THE PREPS / ERIC SHEPARD : Harvesting Recruits Through Combine

The business side of sports continues to creep into high school athletics, with 700 local football players expected to attend Reebok’s preseason combine Saturday at El Camino College.

The players will be evaluated in tests measuring speed, strength and agility before more than 50 college coaches, including representatives of most Pacific 10 Conference schools. The results will be tabulated and mailed to every Division I school.

Reebok, formerly the title corporate sponsor of the California Interscholastic Federation, picks up the tab. Attendance is free but by invitation only.

Last year, the combine attracted 500 athletes. The overwhelming response prompted Reebok to bring the event back for a second year and hold similar events around the nation. Many athletes believe this gives them a chance to be discovered, and college coaches welcome the opportunity to evaluate so many players in one place.

High school coaches have mixed feelings about the combine, which is modeled after ones held for college players before the NFL draft.

Jeff Engilman, Sylmar’s coach, has sent many players to the college ranks in recent years and is cooperative with recruiters.

“I understand why this is being held,” Engilman said. “It really helps out the college coaches. But I prefer my players to be recruited the old-fashioned way. I want recruiters to come watch game film and talk to the school staff. This (combine) makes it too much of a business.”

Loyola Coach Steve Grady said he made the combine information available to his players, but neither encouraged nor discouraged their attendance.

“If a kid wants to go and see what he can do, that is fine,” Grady said. “But I also tell them, a good or bad performance there isn’t going to make or break them. The good players will get noticed.”

Andy Bark, publisher of Cal-Hi magazine and a combine organizer, said he fears recruiters will look at a player’s height, weight and 40-yard dash time and evaluate only on that.

“But I also found that a number of kids made names for themselves last year who weren’t even being recruited,” he said. “If we can help one kid get a scholarship, then I think it is worth it.”

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High school coaches are finding themselves under increased scrutiny, with publicity-conscious administrators often acting before the facts are in.

In the last year, a number of coaches have been reprimanded or relieved of their duties for a variety of alleged incidents.

Scott Hamilton, boys’ basketball coach at Anaheim Servite, was suspended last winter for allegedly getting into a scuffle with an official after a game. Hamilton has since been reinstated without explanation.

Dean Bradshaw, boys’ basketball coach at Simi Valley, received the same punishment last season after he allegedly pushed down one of his players during a game. He also has been reinstated.

The latest incident involves Mike Scyphers, Simi Valley’s veteran baseball coach. Scyphers was suspended from coaching duties last week while school administrators investigate charges of financial and disciplinary improprieties. The suspension could have waited until there was some evidence of wrongdoing.

There is nothing wrong with punishing a coach who has broken rules and used poor judgment. But coaches should not be judged before allegations are proven. Such practices can seriously harm reputations.

Prep Notes

Violent incidents continue to plague high school sporting events. Last week, Reseda baseball player Alonzo Arreola was suspended for punching Chatsworth shortstop Bryan LaCour during a postgame handshake. LaCour was punched in the stomach and knocked to the ground. In another incident, Anaheim Katella softball Coach Rhonda Weyer was ejected in a game against Anaheim Esperanza after allegedly knocking down an official and pushing an opposing player. . . . Two of the nation’s top basketball prospects signed letters of intent last week. Brandon Jessie, a forward from Ventura College and Huntington Beach Edison High, selected Utah, and center Jerod Ward of Clinton, Miss., signed with Michigan.

The Southern Section boys’ and girls’ swimming finals will be held this weekend at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. The Division I finals are Friday at 7 p.m. and Divisions II and III are Saturday beginning at noon. . . . The City Section boys’ volleyball finals are Friday at Cal State Northridge, beginning with the Division 3-A match at 5:30 p.m.

Times’ Top 20 Baseball Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school baseball poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Bishop Amat SS III 24-0 1 2. Fountain Valley SS I 21-2 2 3. Chatsworth City 4-A 21-3 3 4. Sylmar City 4-A 21-3 4 5. Lakewood SS I 17-6 6 6. Newbury Park SS I 18-5 8 7. Mater Dei SS I 16-6 5 8. La Quinta SS III 20-3 7 9. Nogales SS I 17-5 10 10. Tustin SS III 19-5 11 11. Brea-Olinda SS II 20-3 12 12. San Marino SS IV 18-0 13 13. El Dorado SS I 18-6 16 14. El Camino Real City 4-A 17-4 14 15. Hart SS II 18-4 19 16. West Torrance SS III 19-6 17 17. Diamond Bar SS I 15-6 NR 18. Redondo SS II 20-4 18 19. Fontana SS I 15-5 NR 20. Poly City 4-A 17-4 15