BY DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA
Since George Larsen left his first high school coaching job on top 12 years ago, some of the best soccer programs in Orange County have offered him a job about every year.
But Larsen, who twice coached the Mission Viejo High girls to a CIF Southern Section championship and also won a CIF crown as a player for the Diablos, turned down every offer.
Larsen never saw himself coaching on the high school level again. It didn’t fit with his schedule, his family. Larsen also enjoyed far more success guiding the Newport Beach-based Slammers Futbol Club.
Mater Dei, where Larsen’s mom, Diane, has been a teacher for a quarter of a century, failed to lure him in.
So, why is Larsen at Corona del Mar? Who convinced him to return to the high school ranks?
Larsen’s ties with the Slammers helped. A handful of the boys who play for the Sea Kings once suited up for Larsen on the club level.
Despite the familiarity, Larsen still had no idea if CdM could make history in his first season at the helm. It can today.
The Sea Kings are one win away from reaching the section title game for the first time in the program’s history. Top-seeded CdM (22-1-1) plays host to North Torrance (16-5-5) in the semifinals of the Division IV playoffs at 3 p.m.
“I didn’t take [over] this program because I knew we were going to be good this year,” Larsen said in early in January, before the Sea Kings made waves nationally (now ranked No. 11 by ESPN RISE). “Before I took the job, one of the [players] I talked to was Reed [Williams]. I asked him, ‘Is this high school thing important to you?’ He almost teared up. He said, ‘Yeah, it’s very important to me.’
“That was one of the things that pushed me over the edge. When I saw the sincerity of how important this was, I said, ‘This is something I want to invest in. I could see that these kids were going to work hard for me.’ ”
The Sea Kings have outworked practically everyone on the field. They’ve outscored opponents, 70-11.
The two times CdM didn’t prevail, Williams was out with an injured right hamstring. The UCLA-bound senior striker is more than all right now.
Williams scored his 28th goal of the season in the Sea Kings’ 2-0 quarterfinal victory at Cathedral of Los Angeles on Thursday. Williams and CdM haven’t come this far to settle for anything but a section crown.
