Coach Scores Reversal With Calvary Chapel

John Azevedo admits there have been times he wondered what he was doing coaching the wrestling teams at tiny Calvary Chapel High School. It has often seemed like a comedown.

As when:

He had to answer questions like: “What’s wrestling?”

He had to show the wrestlers who knew the answer to how to put on their headgear.

“I had to laugh instead of cry,” Azevedo said.

When you start at the bottom, as Azevedo did, there’s no place to go but up. That was three seasons ago. Now the Eagles have won Arrowhead League and Southern Section 1-A championships and are eighth-ranked in Orange County. That’s not among small schools either, but everybody.

If Azevedo were just another physical education instructor with an appreciation for teaching the finer points of wrestling to a pack of determined, if unsure, high school students, it would be one thing. But the funny thing is that Azevedo started at the top, hit bottom and now has worked his way back to the top.

He’s a former NCAA champion, a member of the 1980 Olympic team that stayed home because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games, and a former assistant coach for two years at Notre Dame and three at Wisconsin. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.

Azevedo, 35, said he had no plans to become a high school coach, but now that he is, he’s quickly become one of the county’s best. And he’s happy. The struggles of the first two seasons are behind him, and the future looks bright.

Enrollment at the school, located a few blocks from South Coast Plaza in Santa Ana, has grown to about 400. There are now about 35 wrestlers in the program, which makes the Eagles’ cramped training quarters seem all the more crowded.

“My goal is to have the best team in the state,” Azevedo said. “We’ve won the league and (Southern Section). We have the kids here to be state champs.”

Tradition has taken root at Calvary Chapel. Once forced to start from scratch with each of his wrestlers, Azevedo now hears of experienced seventh- and eighth-grade wrestlers at other schools who are planning to attend Calvary Chapel.

Many of the reasons have to do with Azevedo, whose reputation as a quality coach has spread throughout the area.

Last season, Tony Okada of Savanna worked out with Azevedo and learned a move that would stun a sellout crowd of 6,000 at Stockton and help him win his second consecutive State championship.

Azevedo, who continues to work out with his wrestlers and a number of former college standouts, looks as fit as he was when he was an All-American at 126 pounds at Cal State Bakersfield in the late 1970s.

After leaving Bakersfield, Azevedo made the 1980 Olympic team that never made it to Moscow. At the time, he wasn’t all that disappointed because there were always the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

But damaged knee ligaments before the 1984 trials, where he was favored to win a spot on the team, kept him from marching in the opening ceremonies for a second time.

Not long after, he joined the college coaching ranks, first at Notre Dame and later at Wisconsin. But there was something missing: Azevedo wanted to be in charge.

“I guess through a chain of circumstances . . . and a lot of prayer guided me here,” Azevedo said.

Once at Calvary Chapel, Azevedo had to make a difficult adjustment. The college wrestlers he had been working with were the best of the best. The high school wrestlers were a different story, but that hasn’t been all bad.

“The best thing about high school kids is that they get attached to you,” he said. “You can make a difference in their lives. You can build good relationships in college, but here you can be a little bit more of an influence in their lives.

“I’d still like to be a Division I head coach. For now, the Lord has me here. I feel like I will be here for awhile, but my heart might change.”

1991-92 Wrestling Preview

Top Teams: Buena Park, Calvary Chapel, Canyon, El Dorado, El Modena, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Savanna, Valencia.

Top Individuals: Hugo Amaya (Valencia), 112 pounds; Brad Belanger (Savanna), 140; David Cha (Canyon), 135; Pablo Cunningham (Irvine), 189; Ho Do (Los Amigos), 103; Nick Dolce (San Clemente), 130; James Hill (Garden Grove), 171; Adrian Ioja (Garden Grove), heavyweight; Mike Martinez (Laguna Hills), 152; Steve Martinez (Huntington Beach), 145; Matt Padgett (Canyon), 160; Jim Provencio (Valencia), 119; Zac Tapia (San Clemente), 125.

Important Dates: Dec. 6-7, El Dorado Classic; Jan. 17-18, Five Counties Invitational; Jan. 25, Laguna Hills Invitational; Feb. 19, Southern Section dual meet preliminaries; Feb. 21-22, Southern Section divisional championships; Feb. 27, Southern Section dual finals; Feb. 29, Masters Meet; March 6-7, State meet.

Notes: There’s a new wrinkle in the postseason--a dual meet championship. The El Dorado Classic Friday and Saturday should offer the county’s top teams an early chance to see how they stack up against the rest of the best. Led by Padgett, a State qualifier and an All-County selection, Canyon is ranked No. 1 in the Orange County Coaches’ Assn. preseason poll. Even without two-time State champion Tony Okada, who graduated and is training for a berth on the 1992 U.S. Olympic Judo team, it appears Savanna will maintain an edge over Valencia in a tight Orange League race. Belanger, a State meet qualifier, is the Rebels’ top wrestler. Valencia’s Amaya and Savanna’s Sal Surra should wage thrilling battles at 112 pounds. Irvine’s Cunningham, who won the 4-A title at 171 last season, is starting the season at 189. Garden Grove’s Ioja surprised many last year when he advanced to the State meet with an aggressive style.