Van Nuys Troubles Drag in Matadors

Two Van Nuys High assistant coaches have been ousted and the school’s entire athletic program has been placed on probation for one year for a series of infractions that might also affect the Cal State Northridge women’s volleyball team.

The City Section Rules Committee on Wednesday banned the Van Nuys girls’ volleyball team from the playoffs next season and placed that program on probation through 1999 for using an ineligible player in the playoffs last month.

The committee also hit the Van Nuys boys’ soccer program with a one-year probation for a series of illegal practices.

Tuong Nguyen, a volunteer assistant coach, is at the center of the controversy concerning the volleyball teams at Van Nuys and Northridge.

Nguyen was on the coaching staffs of both teams this fall, a violation of NCAA rules that prohibit coaches from working in the same sport at the high school and college levels.

Paul Bubb, Northridge’s athletic director, said he was not aware that Nguyen was working with a high school team.

“If that’s the case, we will have to self-report to the NCAA,” Bubb said.

Northridge won the Big Sky Conference championship this season and lost to Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Manhattan, Kan., on Wednesday night.

Nguyen’s dual relationship with the Van Nuys team and the Valley Thunder volleyball club already has prompted administrators at the high school to relieve him of his coaching duties. City Section rules stipulate that coaches can have only limited out-of-season contact with high school athletes.

Van Nuys has banned Nguyen from coaching at the school for the 1997 and 1998 volleyball seasons. Bubb said Nguyen stopped coaching at Northridge “at some time” during the Matadors’ season.

Van Nuys, which was top seeded in the City 4-A Division, was declared out of the playoffs last month after it was discovered that Sharon Foster, one of the Wolves’ top players, had not met transfer requirements when she left Village Christian for Van Nuys.

The committee has taken that punishment further by banning Van Nuys from postseason play next year.

Van Nuys is debating an appeal.

Van Nuys Coach Dave Bessler said he should be punished rather than next year’s players.

“Suspend me from coaching,” he said. “I’ll step down if they want me to. But let the girls play.”

The Van Nuys boys’ soccer program also lost an assistant. Raul Parades has been dismissed for conducting illegal off-campus practices, assistant principal Jack Molina said.

In an unrelated matter, the soccer team forfeited its season opener Wednesday to Reseda. Terry Stoller, Van Nuys’ assistant athletic director, said not enough players had provided required insurance forms.

Barbara Fiege, City Section commissioner, said the sanctions against Van Nuys were severe because of the “culmination of things.”

The school’s varsity football team already was on probation for practicing illegally.

The last school from the region to suffer similar penalties was Montclair Prep, which the Southern Section banned from postseason play in all sports for the 1991-92 school year.

Montclair Prep’s sanctions stemmed from recruiting violations, grade tampering and nonpayment of tuition by some athletes. Montclair Prep is a private school.

This story was written by Times staff writers Paige Leech and Tris Wykes, along with correspondent Mike Bresnahan.