LIFE’S A BEACH:

Cal State Long Beach--Seemingly in conjunction with the drive to save the troubled athletic department, “The Beach is Back” paraphernalia is making a comeback of its own. The dated public relations slogan popped up again on lapels, auto bumpers and office windows in the athletic department during its quest to raise $300,000 to save the 49er football program. One of the most visible staff members to display the slogan is basketball Coach Ron Palmer, who sports a faded yellow and brown “The Beach is Back” lapel pin on his blazer. Long Beach is 6-8.

PREP PARTICIPATION:

Participation by boys and girls in high school athletics in California grew 5.5% in the past two years, a survey has found. The study was funded by the California Interscholastic Federation. Currently more than 15,000 teams compete statewide. The survey showed that football is the most popular sport among boys, with slightly more than 78,000 participants in 1985. Track and field, basketball, baseball and soccer round out the top five. For girls, the most popular sports are volleyball, softball, basketball, track and field and swimming.

COLLEGE ALL-STAR:

Reggie Taylor, U. of Cincinnati--The former Lynwood High School running back has been invited to play in Saturday’s East-West Shrine all-star football game. He has been chosen honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press three consecutive times. He was also chosen honorable mention All-American by the Sporting News after he was named the Metro Conference player of the year for the second straight time. The Bearcats, who finished 5-6, are headed by former Cal State Long Beach Coach Dave Currey.

JUNIOR HIGH CHAMPIONS:

The Long Beach Unified School District recently crowned its junior high school football and volleyball champions. In the eighth grade football division Coach Jack Turner guided Marshall over Rogers, 13-12. In the ninth grade football final Coach Jerry Jeffery directed Hill to a 44-13 victory over Hamilton. In girls volleyball Hoover, coached by Jona Huffman, won the eighth grade title, while Lindbergh, under Coach Trish Ryan, captured the nine grade championship. In the combined boys volleyball division, Stanford, co-coached by Mary Demers and Glen Kobata, was the champion. The annual championships are part of the district’s Saturday sports program.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?:

Valley Christian high schools--As noted in an earlier edition of Sports Shorts, Cal-Hi Sports Magazine rated Valley Christian High School of Cerritos (12-1) No. 1 in the state in its final ranking of the Division A top 10 teams. Who finished No. 10? Valley Christian of San Jose, which was 9-2-1.

DRAFTED:

Stacy Peoples, CS Long Beach--The senior middle blocker was the 35th player taken in the initial draft of the new Major League Volleyball Assn. She will play for the San Francisco-San Jose team.

BASKETBALL:

Cerritos College--The Lady Falcons are averaging 43.7 rebounds a game, while allowing opponents just 53.9 points a game.

Andy Olivarez, Cypress College--A Times All-Southeast selection while at Whittier High School, Olivarez is the leading scorer for the Chargers this season. He’s averaging 16 points and 3.2 assists a game.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Georgetown University basketball Coach John Thompson, speaking on the prospects for success of third-year Coach Ron Palmer of Cal State Long Beach: “He’s in a situation like I was. We took the same route. I came (to Georgetown) from a high school job. He did the same here. He’s building a program and it’s ready for an upturn. The guy is a Hell of a coach.”