Little School, Big Names : Laguna Beach High, One of County’s Smallest, Has Had More Than Its Share of Top Athletes

The sweeping beaches, timeless sunsets and carefree atmosphere have inspired artists for decades. Laguna Beach, the self-proclaimed art colony of Southern California, offers a lifestyle of creative existence where painters, poets and sculptors have thrived for decades.

In the midst of this coastal community is Laguna Beach High School, the smallest public high school (690 students) in Orange County. It sits on 17 acres overlooking the azure waters southeast of Main Street Beach.

The school is small, but its athletic legacy compares with those at Orange County schools that are two or three times bigger.

Among the school’s most famous graduates are 1992 Olympic volleyball team captain Scott Fortune; Davis Cup member Rick Leach; pro beach volleyball players Adam Johnson, Leif Hanson and Rudy Dvorak; Atlanta Braves’ catcher Damon Berryhill, and Eric Hulst, one of the best distance runners in state history.

Among the 80 players invited to participate in the U.S. Olympic baseball trials in Florida last October was former Laguna Beach football and baseball standout Danny Lane. Jason Crabbe was seen by millions when he made the opening kickoff for Washington in the 1992 Rose Bowl.

“It’s unbelievable when you think about all the world-class athletes who have come out of the school the size of Laguna Beach High,” said Dvorak, who has earned $120,000 in four years on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals beach tour.

Some of the school’s top athletes have profited from the beach life style, carving careers in volleyball and surfing, but Lane, a junior shortstop at UC Santa Barbara, said the school’s image as “Surf City High” doesn’t fit the athletic mold.

“A lot of good athletes have come out of Laguna Beach over the years,” he said. “The school has thrived in outdoor sports like volleyball, tennis and surfing. But we always had this image of being a small, surfer school.

“When I was playing football, other teams would see us come on the field with only 25 players and laugh. If I was on the other team, I know it would have been difficult for me to take us seriously.”

A former Laguna Beach athletic director once noted that the school will never be mistaken as a power in football, basketball or baseball, but added, “Put a net between our teams and an opponent, and we’ll win most of the time.”

USC tennis Coach Dick Leach and his talented family have lived in Laguna Beach since 1976. Leach’s two sons, Rick and Jonathan, and his daughter, Mindy, played for the Artists’ tennis teams.

Rick, who graduated in 1983, helped Laguna Beach win Southern Section Division 3-A titles in 1980 and 1982, winning the division’s singles title in 1983. At USC he became the first player in NCAA history to earn All-American honors in singles and doubles for four years.

Jonathan, now playing for his father at USC, became the first freshman to win a Southern Section singles title in 37 years when he won the championship in 1988. Mindy graduated in 1987 and has excelled first at Minnesota and then at Alabama, where she is a senior.

“It doesn’t surprise me that athletes from Laguna Beach have continued to have great careers,” Dick Leach said. “You’re dealing, for the most part, with a fairly affluent area. The parents here can afford lessons, instruction and camps for their children.

“Tennis, volleyball and surfing have always been the things to do for the kids in Laguna Beach. Our kids were advanced, but they always played to help the other kids win at Laguna. I can remember Rick gave up an opportunity to play in the French Open junior tournament in his senior year to help Laguna Beach win a CIF (Southern Section) title.”

Rick Leach, who teamed with John McEnroe to help the United States defeat Argentina in Davis Cup play last weekend in Hawaii, was virtually unbeatable in high school.

“There weren’t a lot of guys I could lose to,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. I liked the whole team concept. We had some pretty good teams in those days.”

The small-town atmosphere and low-key approach to games appealed to Berryhill. During his senior year, the Artists’ baseball team won only one game. After playing two seasons at Orange Coast College, he signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1984.

“There were a lot of fun times at Laguna Beach,” he said. “It is such a small school that everyone knew each other. There was no stress playing there. It was just fun.”

Fortune, a member of the gold-medal winning Olympic volleyball team in 1988, was a two-sport athlete at Laguna Beach. He played on the Southern Section 4-A championship volleyball teams as a sophomore and junior.

He also was a three-time All-South Coast League basketball player who was named the team’s most valuable player as a senior after averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Fortune said he enjoyed the “David vs. Goliath” matchups during his high school career.

“It’s neat to see how competitive the school can be,” he said. “We’ll have only 700 kids in the school, and we can beat schools with 2,000 kids. The area is very small, and you’re living near the beach. You tend to learn a lot at an early age.”

Lane, who passed for more than 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in 1987, decided on a baseball career after setting a school record with 10 homers in his senior year at Laguna Beach. He was on the verge of stardom last season when he broke his finger.

Last year, he ranked among NCAA leaders in home runs (11) and runs batted in (60) in only 35 games for Santa Barbara before his season-ending injury. He set a school record with 10 RBIs in a 22-6 victory over U.S. International.

“The better athletes have always played volleyball at Laguna Beach,” he said. “But I played baseball and AYSO soccer when I was a kid. I never played organized football until I got to high school.

“Looking back, we had some good athletes during my senior year, we just didn’t have a lot of them. But I think we’ve shown that you’ll find a great athlete at a big school or a small school.”

Lane hopes he will be among the 40 players invited to the Olympic trials later this season. Administrators will evaluate everyone after the collegiate season and then invite the players to camp.

“I think competing in the Olympics would be the ultimate, but I’m not counting on anything right now. I’m just going to try and have my best season here and see what happens.”

Among the top athletes in the Class of ’92 at Laguna Beach High is point guard Darren Gravley, who averages 18.4 points for the basketball team. Gravley is a product of the outstanding youth programs offered by the city’s Boys’ Club and recreation department.

Gravley started playing tennis at age 3, baseball at 5 and later began playing basketball and volleyball at Thurston Middle School. It’s no coincidence that his father, Gene, is director of the Laguna Enriched and Resource Network (LEARN), a nonprofit organization that helps youth in the city participate in all-sports camps.

Beginning at age 5, children compete in organized sports at Top of the World Elementary School then at Thurston Middle School. The high school reaps the benefits.

“There is this mystique that Laguna Beach baseball players drop their gloves and hit the beach when the surf’s up,” Gene Gravley said. “In reality, there’s an upper crust of athletes, about 1% to 2%, who excel in athletics here.

“I watched Adam Johnson grow up on the same block where I live. He did everything exceptionally well at Laguna Beach. He played soccer, volleyball, baseball and even kicked one year on the football team.

“He was the All-American kid. The high school gave him the opportunity to play and grow. Then, once he isolated on one sport (volleyball), he became a great one.

“One common thread I’ve noticed about Scott Fortune, Jonathan Leach and Adam Johnson that sets them above the rest was their great attitude. Naturally, they had the resources and great parental support. But the bottom line is they worked to become the best.”

Darren Gravley said the area can be influential, but sometimes it can be a distraction for an athletic career.

“There is such a kicked-back lifestyle down here, it’s hard to stay focused on just one thing,” he said. “There is the beach, which is a big distraction, and so many programs to get involved with.

“I think the most amazing thing is how a beach city can produce a baseball player like Damon Berryhill.”