Capistrano Valley Coach Banned From Playoffs After Rule Violation

Capistrano Valley High School baseball coach Bob Zamora, whose Cougars will play Central High in the 2-A quarterfinals today, has been barred from coaching his team or even attending the game because he was found in violation of a Southern Section rule, Zamora said Thursday night.

Zamora said he broke CIF rule 2412, which forbids coaches from organizing a team in a league outside the baseball season, during the school year, on which students with remaining eligibility at the school are participating.

Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas received a complaint that Zamora had invited some members of his Capistrano Valley team to play for the Lamppost Stars, a semi-pro team in the Southern California Baseball Assn., for which Zamora has played every Sunday for 23 years.

“Since I don’t coach this team (Lamppost Stars) or sponsor it, my coach (Terry Teuell) said we were short a couple pitchers and asked me if some of my players would play,” Zamora said. He added that some of his players had played, but he declined to name them.

“We had a difference of opinion on interpretation of the rule,” Zamora said.

Zamora says he was contacted by the Southern Section office about the alleged rule violation Thursday at about 2:30 p.m. After an hour-long meeting among Zamora, Thomas, Southern Section Administrator Bill Clark and Capistrano Valley principal Tom Anthony, Zamora said he was placed in a position of non-participation for the remainder of the playoffs. He informed his team of the ruling at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“Even if the boys win, I will not be able to participate in any games for the rest of the playoffs,” Zamora said.

Craig Anderson, Zamora’s assistant, will coach the second-seeded Cougars (24-2) today at Central.

“It is (hard to believe),” Zamora said. “I’m still numb. It hurts, but it would have devastated me had the team no longer been able to play.”