Former Laguna Hills athletes take pride giving back as coaches, developing champions

Laguna Hills coaches from left Patrick Pollock, Kevin Macare, Sean Sargeant, Blake Corbin, Bobby Morales and Christian Castro. (Photo courtesy Ali Jeske, Laguna Hills athletic trainer; team photos Laguna Hills athletics).

Six Laguna Hills High School varsity coaches enjoyed success as players during their athletic careers at the school.

They wanted to give back to the programs and their impact has led to success with numerous league titles and CIF playoff appearances during the 2025-26 school year.

“It speaks to our community of Laguna Hills but also the culture we’ve created here at Laguna Hills High School and that’s a testament to all of our faculty and staff and all of our former teachers and administrators who have been here,” said Principal Brent Dohling in an interview Tuesday at his office.

“Laguna Hills High School is a special and unique place, we talk about it being that family, community type feel. I felt it as soon as I got here, they embraced me.”

Five of the teams earned league titles and the girls flag football team made progress, earning a CIF playoff berth. All the squads advanced to post-season competition.

“Having five varsity head coaches that won league championships this year that were all former student athletes at their high school tells you they just want to be here and they want to give back and they want to serve our student athletes and build on that legacy of what Laguna Hills High School athletics is,” Dohling said.

Current enrollment at the school is 1,249, Dohling said.

To see the slide show, click on the first photo:

Girls soccer

Coach: Kevin Macare. Macare, who also coaches boys golf, is a 1988 graduate of Laguna Hills. He led the girls soccer team to the league title and into the CIF playoffs this season. The team was 8-0 in league play, winning the first league title in 10 years.

Laguna Hills (14-2-2 overall) won its CIF Division 4 playoff opener defeating Redlands 2-0 on Wednesday and moves into the second round Saturday vs. Tahquitz.

“It’s been a really good season,” Macare said. “The players work hard and have tremendous pride in both their school and each other. Everyone contributed to the success of the season. The senior group of captains, Rylie Hooes, Lilian Mostert, Skylar Kennedy and Rebecca Davis have been instrumental in creating and keeping a focus and determination in the team. “

Macare, in his 27^th year at the helm of the girls’ program, was a member of the 1987 championship team with the boys soccer team.

Macare played soccer and golf at Laguna Hills and graduated in 1987.

“It’s always been important for me to give back,” he said. “Having the ability to reference things from your own experiences and traditions in programs you were a part of at the same school you are now leading has been fantastic. We have great facilities and we’re really fortunate.”

Boys basketball

Coach: Sean Sargeant. Sargeant, a 2008 graduate of Laguna Hills, is in his second season leading the boys basketball program which captured the league title this season.

“We brought home a league title, I believe it’s been 19 years,” said Sargeant, who led the Hawks into the CIF playoffs this week. “They’ve been through a lot the last couple of years and had a lot of adversity and to see them stick through it and buy in to what we’re trying to accomplish culture wise in the program has been great to see. I think their resiliencey really showed and that’s the reason why they were able to bring home a league title this year.”

Top players this year have included senior Jackson Burnham, who has averaged of 17 points and seven rebounds a game; junior Myles Mittelsteadt, who has averaged 18 points and seven rebounds a game; sophomore Fletcher Freeman and junior Drew Meyers, who has emerged as a defensive leader, according to Sargeant.

Sargeant played basketball at Laguna Hills from 2006 to 2008.

“I was actually part of the team that won the last league title here so it was pretty special to be a part of the team that won it and and then be a part of the staff who gets to work with the boys who brought it home,” he said.

“Laguna {Hills} is a special place, I love it. It’s smaller on the scale of student body so we’re a lot closer. It was special playing here because the student body was really close and had a lot of friends, so game nights were always great. There is great support from admin, the student body.”

Girls water polo

Coach: Blake Corbin. Corbin, a 1993 graduate of Laguna Hills, led the Hawks girls water polo team to the league title and into the CIF playoffs this season.

“It’s the second (league title) in the school’s history and those are hard to come by for the reason of being in really competitive leagues and now we’ve fallen into a league which is of like opponents and the girls have done a tremendous job of embracing that opportunity.”

The Hawks won their first two CIF playoffs in Division 6, defeating Fontana 10-4 and Royal 6-4. Laguna Hills hosts Palm Springs Friday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.

It’s been quite a turn-around.

“Having gone to the playoffs as well as the league title is already an accomplishment,” Corbin said. “Last year they won zero games, year before that they won two games, and it’s the same group of kids. They stayed positive and kept putting one foot in front of the next and got into an opportunity where they were able to do well.

“Most teams would have cashed it in after the losing season followed by a very lopsided season, but they were very patient with each other, kept encouraging one another, they kept learning and here they are on the opposite side of the spectrium.”

Top players have included senior Lila Morenus and “juniors Maddison Lawler and Amelia Blanchi did an amazing job steering the team forward,” Corbin said.

“Freshman Bella Pollock joined us with great experience and helped lead the team’s offense,” he said.

Corbin competed in water polo and swimming. He’s also the swim coach and boys water polo coach at Laguna Hills.

“Being at the same school is pretty neat, I think I’m a loyal person and to be able to put my root down as an athlete and then put it down further as the coach has been a really fun full-circle to come through,” he said.

Boys wrestling

Coach: Bobby Morales. Morales led the Hawks to the league and conference title in his second season as head coach.

“A lot of it has to do with the kids willing to push and wrestle year round,” Morales said. “Last year we also won our league title so the willingness to want to kind of repeat that this year and a lot of the kids were motivated to stand out in the league. We were in a pretty tough league this year, we had to beat out Santa Ana who is a returning CIF championship team and Calvary Chapel, which is ranked 31st in the state. We had to beat both of those teams to win our league this year so a lot of it had to do with the kids stepping up and practicing hard every day.

“Our current team is doing great, with 21 athletes from our boys and girls teams moving on to the CIF tournament. We also want to celebrate our individual league champions from the Empire Conference tournament: JP Gonthier, Chase McKay and Jason Ponce.

“Jason Ponce achieved the rare feat of winning a varsity league title as a freshman. JP Gonthier earned the third league championship title of his high school career.”

The Hawks will compete in the CIF tournament this weekend.

“I definitely think we can earn somewhere in the top three,” Morales said. “During my four years on the varsity team, we won seven CIF championships and four league titles. It is a true honor to continue that legacy now as the head coach.”

Morales, a 2010 graduate of Laguna Hills, wrestled for the Hawks.

“This place holds a special place in my heart,” he said. “The wrestling community here specifically has a lot of alumni support. There are seven of us on our staff who are all Laguna Hills alumni so it speaks a little bit to the culture of the sport we have here. A lot of the alumni want to give back. When the opportunity came up to head the position, I really wanted to be able to give back to the place that I felt I grew up in.”

Boys soccer

Coach: Christian Castro. Castro is in his third year as head coach and faced some challenges this season on the way to a league title.

“This year has been nothing but a miracle,” he said. “We lost 16 seniors last year. This year was a true testament of hard work and grit and a lot of dedication on the field. A lot of the boys were ready and we were ready to have a good amount of juniors as well who were seniors this year.”

The team allowed the fewest goals in league.

The team, which finished 8-4-5 and tied for first place in the league, reached the CIF Division 4 playoffs, losing to Montebello 2-0 in the opening round.

Castro, a 2018 graduate of Laguna Hills, played four years of soccer with the Hawks, three on the varsity.

“I’ve always been a part of the city of Laguna Hills so to be growing up in the city, I have older brothers and siblings and cousins who have come to Laguna Hills,” he said. “When I had an opportunity to play here it was truly a meaningful thing in my life. Since I graduated I always thought of coming back and giving back to something that was very true and meaningful to me in my life and my childhood growing up. It means everything to me.”

Girls flag football

Coach: Patrick Pollock. Pollack graduated from Laguna Hills in 1990 and played basketball and volleyball, before playing college basketball at UC San Diego.

He completed his third season coaching the flag football program and led the team to the CIF playoffs.

“We finished third, we had a great season, our goal at the onset was to get back to CIF (playoffs) and we achieved that goal,” he said of the team. “We were senior heavy but they were girls who were with us from the beginning so as they graduated, it’s a bittersweet moment, but it allows us to in essennce kind of restart a little bit.

“It’s a joy for my assistants, and fellow Hawk alumni, Maddy Riddle (Class of 2019) and Jacci Crow (Class of 2018) to show up to practice. Our athletes are also impressively well-rounded; most are multi-sport athletes, which we strongly encourage here at Laguna Hills High School.”

Top players on the team included Rebecca Davis, a first team all-league player who led the team in receptions and touchdowns; Lena Nguyen, a second team all-league player who had 32 sacks in league and Makayla Guzman, who Pollock said was a “vital leader on and off the field.”

Pollock has fond memories of his playing days at the school.

“The four years I got to participate in athletics here was awesome,” he said. “I had great teammates who are still great friends and great coaches who I still lean on from a mentor position and coaching here because so many coaches poured into me, it only makes sense for me to pour into student athletes.”

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com