Bailey Is on the Sidelines, but Still in the Game

Yes, that’s Ryan Bailey, former UC Irvine scoring machine and U.S. Olympian, sitting on the Villa Park bench.

He’s traded in a cap for a clipboard and will guide the Spartan girls’ water polo team, ranked ninth in the county, this season. And the first-year coach made his debut against . . . his old coach.

Villa Park opened against sixth-ranked Corona del Mar and John Vargas, who coached Bailey and the U.S. national team. Teacher beat pupil Friday as the Sea Kings won, 8-6.

“I was really disappointed in the opener,” Bailey said. “Not in the girls, but in myself. After the game I thought I could be more prepared. But it gives me a starting point.

“And we’re only going to get better.”

Bailey has some talent to work with, including returning All-Southern Section player Cindy Henn and all-leaguers Cara Colton and Samantha Cessna.

And he has excellent resources in Vargas and Ted Newland, UC Irvine’s coach, who just finished his 35th season with the Anteaters.

“Newland just told me that fundamentals are everything,” Bailey said. “Basics, like passing and balance in the water.

“Vargas played in the ’92 Olympics, so he’s explained to me how it is to go from playing to being a coach. The hardest thing for me is that I know that I can do it in the water, but I don’t have to talk about it when I play. Now, I have to be able to translate it in a simple way so my players can understand me.

“It’s a good learning experience. I’ve only been with the girls for about three weeks, but I think by the end of the year we’re going to be awesome.”

Beginning Thursday, Villa Park hosts its tournament, which will also feature seventh-ranked El Toro and 10th-ranked Edison. The 16-team tournament concludes Saturday with the final at 3:30 p.m.

WEEKEND UPDATE

Irvine, ranked eighth in the county, won the El Nino Cup tournament last weekend, beating Simi Valley Royal in the final, 12-3. Irvine’s Nicole Lorrimer was named outstanding player of the tournament.

“We did OK,” Irvine Coach Scott Hinman said. “All we’ve been working on is skills and we’ll start putting team play together this week. Team-wise, we didn’t play all that well.”

Hinman said his team was ragged in a semifinal game against San Clemente, but the Vaqueros scrapped for a victory, winning, 4-3, on sophomore Sarah Hamilton’s rebound goal at the buzzer.

Junior goalie Kim Johnson anchored Irvine’s defense, which gave up only eight goals in four tournament games. Johnson took over for Kelly Graff, last season’s Times Orange County player of the year.

WEEKEND UPDATE II

Undefeated La Habra won the Chino Hills Ayala tournament last weekend, defeating Glendale St. Lucy’s in the final, 9-3, to give Coach Eugene Char plenty of reasons to smile.

Leading scorer Natasha Petersson, a sophomore, junior Katie Goins and senior Renee Moyer have helped the Highlanders to their best start.

“I never thought we’d be 6-0,” Char said. “We have more wins now than we had combined over the last two seasons. To start off like this has really given the kids some confidence.”

El Dorado still has its confidence, though Bell Gardens beat the Golden Hawks, 13-2, in the Benson Cup tournament final Saturday.

Tournament MVP Patty Cardenas scored six goals and goalie Alex Lopez had five saves for Bell Gardens, which entered the season with a 60-game winning streak and has won two consecutive section titles.

“I’ve seen a lot of the Orange County teams this summer at tournaments and the Junior Olympics,” El Dorado Coach David Wallace said. “My personal opinion is that Bell Gardens would beat all of the county teams by five or six goals.”

Bell Gardens won’t face any county teams in the playoffs since it plays in Division III. Orange County teams play in Divisions I and IV.

El Dorado’s Karly Tivenan and Heather Stamper earned all-tournament honors and Esperanza’s Jessica Conner, also an all-tournament selection, helped the Aztecs finish third.

LOOKING AHEAD

This week’s schedule features Marina, ranked fourth in the county, playing at No. 5 Newport Harbor at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Vikings are led by junior national team member Cara Chlebicki and seniors Erin Wilson and Kendra Shanley, who helped Marina win a section title as freshmen in 1998. Junior Katherine Belden, a second-team All-Division I pick, leads Newport Harbor.

Friday, No. 8 Irvine hosts top-ranked Foothill at 3 p.m. Foothill is led by high-scoring sophomores Gabbie Domanic and Brittany Hayes. The Knights will also look to Breana Allison to take over as their primary two-meter defender in place of Jackie Pirro, who led Foothill to the Division I title last season.

Today at 4 p.m., No. 9 Villa Park hosts No. 3 Santa Margarita. Sophomore Erika Figge and junior Kristina Kunkel helped the Eagles win the Division IV title last season.

*

If you have an item or idea for the girls’ water polo report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at: mike.itagaki@latimes.com