Prep Review : Rule Change Too Late for Keefe

Woodbridge High School’s Adam Keefe is a great athlete, and that’s the problem. The 6-foot 9-inch Keefe has made a name for himself as two-time Southern Section 2-A player of the year in basketball.

He’s also made a name in the relatively smaller circles of high school volleyball, as a two-time all-Southern Section player. Keefe is an awesome hitter with exceptional back row skills (passing, digging), and Woodbridge Coach Steve Stratos believes he is Southern California’s best high school middle blocker.

One coach, Corona del Mar’s Charlie Brande, has gone so far to say that, “if Adam Keefe doesn’t make it in the NBA, he has the ability to make the (United State’s) National team.”

But according to a state rule, basketball and football players cannot participate in all-star games held before the school year ends if they are playing another CIF-sanctioned sport.

Keefe had a chance to play in the Dapper Dan and the McDonald’s Capital Classic basketball tournaments this weekend, but he declined because of his commitment to the Woodbridge volleyball team.

“I really would have liked to have the opportunity to play in those,” Keefe said. “But there’s no way I’d give up volleyball for it.”

Dean Crowley, Southern Section associate commissioner, said the rule was written to protect players.

“Lets face it,” he said Friday. “The promoters of these games are out for one thing. Money. In the old days, we’d run into situations where the kid got to the game and then had no way home because the promoter had no more use for him. We wanted to protect the kids.”

But Woodbridge basketball Coach Bill Shannon was upset that Keefe couldn’t play and wrote a letter to the Southern Section advisory board criticizing the rule.

“I just don’t see the logic in penalizing a kid like Adam for excelling,” he said.

The letter attracted the attention of the Southern Section’s executive council, which voted last week to recommend to the the state commission that the rule be repealed.

The commission will vote on the issue next October.

“The council felt the rule’s usefulness had ended,” Crowley said. Said Keefe: “If they repeal the rule and I have something to do with it, that’s great,’ he said. “But, it’s not going to do me any good this year.”

Keefe, who has signed to play basketball at Stanford, is considering playing volleyball there as well.

Todd Marinovich, Capistrano Valley quarterback, who set a national record for career passing yardage, has turned down both the Orange County all-star game and the Shrine game.

Marinovich, who has signed to play at USC, said he chose not play because the short time to prepare for the games doesn’t lend itself to a good passing game and he doesn’t think playing in the game is worth risking injury.

“I saw (Scott) Stark and (Dan) McGwire in the Shrine game a couple of years ago,” he said. “They’re both great but they looked horrible in that game. There’s just no time to prepare.”

Dave Penhall of Fountain Valley High has resigned as the football team’s offensive coordinator.

Penhall, who will continue teaching history at Fountain Valley, is working on a masters degree in history. He told Coach Mike Milner he wouldn’t be able to give the football team the attention it deserved, though he will coach lower level teams.

Penhall developed Fountain Valley’s potent passing offense, which helped the Barons reach three Southern Section finals in nine seasons.

Milner said receivers coach Hank Cochrane and offensive line coach Mike Henigan will split the duties of offensive coordinator.

In 39 events, 14 national bests for 1988 were set at Saturday’s Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High, where more than 800 of the country’s leading track and field athletes competed.

Edison’s Kaleaph Carter put the shot 63-feet 2 3/4 inches, a national best.

Orange County’s distance runners met what may be their toughest competition of the year in Granada Hills’ Ian Alsen and Laurie Gomez of Boardman (Youngstown, Ohio), the boys’ and girls’ athletes of the meet.

Alsen won both the boys’ 1,600-meters (4:09.67) and the 3,200-meters (8:59.54). Both were national bests this season. Gomez won the girls’ 1,600 (4:48.59) and the 3,200 (10:31.40).

Corona del Mar’s Jim Robbins and Marina’s Shanon Winkelman fared the best in races against Alsen.

Robbins finished third in the 1,600 in a personal best 4:13.12. Winkelman finished fifth in the 3,200 in 9:03.79, also a personal best.

In the girls’ division, Gomez’ fast pace may have helped two county entrants, Mater Dei’s Lynne Hagen and Corona del Mar’s Leslie Cashion, run their fastest times of the year for 1,600 meters.

Hagen, who outkicked Cashion in the final 15 yards, finished 11th in 5:09.1, a personal best by four seconds. Cashion was 12th in 5:11.3.

In the 3,200, La Habra’s Sita Jones and Irvine’s Barbara Kozlowski ran for career bests as well. Jones was eighth in 11:05. Kozlowski was 10th in 11:10, a personal best by nine seconds.

Prep Notes

Several county athletes posted career bests in the open portion of the Arcadia meet Saturday morning. They include: Canyon’s Brett Schultz, (fourth in the 1,600 at 4:18.95); Edison’s Chris Parmer (fifth in the 1,600 at 4:19.84); Garden Grove’s Anthony Hale (third in the intermediate hurdles at 38.30); Capistrano Valley’s Kelsey Allen (first in the discus at 132-2) and Irvine’s Erika Lee (second in the 400 meters at 57.84) . . . The 16-foot 4-inch leap by David Noel of Edison High was not an Orange County pole vault record as reported in Friday’s editions of The Times. Greg Ernst of El Dorado holds the record of 16-6 set in 1978.