SPORTSCOPE : Prep Soccer Teams Hope to Buck Jinx in Holiday Tourney

Will the ghost of Christmas past return to haunt the victors again?

Eighty-eight teams from 43 high schools will be out to buck the jinx that has plagued the varsity champions of the annual South Holiday Soccer Tournament, which opens Saturday with girls play at South Torrance High School.

The monthlong event concludes Dec. 22 with the champions of the boys and girls varsity divisions assured of one thing: Winning a Southern Section title won’t be easy. Only four times in the last 22 years has the South Tournament champion gone on to win a Southern Section title.

However, in all but three years the Southern Section 4-A champion has played in the South Tournament. Directed by South Torrance soccer Coach and Athletic Director Roger Bryant, the tournament also features competition in boys varsity, junior varsity and frosh-soph beginning Dec. 8. South Bay high schools have dominated the South Tournament, winning 15 titles.

The California Community College men’s and women’s soccer championships open tonight at 6 at Murdock Stadium at El Camino College when the men from Orange Coast College of Costa Mesa face American River College of Sacramento. At 8 Cuyamaca of San Diego plays Fresno City College. The winners meet Saturday at 1 p.m. in the men’s state title game. The women’s championship game will be played Saturday morning at 10, pitting Orange Coast College against Cosumnes River College of Sacramento.

There is still time to enroll in Marine Cano’s winter soccer camp or George Wings’ winter baseball camp at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Both begin Dec. 18. For more information call 516-3893.

South Bay Baseball Camp will hold a four-day training session for youths of all ages Dec. 20-23. The cost is $150 and includes instruction from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at Marine Avenue Park in Manhattan Beach. Expected to attend are Glenn Hoffman and John Orton of the California Angels, former Dodger outfielder Lou Johnson and Chris Donnels of South Torrance High School and Loyola Marymount University, currently in the New York Mets’ minor league system. The camp is directed by Joe Rumsey and Matt Kerster. Enrollment must be completed by Dec. 9. Call 318-1577.

Applications for the annual Catalina Island Marathon are expected in South Bay sporting goods stores and other retail outlets by Dec. 20, according to the promoter, California Athletic Productions of Long Beach. The two-day event, which includes 5K and 10K runs, is scheduled March 24-25.

Slam-N-Jam Development League will hold open tryouts for its 1988-89 youth basketball season Saturday and Sunday at Victoria Regional Park in Carson. Participants need attend only one day. Workouts begin at 10 a.m. for boys ages 5-7, 11 a.m. for 8-9, noon for 10-11 and 1 p.m. for 12-14. All youngsters will be placed on a team. Volunteer coaches are needed. For information call Issy Washington, 532-0622.

Registration for recreational basketball leagues is available. A men’s league in Hawthorne will take applications Monday through Dec. 8. Rosters must be composed 80% from city residents. If space is available, non-resident teams can enroll Dec. 11-15. The cost is $330 per team. League play starts in January. Call 970-7230.

The South Bay Youth Basketball League, for kindergartners and first-graders, will take individual registrations Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at Pacific Elementary School in Manhattan Beach. The fee is $25 per child and includes a uniform, game officials and awards. The league begins Jan. 6. For more information call Jack Speciale 545-9808.

Tickets are available for the seventh annual Light’s Invitational Rhythmic Gymnastics Meet set for Jan. 14. It will be held at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City. The cost is $5 for adults and $2 for students. The event is sponsored by the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics. For more information call 204-1980.

Another of Pop’s All-Pro baseball/softball camps will be conducted Dec. 26-29 at the Lunada Bay Little League fields. Professional instructors include Alex Manila of the Queen and Her Court touring softball team; Ken McMullen, former Dodger third baseman; pitcher Tim Leary of the Cincinnati Reds; first baseman/outfielder Franklin Stubbs of the Dodgers, and El Camino College softball pitching coach Jim Reynolds. The cost is $175. For more information call 373-3805.