Girls volleyball: Conti resigns at CdM

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - Steve Conti, who has led a resurgence in the girls

and boys volleyball programs at Corona del Mar High, has resigned as

girls coach after four seasons.

Conti, who has guided the boys program to five straight CIF Southern

Section championship matches, including a Division I title in 2000 and a

Division III crown in 1998, will continue to coach the boys program.

“It was a bunch of things combined,” Conti said of his decision to

relinquish the girls job. “My wife and I have a baby on the way and I

need to go back to school to get my master’s degree. Being the head coach

of two programs is fun and exciting, but it definitely takes away from

time around the house. There’s a chance I may get back into coaching

girls, but it won’t be for a while.”

Conti, an Estancia High graduate, made an immediate impact on the CdM

girls program when he took over before the 1997 season.

That year, CdM won the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA

championship with a five-game victory over La Habra in the title match.

It was the first girls section crown since 1993 for the Sea Kings, who

finished 13-8 that year, third in the Sea View League. They also competed

in the Southern California regional playoffs that year.

The girls finished 10-9 the next season and advanced to the section

Division III-A semifinals, where they lost in five games to Notre Dame

Academy.

In 1999, CdM moved from the Sea View to the Pacific Coast League and

immediately established itself as a dominant force. Conti’s squad swept

eight league games to win the PCL crown, then advanced to the section

Division III semifinals. The Sea Kings, 21-11, also earned a berth into

the CIF State playoffs.

Last season, Conti’s girls team went 18-11, shared the PCL

championship and advanced to the Division III-AA section semifinals,

where it fell in five games to Bishop Montgomery. CdM then competed in

the CIF State playoffs.

“We had a pretty good run,” Conti said. “The biggest thing I’m proud

of is the way the girls and boys in our programs have become friends and

are very supportive of one another. I enjoy that camaraderie.”