Torrey Pines’ Haines to Leave for College

Rik Haines had dinner with Tom Osborne, Nebraska’s football coach, two weeks ago and was told that if he wanted to get into college coaching at his age, he couldn’t let opportunities pass him by.

On Friday, Haines, 42, resigned his position as football coach at Torrey Pines High School to become a volunteer assistant offensive line coach at the University of Washington. He hopes it will lead to a paying position.

“It’s not a difficult move, really,� said Haines, who added that he hoped there would be opportunities to earn income in some capacity for the school. “It’s something I want to do. Sometimes you look out for the kids (you coach) and forget about yourself.�

Haines compiled an 18-30-1 record in five seasons at Torrey Pines. The Falcons were 2-8 this past season but will return 16 of 22 starters. Haines told his players of his decision Tuesday.

After one season, Steve Kinder has decided not to return as Oceanside’s basketball coach and will instead pursue a full-time teaching position.

Kinder will turn in his written resignation to the Oceanside administration today.

“We were happy with him,� said Pat Kimbrel, Oceanside’s athletic director. “This was strictly a Steve Kinder decision. I respect his decision and the fact he let us know early.�

Kinder said he was hired last spring as a substitute teacher and basketball coach. He plans to be married in August and feels he needs a full-time teaching position in addition to coaching. Because Oceanside has no teaching jobs in physical education available, he plans to look first in the county and then elsewhere if necessary.

Kinder, 27, coached Oceanside to a 13-13 record and fourth-place finish in the Avocado League. Oceanside lost in the first round of the San Diego Section playoffs to Monte Vista, 81-57.

“I think everyone thinks it was a good year, especially due to the ineligibility problems we had and kids we were dealing with,� Kinder said.

Before coaching at Oceanside, Kinder was an assistant under Gary Zarecky at U.S. International. Kinder graduated from Escondido High, attended MiraCosta College and graduated from Humboldt State.

Herb Meyer, El Camino football coach and athletic director, will be inducted to the California Coaches Hall of Fame at the organization’s annual awards banquet and induction ceremony Friday.

Meyer has compiled a 220-92-13 record and won six San Diego Section titles in his 32 years as a coach in the county. He coached at Oceanside from 1959-76, then went to El Camino.

Is there a scoring record Christian’s Tony Clark has not yet broken this year?

Saturday against Canoga Park Faith Baptist in the Southern California Regional Division V boys’ basketball final, Clark scored 48 points to break the regional championship game scoring record of 37 set by Glendora’s Tracy Murray last year.

“Once you get Tony going, he’s tough to stop,� said Randy Wright, Christian’s coach.

Murray, a UCLA freshman, finished last year with 1,505 points, a state record. Clark has 1,312 this season, 2,522 in his career.

Christian plays Colusa in the Division V state championship game Friday in Oakland.

El Camino’s Shaun Scurry has played against the two top centers in the county--Eric Meek of San Pasqual and Joe McNaull of Monte Vista--and Thursday guarded Ed O’Bannon, one of the best players in the country, when El Camino played Artesia in the regional Division II semifinals.

Artesia won, 74-70, and will play Sunnyvale Fremont in the Division II state final in Oakland Saturday.

When comparing Meek to O’Bannon, Scurry said: “(O’Bannon’s) an excellent player from what I can tell, but I just think Eric is a little bit better.�

Scurry guarded O’Bannon, a 6-8 senior, the entire game and “held� him to 30 points. O’Bannon averages 25.

And about Scurry’s defense, O’Bannon said: “He played a lot more aggressive than a lot of other guys. It was kind of tough to get inside on him.

“El Camino is the best team we’ve played so far. We expected them to give us trouble, and they did,� O’Bannon said.

O’Bannon is considering, UCLA, UNLV, Arizona State, USC and Syracuse. His younger brother, Charles, a 6-5 freshman, scored 11 of his 13 points against El Camino in the first quarter.

El Camino, which finished 23-7, loses its four leading scorers: Scurry, Travis Gilley, Glenn Ankton and Dee Boyer. Returning will be juniors Jeff Reeves, Russell White and point guard Heath McCoy, who scored 14 points against Artesia.

Martin Henderson contributed to this story.