Some Coaches Claim Southern Section’s Playoff Plans Are Out of Line

They call it regionalism.

They should call it surrealism.

The new Southern Section girls’ postseason plan, which begins next school year, splits the playoffs into 10 divisions based on enrollment. Fair enough.

But then there’s this business of geographic regionals: North, South, East and West.

Each regional will have eight teams and the champion advances to the division’s final four.

Confusing? In many ways.

Regionalism draws three crucial dividing lines among Orange County, Los Angeles and the Valley.

The three areas would not face each other until the final four, cutting off potential matchups between Royal High and Mira Costa or Harvard-Westlake and Bishop Montgomery.

Now, area teams can basically find satisfaction only in beating up each other.

Are you ready for a regional championship between Royal and Westlake, with the winners having vanquished Thousand Oaks and Buena in the semifinals? There needs to be a Newport Harbor or a Corona del Mar in there.

From the haven’t-we-seen-this-before category, if league rivals Westlake and Royal play each other in the regional final, it would be their third meeting of the year.

The Southern Section powers-that-be, who created regionalism to help keep schools’ traveling costs down, might be the only people ready for this.

“I hate it,” Royal Coach Bob Ferguson said. “The new setup is horrible.”

“I think somebody flunked geography,” Harvard-Westlake Coach Jess Quiroz said. “It doesn’t sound like there was much thought going through.”

Another problem: Nobody, Southern Section included, knows which teams belong in which regional. Karen Hellyer, a section administrator, said it depends on who qualifies for the playoffs.

At the end of the regular season, each league will give the Southern Section its top finishers. The Southern Section compiles the data and then tells each school where it’s going.

“There’s going to be such a paperwork fiasco, I think [regionalism] might just die,” Ferguson said. “They’re going to have a zoo.”

Does regionalism save travel costs? Not really.

Some area teams could play at Santa Barbara or Dos Pueblos, teams in their regional. Mira Costa, in Manhattan Beach, is a comparative stroll around the block. And a refreshing reminder of inter-regional play.

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The Southern Section receives better marks for on-court rule changes installed for boys and girls in 1996-97. Credit is due for revising some rules and not touching others.

First, some of the changes:

* The serving area now extends to anywhere behind the end line, same as in club and college rules, and is a smart move.

* To speed matches, substitutes no longer must report their jersey numbers to the umpire.

* Uniform violations will cost a team a sideout or a point at the start of a match. Just like the working world. Violate the dress code, pay the price.

There was discussion on revising the “first contact” rule. Under the proposed change, players could have done anything--including two-handed sets from the back row--to keep the ball alive when it came over the net.

This is an international and college rule. Let it stay there.

Bumping would have become extinct in high school. There would have been more lifts, more double hits that referees could ignore. Coaches would have been angry.

“They asked [coaches] for our input,” Ferguson said. “All of us went, ‘Oh no, don’t put that in.’ It’s not volleyball. It’s ugly. You wouldn’t have to teach service receive anymore.”