Canyon, Corona del Mar Find Success on Their Own

Not every perennially successful high school program has a corresponding youth or junior high feeder system.

The Canyon wrestling team, which hasn’t lost in its past 71 Century League dual meets and has won three of the past five Southern Section Division 4-A titles, doesn’t draw heavily from the youth wrestling program that uses Canyon’s facilities, according to Canyon Coach Gary Bowden.

Corona del Mar’s water polo team had reached the section 4-A championship game seven consecutive seasons before losing in the semifinals last year, but until this past summer, there was no youth program operating out of the school’s pool.

And there are coaches who question whether a strong feeder program is necessary for a high school team’s success. It’s less important in sports such as football, said Bill Pendleton, an assistant coach at Esperanza, the defending Southern Section Division III champion.

“That’s what’s nice about football,” Pendleton said. “You can come in almost a complete neophyte, and by midseason, if you have the talent for it, you can do really well.”

At Esperanza, Pendleton said, even the lower-level teams aren’t coached identically to the varsity.

“We figure we’re going to have to train them from scratch when they get here anyhow,” he said.