Reid Has Never Faced a Challenge He Couldn’t Meet : Volleyball: Former Peace Corps member establishes boys’ program at Esperanza, then fights to keep it alive.

John Reid sat court-side at a recent Esperanza High School volleyball practice, explaining how much he has enjoyed his third season with the Aztec boys’ team.

“I gave these guys a day off from practice the other day,” Reid said. “I took them golfing. Many of them haven’t golfed before. One guy shot par and another one shot 74.”

A day off? Why not?

Reid has coached the Aztecs to a 13-0 record and a No. 3 ranking in the county this season, the only North County school ranked in the top eight teams.

The Aztecs are 46-6 since Reid started the program three years ago, and have reached the Southern Section quarterfinals twice.

Reid said this year’s team is the best he has coached. That includes five years coaching the Aztec girls’ team, four-time Empire League champions.

Despite the success, Esperanza fans wonder if they will have a boys’ team to cheer for next season. Proposed budget cuts have jeopardized the boys’ program--as well as Reid’s coaching and teaching positions at Esperanza.

Reid is a physical education teacher. The district originally cut his postion but has since reinstated him. He said there’s a chance he might be reassigned to another position within the district.

But the volleyball coaching position is still on the chopping block. Reid said he hopes to know the status of his job by May 15, just after the start of the Southern Section playoffs.

Reid said his RIF--Reduction In Force--won’t mean R.I.P. for the team. He said he would coach the team for free if he could continue teaching.

“I’ll still coach, but just coaching doesn’t pay the rent,” said Reid, who is married with three children.

The proposed cuts have angered the players’ parents, who have urged Reid to stay. Other faculty members have been supportive, too, Reid said.

“I was surprised by a lot of people,” he said. “(Before) I got my RIF no one knew how much work I did. Coaches are never home before 6 p.m. We do this because we love it.

“I figured my (coaching) salary and divided it by the hours I put in coaching. I make less than five cents an hour coaching.”

Reid thinks positive. He said he thinks the program will survive the budget crunch.

“If the parents want it bad enough, we could probably save the team,” Reid said. “That’s what we did in college.”

A graduate of Servite High School, Reid played volleyball three seasons at Cal State Fullerton in the mid-1970s. But the program was cut his senior year because of a tight budget.

But Reid and his teammates continued playing at the club level.

After earning his teaching certificate from Fullerton in 1977, Reid began looking for a job.

There weren’t many opportunities. Because of Proposition 13, budget cuts made teaching positions scarce.

So Reid joined the Peace Corps.

“I was helping set up the tables for career day at Fullerton and I said, ‘Wow, the Peace Corps looks like fun,” Reid said.

It also was a challenge. He was sent to Fortleza, a city in northeast Brazil, where he helped set up a school for the learning disabled.

“It was a tremendous experience,” Reid said.

He played pickup basketball games while in Brazil. One day, when he was leaving the gym, he saw some Brazilian pro players setting up volleyball nets. They invited him to try out and he made the team.

After 2 1/2 years in the Peace Corps, Reid returned to the United States. He began teaching at Brea-Olinda and coaching girls’ volleyball.

After six years at Brea, Reid left in 1985 to teach and coach at Esperanza. He took over a successful girls’ volleyball program, and started the boys’ team two years later.

Reid raised some eyebrows around the Esperanza campus when he announced his first boys’ roster.

More than 100 players tried out for the team, and Reid cut several of the top all-round athletes.

“I’ve found that when I coach people I like, I get more from them and more from me,” Reid said. “I was criticized that first year when I didn’t pick the best athletes.

“I took all the characters on campus. I wanted guys who are like I was in high school. They’re not the class clowns, but they’re close.”

They’re also good players. Senior Jason Galeener and sophomore Chris Pitzak are among the county’s top players this season. The Aztecs can clinch their first league title this Thursday against Foothill.

Reid hopes it’s not their last.