Eagles soaring to higher ground

Patrick Laverty

Whether it’s the boys or the girls athletic program, the biggest, and

possibly the best, thing to happen to Estancia High in recent years

was the move from the Pacific Coast League to the Golden West League

prior to the 2002-03 school year.

“Across the board in most sports it was a strong boost,” Estancia

Girls Athletic Director Nancy Ferda said. “We just can’t compete

with, for example, Corona del Mar in tennis and volleyball when

they’re ranked No. 1 in CIF. All of our teams saw some success in the

Golden West League.”

That success, whether it be the undefeated Golden West League

champion girls basketball team or the marginal improvement in some

other sports, has provided Ferda and the entire Eagles family hope

for not only the coming school year, but for the future as well.

In her 12th year as athletic director for girls sports at Estancia

after guiding three daughters through the school in the 1980s,

Ferda’s excitement is noticeable as she talks about Estancia’s hopes

and expectations in 2003-04.

She’s encouraged by the addition of a third tennis team for the

first time in her tenure, the return of a second-year soccer coach

and the hiring of a volleyball coach who she hopes can provide that

program with the continuity that others, like Charlie Apell and Art

Perry, have brought to their sports.

Apell, the cross country and track and field coach, and Perry, the

golf coach, head a roster of coaches that is both experienced and

well-qualified. Only volleyball coach Jim Huffman is new to the

school this year and he joins soccer coach Nadine Rajabi as the only

walk-on coaches among the 10 girls sports offered at the school.

“We’ve worked hard to [have on-campus coaches],” Ferda said.

“That’s one of our biggest things is finding qualified coaches.”

At Estancia, those coaches find just about every facility they

need. The school has an expansive field area and according to Ferda,

is one of just a few schools to have two different gyms used for

competition throughout the year, with the girls basketball team

playing its games in the smaller of the two.

“It’s unique because no one plays in that kind of gym, so it gives

the kids a little bit of an advantage,” Ferda said.

Not that the girls basketball team, led by second-year coach Tami

Rappa, has needed much of an advantage. Basketball has been

Estancia’s marquee girls program since Ferda arrived on campus and

has reached the CIF Southern Section playoffs in 10 of Ferda’s 11 years as athletic director.

“Basketball has always been very competitive, even in the Pacific

Coast League,” Ferda said. “Last year, we won the Golden West League

and two years ago, we were co-champions in the PCL.”

Basketball has also served as the only revenue sport among the

girls programs.

Though Estancia has avoided any cutbacks necessitated at other

schools because of state budget cuts, raising money is still Ferda’s

No. 1 priority.

Some of that money comes from hosting tournaments, which the girls

basketball team did this summer. But from the moment they are hired,

coaches must be part of the fund-raising process as well.

“We’re still looking to see how we can pay our trainer,” Ferda

said. “We hire coaches and the next thing we ask is, ‘Can you

fundraise?’ ”

For most girls sports, the fund-raisers support two levels of

play, varsity and junior varsity. Volleyball has been the only sport

to traditionally field three teams. For the first time since Ferda

was hired as athletic director, girls tennis will have a freshman

team this year, a testament to Coach Rachel de los Santos, who

doubles as the boys coach in the spring.

“We just don’t have the numbers in most sports,” Ferda said.

“We’re small. But I’m seeing a lot of growth with the freshmen.

That’s real encouraging.”

Huffman, the new volleyball coach, has experience with a freshman

team, having helped coach the Estancia freshmen last season. But he

also has experience at a much higher level.

A former coach at Cal State Fullerton, Huffman was hired by Ferda

to help stabilize a program that has seen coaches come and go

throughout her tenure.

Huffman lives near the school, has kids who attend Estancia and

has been involved with the program previously, which leads Ferda to

believe he can add to the continuity of the entire athletic program.

“I see him working to carry this through and develop a program,”

Ferda said.

That is also what Ferda sees from Rajabi, who will enter her

second year as soccer coach, assisted by Sabrina Witt, whom Ferda

called a world-class player.

“[Rajabi] can do all the skills,” Ferda said. “She’s a little

bity, feisty go-getter. The kids love her.”

The girls athletic coaching staff is rounded out by softball coach

Marc Rodig and swimming and water polo coach Bob Bandaruk.

Ferda looks for big things again this year from the basketball

program, which lost two seniors from last year’s league championship

team, but returns league MVP Trisha Wase. The expectations are also

rising for de los Santos’ tennis team, which, according to Ferda,

lost only one or two seniors from last season.

But then again, the expectations are rising for all of the

programs at Estancia. After a solid first year in the Golden West

League, it is only natural to expect a little more.

“Our whole program has gone from the second half of the league to

moderately moving up,” Ferda said. “It’s really exciting.”