He’ll Never Again Play the Game He Loved

Brian Ealy of Lake Forest didn’t want to give up water polo or his athletic 19-year-old life.

Because of a heart condition, a doctor would not clear the former El Toro High School player to compete at Saddleback College this season. But Ealy vowed to play competitively again.

Meanwhile, he became a water polo referee and stayed physically active by playing pickup basketball.

But Tuesday, Ealy died after collapsing on a basketball court in Anaheim, hours after refereeing a high school water polo game at Fullerton High School.

According to Kathy Lindstrom, the mother of a former high school classmate who was speaking for the family, Ealy grew dizzy early in a pickup game at Sycamore Junior High School, sat down on the sidelines, collapsed and never regained consciousness.

He was taken to Anaheim General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:34 p.m., the Orange County coroner’s office said. The coroner’s office said the death was apparently related to a preexisting cardiac condition and that no autopsy is planned.

The heart condition--ventricular arrhythmia--had prevented Ealy from receiving a medical clearance to play his sophomore season on the Saddleback water polo team. He was a starter and a team leader as a freshman, Saddleback Coach Flip Darr said, and was expected back as soon as he received clearance from his doctor.

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Darr said Ealy seemed to expect to return this season. “He kept saying that the doctor just kept putting him off,” Darr said.

Ealy was being monitored and was taking beta-blocking medication to treat the problem, Lindstrom said.

Lindstrom, whose son, Shane, played with Ealy at El Toro High, said he was an exemplary person. Ealy coached youth water polo last year and “all the kids just idolized Brian,” Lindstrom said.

His teammates were similarly fond of him, she said. “This was a kid who was the heart of every team he played on. My son played with him for years, since second or third grade.

“Brian was always the unselfish one who passed off and made everybody else the star.”

El Toro Coach Don Stoll said Ealy was quickly becoming an outstanding referee in a sport difficult to officiate. “He was very mature, very businesslike for his age,” Stoll said. “I thought he was doing an excellent job, better than some of the guys that have been doing it for 15 years.”

At the same time, Ealy was eager to get back in the water. Several weeks ago, he asked Stoll if he could join one of the El Toro workouts.

“I said, ‘Brian, if doctors haven’t cleared you to play at Saddleback, I would feel uneasy having you work out in my pool.’

“But that’s how energetic he was. Once an athlete always an athlete. He always wanted to do something.”

Ealy is survived by his parents, Jerry and Linda, and sisters, Melissa, 23, and Kara, 21. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations to establish a water polo scholarship in Ealy’s name be sent to El Toro Aquatic Boosters c/o El Toro High School, 25255 Toledo Way, Lake Forest, CA 92360.

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Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Scott Martelle.