proved they could make the grade on the field.

Now that school is in session, it’s a different story.

Coach Arturo Vasquez has a soccer team that is performing well in games but stumbling in the classroom.

Four of the starters on the L. A. Games championship team are ineligible for at least 10 weeks because of lackluster grades.

The problem is nothing new to Vasquez, who is in his second year as coach of the talented but troubled Tigers.

Eligibility problems last season decimated the San Fernando team, which finished near the bottom of the Mid-Valley League.

Most of the ineligible players were upperclassmen, so Vasquez was forced to go with a lineup composed mostly of sophomores. The inexperience of his team showed both on and off the field.

“We were supposed to play Kennedy, and our school had an early day and let the students out at 12:30,” Vasquez said. “What a disaster. Our kids were running all around the school, talking with the girls and forgetting to eat lunch. By the time we got to the game, they were all telling me they were hungry.”

That day, Kennedy beat the hungry Tigers, 3-1, and went on to win the City Section championship.

“I don’t think we’ll have quite as many problems this year,” said Vasquez, whose team begins league play Tuesday against Grant. “The guys are a lot more positive and mature. They’re a year older.”

Even with this season’s eligibility woes, the Tigers still have a talented team that includes forward Eddie Rivera and halfback Sal Villegas, who is a veteran of grade struggles.

“Last year, Sal was about to fail a class,” Vasquez said. “But our whole team put pressure on him and he got the work done so he could play.”

Vasquez is hoping that attitude will rub off on this year’s team as the season progresses.

“You can’t do everything for these kids,” Vasquez said. “They have to learn to take some responsibility. This year, it seems like the kids are more serious about grades.

“Even our film sessions have turned into study halls,” he said.

Simi Valley, Saugus, Hart and Newbury Park lead the Valley contingent that will participate this weekend in the 37th annual Mt. SAC Invitational Cross-Country Meet at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut.

More than 300 teams and 7,000 runners are expected to take part in the two-day competition, which is considered the equivalent of a California state championship meet. The competition will include teams from California, Nevada and Utah.

The most important event of the meet figures to be the Boys Team Sweepstakes race Saturday at 10 a.m. The race will match Saugus’ Stonerock twins, Daren and Kirk, against the highly-regarded Mastalir twins, Eric and Mark, of Jesuit High in Sacramento.

The girls’ events will feature Lisa Rizzo of Hart running against Tracy Williams of Mountain View High; Rebecca Chamberlain of Leigh High in San Jose, who is the California state 3,200 meters champion, and Darcy Arreola of Grossmont High in La Mesa, who is the top runner from the San Diego area.

There is a big mystery at Calabasas. Why was the school’s water polo team, which earned a spot in the Southern Section Top 10 last week, dropped from this week’s poll?

The Coyotes did not lose a game during the week, but the oversight doesn’t seem to bother Dave Hershman, co-coach of the Calabasas team.

Hershman is looking forward to the Southern Section playoffs. That’s when things may go easier for the Coyotes, who compete in the Frontier League with undefeated Santa Ynez, the 2-A division’s top-ranked team.

Calabasas, with a record of 10-3, has been led all year by seniors Greg Ruh, Scott Chodorow and Adam Gubner. Ruh, who plays driver, is averaging more than five goals per game.

Calabasas plays at home against Agoura today in a game that will decide the league’s second-place finisher.

There was great joy at Cleveland earlier this week as the Cavaliers girls volleyball team beat Monroe. It was the team’s first win of the year.

Cleveland’s Diane Nichols led the Cavaliers, who are now 1-7, matching last season’s win total.

“We’ve been really close in all of our games,” said Ellen Strong, who is in her first year as coach. “It’s really exciting to get that first win. I think we could end up third in league and make the playoffs if we continue to do well.”

Things cooled off a bit Wednesday for the Cavaliers when they lost to defending league champion Kennedy, 15-3, 15-9.

Briefly

The Royal High girls volleyball team is now ranked second in the Southern Section 2-A poll. . . . Simi Valley and Newbury Park will engage in a Marmonte League cross-country showdown this afternoon at Moorpark College. The Newbury Park girls team, with a record of 5-0, is ranked fourth in the Southern Section 4-A division. The Simi Valley boys team, at 5-0, is ranked first in the same division. . . . Last weekend’s L.A. County Cross-Country Championships at College of the Canyons was especially nerve-racking for the coaches from Saugus, Hart and Loyola. All three of the highly-ranked teams were decked out in white shirts and navy blue or black shorts, making it almost impossible to identify and track runners on the course. There was no confusion at the finish line, however, as Daren Stonerock won the race.