Radcliffe’s School Not Prestigious Enough for Transfers

Meet Brad Radcliffe. He’s the Valley’s first victim of the state’s second-year open-enrollment policy, which allows students to transfer to any school within their district regardless of residence.

Radcliffe, a first-year football coach at Granada Hills High, has lost four starters in the last few weeks--three to open enrollment.

It doesn’t take clairvoyance to figure out what Radcliffe thinks of the policy.

“Obviously, I don’t like it,” he said. “I try to stay optimistic [but] it’s not easy losing players of their caliber.”

Moving on to other City Section teams richer in talent are seniors Eric Richardson and Roger Bausley, the Highlanders’ top rushers last season, and senior defensive back Jason Ascencio. Richardson and Ascencio have enrolled at Kennedy, Bausley at San Fernando. Adam Brubaker, an outside linebacker, apparently has moved and transferred to Burbank.

Ascencio, for one, isn’t shy about his reasons for leaving Granada Hills: Radcliffe wanted him to play quarterback. Ascencio refused, Radcliffe insisted, Ascencio cleaned out his locker. And took two of his friends with him.

“He didn’t talk to me about it. He just up and left,” Radcliffe said. “They all [three] transferred on the same day. It was like three blows all at once.”

Said Ascencio: “Things weren’t working out. I figure playing quarterback would really hurt my [recruiting] status.”

Ascencio, who figures he’s one of the top defensive backs in the area, intercepted two passes for Granada Hills last season. However, he was most impressive at wide receiver. Ascencio caught 37 passes, averaged 18.7 yards a catch and scored seven touchdowns.

Stealth bomber: Maureen LeCocq of Woodland Hills made sure the Southern California Stealth 14-and-under girls’ fast-pitch team was headed in the right direction in the first round of the Amateur Softball Assn. national tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn., this week.

LeCocq threw a perfect game in the Stealth opener against the Cougars of South Carolina and followed with a three-hit shutout against the Aces of Illinois to help her team advance to the final 16 in the 78-team, double-elimination tournament.

LeCocq, who will enroll as a freshman at Chaminade High next month, has struck out 21 in two games.

Make a bet: Brandis Braverman, 15, has shot to No. 5 in the Southern California girls’ 18-under tennis rankings. Her ultimate goal is to play on the Women’s Tennis Assn. tour.

The Encino resident, in fact, is gambling on a future in tennis. Each day, she motivates herself by placing bets against her coaches.

“She likes to wager,” Coach Nels Van Patten said. “But if she loses, I make her pay.”

To keep workouts interesting, Braverman and Van Patten usually play for an iced mocha drink, but the stakes have been higher.

Sometimes it’s $5 per match against her dad, Henry Braverman, or the cost of a lesson with another coach, Eric Crabb. Brandis has taken to gambling so much she now runs gambling pools for coaches, family and friends during Grand Slam events. Brandis sets the odds and takes the bets.

“Everybody bets,” she said. “It’s fun.”

Braverman last week was in debt to Van Patten. She owed him three mocha drinks, but she pared the debt to two when she and Wayne Gretzky beat Van Patten and Gretzky’s wife, Janet Jones.

“It’s like a tournament, when you’re playing for the trophy, the ranking, the attention . . . everything,” Braverman said. “It adds to the excitement to have $5 on a set in practice.”

Familiar name: When UCLA’s football team opens the 1995 season Sept. 2 against Miami, former Royal High quarterback Ryan Fien hopes to raise some eyebrows in his first game as the Bruins’ starter.

One thing for sure, Fien will turn heads just by handing off to Bruin standout Karim Abdul-Jabbar, not to be confused with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played basketball at UCLA as Lew Alcindor.

Karim, formerly Sharmon Shah, is a running back who gained 1,227 yards in 1994. Karim wears the same jersey number, 33, as did Alcindor. But, evidently, Shah is not merely emulating the Hall of Fame basketball player.

“He’s very strong in his Muslim religion, and he changed his name,” Fien said. “I asked him how he got that name and he said his [mentor in the faith] gave it to him.”

Honors

Nicole Beck, Marissa Roarty, Liah Kim and Rebecca Gilman of Buenaventura Swim Club set a 15-16 Southern California swimming record in the 400-meter medley relay at the U.S. national championships in Pasadena last week. Their time of 4:28.40 broke the old mark of 4:30.18, set by Mission Viejo in 1990. All four compete for Buena High.

Quotebook

“They yell a lot and sometimes I just feel like yelling right back, but I can’t. I have to stand there, be calm and take it.”

--Pro beach volleyball referee Marvin Hall, a Tarzana resident and Valley native.

Compiled by Irene Garcia. Contributing: Dana Haddad, Mike Lazarus, Paige A. Leech.