From Mission to Mission, Coast to Coast : Mission Viejo Teams Could Remain Strong Despite Loss of Coaches

The South Coast League isn’t the best place to be if you’re the average high school swimming coach with the average program, striving for above-average results. Sheri Ross, the girls’ coach at El Toro High School, knows this all too well.

“Sometimes I find it frustrating knowing that my kids are as good as they are and we can’t do any better than third place,” Ross said.

But when you’re competing in girls’ swimming in the same league as Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley, those are the realities. Have been for some time.

For the last decade, the South Coast League schedule has been little more than spring training for Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley; a chance to get the kinks out before the CIF Southern Section championship meet.

It has worked out nicely. The Mission Viejo girls’ team has won seven consecutive 4-A championships, on top of the three straight titles the Diablos won before section officials adopted a divisional format. Capistrano Valley doesn’t have a pool on campus, but that hasn’t prevented the Cougar girls from finishing second the past six seasons.

The Mission Viejo boys’ team hasn’t lost a 4-A team title since Gerald Ford was president. Next month, the Diablos will be going for their 12th straight championship. Like Ross, El Toro boys’ Coach Jeff Grosse, has found troubled waters in the South Coast League.

“It’s discouraging,” Grosse said. “What we try to do is set other goals. We can be realistic about it and say, ‘I’d like to be within a certain amount of points of Mission. We try to focus on other things besides losing to Mission. We try to look for positives.”

One reason Mission Viejo has made like the ’27 Yankees--and some say it’s the only reason--is the fact that the Mission Viejo Nadadores train just a short drive from the school’s campus down Marguerite Parkway. Under Coach Mark Schubert, the Nadadores became world-famous for producing world-class swimmers.

During the building of the dynasty, swimmers from various corners of the world came to Mission Viejo to train under Schubert to pursue Olympic goals. And those swimmers, most not far into their teens, had to go to high school somewhere.

Mission Viejo (and, later, nearby Capistrano Valley) began to realize the profits of having Nadadores live in their attendance areas. The high school swim team was a nice little diversion from the rigorous hours of training for the Nadadores. And who doesn’t want to be part of a winner?

But there is talk that Mission Viejo’s days at the top may be numbered. Last August, Mark Schubert left the Nadadores to start a similar program in Boca Raton, Fla. Terry Stoddard, formerly the coach at Capistrano Valley and a Schubert assistant, has become the Nadadores’ coach. Stoddard has lots of enthusiasm, but he lacks Schubert’s international reputation.

Some coaches say that Schubert was the magnet that attracted many of the top swimmers to Mission Viejo. Now, that magnet is at the opposite end of the country. And that has some Orange County prep coaches believing that parity may finally be on the horizon.

The impact won’t be felt immediately, they say, but it will be felt.

Said Ross: “Mark Schubert is one of a kind. The reason why Mission Viejo has been so good is swimmers from all over the world wanted to come to the Mission area to train under Mark.

“I think it will take two to three years for a change to happen, but it will happen.”

Some other opinions:

Grosse, who has coached at El Toro for eight years: “A couple of years down the road, we’re going to see some change. It’s going to take a while, but there will be a drop-off. I don’t see how there can’t be.”

Westminster Coach Larry Brennan, a member of the CIF Southern Section Commissioner’s Coaches Advisory Committee: “I think it has excited some other coaches. Now, they see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Foothill Coach Tom DeLong, a 21-year veteran and the dean of prep swimming coaches in Orange County: “I think the Mission Viejo area, including Mission, Capistrano Valley and El Toro, are going to be strong for a long time because they have such a broad-based age group program there. But if they stop bringing swimmers in from outside the area, there will be a leveling off. I definitely think the picture’s going to change.”

Jan Most has coached girls’ swimming at Mission Viejo since the school opened in 1966. Her program has grown with the Nadadores’ program, and she realizes that Shubert’s departure may have a negative impact on the Diablos.

“You don’t take away that caliber of coach with his record and not have some effect,” Most said. “Some of the kids who were going to pick up and move to swim with him won’t be coming here.”

Some who began their careers at Mission Viejo already have left. Dan Jorgensen and Kim Brown are among the six swimmers who have left the Nadadores to swim for Irvine Novaquatics for Coach Flip Darr. Both still swim for Mission Viejo High School.

Jorgensen has been the 4-A champion in 200 and 500 freestyle the past two years, and set a 4-A record in the 500 free last season with a time of 4:19.47. Brown is the reigning 4-A champion in 200 and 400 free, and holds the Southern Section record in the 500 (4:40.04).

Mission Viejo boys’ Coach Mike Pelton says that many of his top swimmers this season are underclassmen, and believes those who are planning on throwing his program a life preserver sometime in the near future may be mistaken.

“The entire aquatics world is looking at Mission Viejo and seeing if we’re going to fall flat on our face,” Pelton said. “Many teams think this is the year to beat Mission because of Mark leaving.

“I don’t think so. There’s still a very good environment here. We still have good coaching. We still have a tremendous facility and a community that will do anything it needs to do to continue to have success in the aquatics world.”

Tom DeLong knows a little something about swimming dynasties. From 1970 to 1979, his Foothill teams won 102 straight dual meets. The Knights won Southern Section championships in 1971 through 1974, “with all local kids who grew up in the Foothill area,” DeLong said.

During that stretch, DeLong’s biggest concern was motivating swimmers to compete against mostly inferior opponents. As scales in the balance of power tipped South, DeLong had to find ways to convince average swimmers that they had a chance against potential Olympians.

“We try to use that to the advantage of the athlete and say, ‘You may never have another opportunity to swim against a world-class swimmer again. Here’s an opportunity to get pulled to a personal best.’ ”

Still, asking a high school swimmer to take the starting block in the lane next to Olympians such as Tiffany Cohen or Brian Goodell is a little like a prep baseball coach handing his pitcher a ball and telling him to try and get George Brett out. Some would argue that it simply isn’t an equitable situation.

“There are some people who feel it’s unfair,” Grosse said, “but I don’t agree with that. I don’t think a kid should not swim on a high school team because he’s too good. In affect, what they’re telling you then is, ‘Get good, but not too good.’ ”

Ross’ El Toro teams won five of six Sea View League championships before being moved into the South Coast League last year. They finished third behind Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley, and are destined to finish there again this season.

When you’re No. 3, you have to try even harder.

“My kids look at it as a good experience, swimming against good competition,” Ross said. “Sometimes I think they gave a better attitude about it than I do.”