The CIF’s motto is “Pursuing Victory with Honor.”
So, yes, sportsmanship and ejections are a major concern.
Ejections among coaches dropped during the 2024-25 school year, according to data released by the CIF San Diego Section this week. However, more players and spectators continue to get kicked out of games.
There were 306 San Diego Section athletes tossed last school year — 247 boys and 59 girls — compared to 292 during the 203-24 school year. Eighteen spectators were ejected last school year, up from 12 during the previous year.
The number of coaches tossed — 48 — was a marked reduction from the 67 who were booted during the previous school year.
More than 53% of the athletes ejected were boys soccer players. It should be noted, however, that soccer players who receive two yellow cards in a match receive automatic ejections. Football was next with 51 player ejections, followed by girls soccer (48), boys water polo (31) and baseball (24).
By school, El Capitan led the way with 17 ejections. Mount Miguel was next at 11, followed by La Jolla Country Day and Otay Ranch at 10. Carlsbad, Crawford and Santana all had nine players ejected in 2023-24.
Transfer numbers
The San Diego Section office received 1,540 Transfer Eligibility Requests during the 2024-25 school year, which equates to about 1% of the total student enrollment and about 1.9% of the section’s athletic participants.
While there was an increase in hardship and valid change of address requests, the number of limited eligibility and sit-out period requests was lower than in the previous year.
In 2024-25, Lincoln led the way with 79 incoming transfers. That was followed by Torrey Pines (58), Mount Miguel (50), Cathedral Catholic (42) and Olympian (39).
Football wins numbers game
Football was the most popular sport among San Diego Section schools in 2024-25, with 8,912 players participating. Boys track and field was second with 5,483 participants, while girls track and field had 4,409.
Soccer was the top girls sport, with 4,462 athletes participating. Boys soccer checked in at 5,334.
Boys basketball had 3,898 participants, with girls basketball at 2,521. Girls volleyball participation numbers (4,092) far exceeded that of the boys (2,926). Nearly as many athletes played girls lacrosse (2,007) as boys lacrosse (2,040).
Former Helix coach Nash passes
Gordon Nash, Bill Walton’s basketball coach at Helix High School, passed away Sept. 27 at age 91.
Nash started at Helix in the 1967-68 season, winning a pair of CIF championships with Walton as well as 49 straight games.
Nash coached 11 seasons and finished with a 259-59 record.
Helix will hold a celebration of life for Nash on Oct. 26 at the school’s Performing Arts Center. The event begins at 12:30 p.m.
Baseball openings
Since the end of the last school year, 10 baseball coaching jobs have opened.
They are: Grossmont, West Hills, Santana, Valhalla, Mission Hills, Fallbrook, Carlsbad, Poway, Mater Dei Catholic and Liberty Charter.
Notable
CIF data showed that 81,038 San Diego Section students participated in sports last school year — that’s 54% of total enrollment. San Diego Section participation numbers are slightly higher than the statewide average of 47%.
• California has 10 CIF sections. The Southern Section, which includes schools from Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino and Orange counties, leads the way with 545 schools. The Sac-Joaquin Section is next with 199, while the Los Angeles City Section has exploded to 154. San Diego is the seventh-largest section in the state with 129 schools. San Francisco is the smallest section, with 18 schools.