High School Review / Chris De Luca : Chan Gets Scholar-Athlete Honor

San Dieguito High School basketball player Paul Chan Monday was named the state boys’ Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the California Interscholastic Federation. A $1,000 check from Reebok will be awarded to San Dieguito High.

Mary Katherine Cook, a softball player from Del Mar High School in San Jose, was named the state girls’ Scholar-Athlete of the Year, winning $1,000 for her school.

Chan, who has a 4.0 grade-point average, plans to attend Harvard next fall. He was the only starter to return for the San Dieguito basketball team that tied for second with Torrey Pines in the Palomar League last season.

Chan, who will be the class valedictorian, averaged 9.5 points a game and 4 assists. He has the San Diego Section’s second highest free-throw percentage at .876 (92 of 105). Fallbrook’s Jeff Work holds the record with 92.9% (52 of 56) in 1986.

Sara Saltzstein, a swimmer from Valhalla, was among 10 girls’ finalists selected by the CIF. The 10 girls and 10 boys finalists were selected from a field of 465 candidates nominated for the award by their school principals.

Chan and Cook will honored by the CIF at the state track meet June 6 at Sacramento’s Hughes Stadium.

Next school year, coaches in all sports except football will have the option of using the first week of practice as a conditioning period or beginning regular practice.

The new rule, approved by the San Diego Section’s Board of Managers at its April 28 meeting, will allow teams to begin working on skills and with equipment during the team’s first meeting. Currently, the first week of practice must be used for conditioning, with regular practice beginning the second week.

The new rule will not extend the season, just substitute a week of practice for the conditioning, said Kendall Webb, Section commissioner, who said the individual coach will determine how the first week of practice will be used.

The board delayed its decision on whether to allow football teams to begin full contact during the first week of practice. The proposed rule would allow football teams to begin contact with blocking dummies the first day of practice and full contact to begin on the fourth day.

Under the current rule, players may not practice in helmets or shoulder pads until the fourth day of practice and contact is limited to blocking dummies. Regular contact in full gear may not begin until the second week of practice.

Webb said the board delayed its decision because it wanted to include the option of running plays during the first week of practice, which is currently allowed to begin during the second week.

The board will vote on the proposal at its final meeting June 16.

The priority system used by the Section to determine at-large playoff berths for team sports has been removed allowing the Section playoff committee added flexibility. The new process, approved by the Section’s Board of Managers, gives league tri-champions first priority for at-large berths in the 12-team playoff format.

Under the current process, a priority system is used to determine the berths. The first priority is head-to-head competition, second is common opponents and the third is strength of schedule. A team could be picked over another because of the outcome of the teams’ meetings. If the teams did not compete, the next priority would be used.

Webb said the new system, which will go into effect next fall, will allow the committee to make a more fair selection of at-large teams. Currently, the playoff committee must grant a berth to the team with the better record in head-to-head competition, without considering whether one team was effected by injuries or other negative factors.

“(The committee) will be able to evaluate everything together and make an opinion rather than being obligated to place a team in the playoffs because they beat somebody,” Webb said.

High School Notes San Dieguito tennis player Carl Chang, who was defeated by his brother Michael Chang in the 1986 San Diego Section tennis championship, said he plans to accept a full tennis scholarship to California next fall. . . .Vista’s Rancho Buena Vista High School and Santee’s West Hills High School were awarded memberships to the San Diego Section by the Section’s Board of Managers at its April 28 meeting. Rancho Buena Vista, which will open next fall with grades 9 through 11, will operate without league affiliation. West Hills, which opens next fall with the ninth grade only, will compete in the Grossmont League.