Boys of Summer

Summer vacation no longer exists for most high school athletes and coaches.

Oh, there’s the occasional trip to the beach and time for a part-time job, but athletes end up playing in more games than during the regular school season.

“I call it a summer season,” said basketball Coach Richard Endres of Thousand Oaks High.

Some basketball teams will play 30 summer games. Hart’s football team could play more than 50 passing league games. The American Legion baseball team made up of players from Notre Dame, Grant and Crespi played seven games in six days last week.

Summer coaching has become a philanthropic endeavor because few coaches get paid. They have little choice.

Imagine if a football coach took a real vacation and spent six weeks traveling in Europe. By the time he returned, there would be a mutiny under way, with parents demanding his firing for abandoning the program during the crucial off-season period.

About the only vacation time available is a mandatory dead period for Southern Section coaches from July 31 to Aug. 20.

If coaches have to coach for free, some have decided they want more control over their players. That’s why basketball coaches like Endres are cutting down on playing in summer leagues and increasing participation in three-day team camps.

Thousand Oaks’ only appearance in a summer tournament was last weekend, when the Lancers lost in the championship game of the 96-team Southern California Interscholastic Coaches Assn. tournament.

The rest of the summer will be spent competing in team camps at college campuses, where Endres is able to give personal instruction.

“All we think about is basketball and eating,” Endres said.

The good news for athletes is that summer vacation means a break from school, with no stress from homework and exams. There’s lots of driving to events and a calendar is required to keep track of practice schedules and game times, but there’s nothing wrong with keeping busy.

“It’s a fun busy,” said Ryan Foltz, who plays football at Westlake.

The summer is fun for fans and sportswriters. It’s an opportunity to get a sneak preview of top teams and players for next school year. Here’s a rundown of events to see and players to watch:

FOOTBALL: The Hart seven-on-seven passing tournament will be held Saturday, with a likely championship game between the Indians and Westlake. Other major passing tournaments are scheduled for July 1 at Cal State Northridge, July 8 at Cal Lutheran and Valley College, and July 22 at Ventura College.

The Shrine All-Star game is June 24 at Cerritos College, with the California-Florida Bowl on July 22 at the Rose Bowl.

Hart and Westlake are the teams to watch. They were the top two teams in the region last season and have scheduled a game Sept. 22 at Westlake.

Foltz, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior, is ready to follow in the tradition of Joey Cuppari, Travis Campbell and Chris Catalano as the next top Westlake defensive back-wide receiver. He runs 40 yards in 4.4 seconds, has a 4.3 grade-point average and figures to be recruited by California and Stanford.

“He’s the real deal,” Coach Jim Benkert said of Foltz. “He can do anything he wants in this game.”

Taft deserves special attention to determine how Ricky Clausen, a transfer from Alemany, is fitting in at quarterback. Also keep track of sophomore receiver Steve Smith, who’s the best 15-year-old in the region.

The player no one will be able to stop in passing leagues is Tyler Ebell, a senior running back at Ventura. The only thing you see is his tattoo as he races down field.

Not far behind Ebell is junior running back Lorenzo Booker of St. Bonaventure and senior running back Freddy Keiaho of Buena. Together, they give Ventura County three elite ballcarriers.

The most competitive passing tournament should be at Valley College, where 40 teams are entered, including Loyola and quarterback Matt Ware, Taft and Hart.

BASKETBALL: Thirty-two boys’ teams and 16 girls’ teams are scheduled to play in the War on the Floor tournament June 24-28 at Taft, Canoga Park and Cleveland.

Sylmar, Taft, Simi Valley, Cleveland, Fremont, Notre Dame and Chaminade are among the boys’ entrants, with Harvard-Westlake, Chatsworth and Chaminade leading the girls’ teams.

Summer leagues are being held for boys’ teams on Monday nights at Cleveland, Oak Park and L.A. Baptist, Wednesday nights at Crespi and Thursday nights at Reseda.

The top girls’ league is Monday nights at Simi Valley, where the host Pioneers, Ventura, Buena and Harvard-Westlake are among the schools competing. Burroughs is running a Tuesday night girls’ league.

The L.A. Watts Summer Games start Saturday.

Thousand Oaks, with one of the best shooting teams in the region, was impressive last weekend in the SCICA tournament. Guards Kyle Kegley and Dave Anderson, and forward Ben Olson helped the Lancers defeat Claremont, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Muir and El Toro before losing to Upland in the final.

Notre Dame has the most dangerous returning guards, Cody Pearson and Michael Luderer.

One of the most intriguing players of the summer is 6-8 Nashid Beard of Reseda. Beard is improving as a shot blocker and rebounder.

Several players have decided not to play basketball this summer. Tyler Adamczyk, a 6-6 senior at Westlake, will focus on baseball, although he hasn’t ruled out playing during the regular season.

Los Angeles will try to defend its gold medal in the Maccabi Games on Aug. 14-18 in Richmond, Va. Guards Craig Weinstein of Harvard-Westlake, David Gale of Buckley and Will Sheslow of Montclair Prep are the top returnees.

BASEBALL: Area Code Games tryouts are July 5-7 at USC, with the tournament Aug. 6-12 at Blair Field in Long Beach.

The American Legion Area 6 playoffs for 18-and-under players are July 20-23 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The World Series is Aug. 18-22 in Alton, Ill.

In District 20, Granada Hills Kennedy, Van Nuys Show Ball and Chatsworth are the favorites.

Camarillo is the dominant Legion team in the District 16 17-and-under division thanks to sophomore Delmon Young, whose pitching and hitting have coaches predicting he’ll be a first-round draft pick in 2003. Ojai is 8-0 in the 18-and-under division.

The most scrutinized local player is Westlake’s Adamczyk, a pitcher-first baseman who’s considered the region’s top professional prospect for 2001.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com