AROUND THE LEAGUES : Muckey Prepares Team for Next Year While Preparing Resume for Canyon Coaching Job

Crespi Coach Scott Muckey is busy preparing his team for next season but is finding time to prepare his resume for the open coaching position at Canyon High.

Muckey is the most prominent name included among the 15 candidates for the Canyon baseball job. Canyon Coach Wally Hammond resigned two weeks ago after eight years as coach.

“I really like it at Crespi, but I’m looking to improve my situation,” Muckey said. “A little more money at Canyon wouldn’t get me over there. It would have to be an all-around better situation.”

In his first season at Crespi, Muckey led the Celts (21-6-1) to the Southern Section 4-A quarterfinals. Other candidates are Canyon softball Coach Rich Trevino and Saugus junior varsity Coach Jim Phillips, Hammond said. A replacement will be named in mid-July by Principal Bill White. . . . Although Crespi was knocked out of the playoffs by El Dorado on Friday, the Celts were back in uniform Sunday playing for the school’s American Legion team, which is run by Muckey.

“All 18 spots are filled by this year’s varsity team,” Muckey said. “There isn’t even any room to look at some of this year’s JVs.”

In addition to legion games, the Celts will work out with Chatsworth two or three days a week until mid-July. Muckey and Chatsworth Coach Bob Lofrano are good friends. . . . Crespi’s most glaring weakness next year may be catcher. Joe Testa, this season’s catcher who batted .379 and led the team with 5 home runs and 24 runs batted in, is a senior. “I don’t think anyone on campus even owns a catcher’s mitt,” Muckey said.

What about Russell White? No one can catch him when he’s running with a football, but he could probably catch a baseball, right? Said Muckey: “I asked Russell about playing baseball and he said, ‘No coach. Man, I’m afraid of the ball.’ ”

Same problem as Elway: A few weeks ago, Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh used strong-armed outfielder Sean Brown as a pitcher. “I’m really going to work on him for next year,” Stroh said of Brown, who also plays football and basketball. “He’s so busy with other sports, the problem is finding time to teach him how to pitch. It’s the same problem I had with John Elway. They both have great arms, but are so busy they don’t have the time to work on things.”

Stroh, too, is busy. Asked Monday what he thought about next year’s baseball team, Stroh indicated there were more immediate concerns: “I’ve got spring football practice today.”

The long and short of it: Canyon raised eyebrows last season when it lowered the hemline on its basketball shorts. But after a while, players said, the shorts sort of grow on you.

“I wasn’t really crazy about them at first,” Coach Greg Hayes said. “But the kids really liked the idea of having shorts like the team at UNLV, so I broke down. I bet I’ve had five calls from coaches from Banning to the San Joaquin Valley asking me where we ordered those shorts. I never thought Canyon High would be a fashion trend-setter, but I guess we are.”

Softball: Defense and pitching have helped Thousand Oaks (23-8) become the first Marmonte League team to advance to the Southern Section 4-A final. First-baseman Jamie Heggen, a sophomore, has been acrobatic all season.

“I can’t estimate how many throwing errors she saved,” Coach Chuck Brown said. “She does the splits on low throws and this little toe dance on high throws.” Senior third baseman Jamie McDaniel has made only three errors all season and freshman shortstop Phronsie Franco has improved steadily. Franco is playing her first year of softball after playing Little League baseball.

Only Heggen (.327), who leads the team with 5 home runs and 20 RBIs, and catcher Julie Chellevold (.318) are batting better than .300. But the pitching of senior Mollie Moore (9-2) and junior Shireen Campbell (13-6) has enabled Thousand Oaks to win 11 games by two runs or less.

Playing through: Westlake’s Jimmy Chang finished in a tie for fifth and led a group of three Westlake players who finished in the top 20 in the Southern Section individual golf championships at Mission Hills Golf Course in Rancho Mirage on Monday. Chang fired a 1-under-par 71. Chris Zambri shot 73 and brother Mike finished at 74. Alemany’s Dave Berganio shot 73. All four advance to the CIF/Southern California Golf Assn. final on Monday at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village. Westlake, which plays its home matches on the course, advanced last month. . . . Poly’s Jeff La Monica will compete in the decathlon at the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento on June 12-13. The meet annually assembles eight of the nation’s best high school seniors in each event. La Monica’s best in the pole vault is 15 feet.