JUNIORS AND SENIORS JOIN TRANSFER CRAZE : COACHES FEEL FALLOUT FROM OPEN ENROLLMENT.

Byline: Eric Sondheimer Daily News Deputy Sports Editor

Forgive coaches if they're taking lots of aspirin these days, but open enrollment is giving them more headaches than ever.

In the first two years of the state law that allows students to choose any school they want within their district, the movement of athletes from school to school largely occurred among incoming freshmen and sophomores. But in the third year of open enrollment, it's clear that parents and students have become more educated about the rules, and it's leading to increasing numbers of juniors and seniors choosing to leave their friends behind for other schools.

A Daily News survey identified 37 notable transfer students for the 1996-97 athletic year, of which 23 switched schools under open enrollment and 17 were either juniors or seniors.

``I think (parents and students) are more aware of their options available,'' said City Section commissioner Barbara Fiege. ``I think it will continue for a while, then at some point it will plateau out because they'll make their decisions in eighth grade instead of 11th and 12th grade. But we're in unknown territory.''

Another intriguing development is that female athletes have begun to take advantage of open enrollment. Two of the four female basketball players who transferred from Taft to Kennedy this fall did so under open enrollment, according to school officials.

Coaches are becoming frustrated because they have devoted several years to working with a particular athlete, then learn that the athlete suddenly leaves. It has created uncertainty during the summer months, when coaches have no idea which players might stay or leave.

``Whomever came up with open enrollmentis reason enough to have capital punishment,'' L.A. Baptist athletic director Maury Neville said.

Boys' basketball players, in particular, decided to play musical chairs this summer. The big loser was Birmingham, which lost David Redmond to Canoga Park, Ellis Richardson to Poly and Ken Mason to Cleveland. Taft lost two varsity starters, with 6-foot-7 center Tyrone Purnell transferring to San Fernando and guard Harold Shevlin going to Chatsworth.

The big winner in boys' basketball was Bell-Jeff in Burbank. The Guards, already expected to be a top-10 team, picked up North Hollywood transfer Mike West, a 6-5 junior through open enrollment. Also enrolling was 6-6 sophomore Kenny Estevez, a transfer from the Seattle area.

Local basketball coaches are blaming the growth of summer and spring All-Star teams for the rise in player movement. Players or parents unhappy with their high school coach now have an easy avenue to change the situation - they can just switch schools without moving to another house or apartment.

Longtime North Hollywood basketball coach Steve Miller said he has begun to phase himself out of coaching, and one reason is the change in attitude of players and parents.

``Things have changed,'' Miller said. ``I've tried to change, but there are too many things influencing the game. You can't work with a kid because you don't know whether they'll be there the next year. Loyalty in my life is very important - loyalty to my players, loyalty to my family. It doesn't exist today.''

If players are moving to different schools to improve their chances of receiving a college scholarship, San Fernando basketball coach Mick Cady said the players are living in a fantasy world.

``How many kids in the Valley have gotten Division I scholarships in the last five years?'' Cady said. ``They can keep transferring, but they're not going to get better.''

One development that could curtail open-enrollment movement in the L.A. district is overcrowding. Several high schools, including North Hollywood, Poly and Granada Hills, had no openings for open-enrollment students.

Several schools picked up transfer students returning to their home campuses. Chatsworth's baseball team gained all-league second baseman Danny Eisenberg, who played at North Hollywood last season despite living in the Chatsworth district. Oak Park basketball player Elan Buller returned to El Camino Real, his home school.

As for out-of-state transfers, North Hollywood's girls' basketball team picked up 5-8 sophomore Markia Derby, who played on a state runner-up team in North Carolina. Thousand Oaks' boys' basketball team got a junior guard from Miami named Elio Castillo.

NOTABLE TRANSFER STUDENTS BOYS' BASKETBALL

Name Yr. Previous school New school

Elan Buller Sr. Oak Park El Camino Real

xTyrone Purnell Jr. Taft San Fernando

David Redmond Sr. Birmingham Canoga Park

Harold Shevlin Jr. Taft Chatsworth

xKen Mason So. Birmingham Cleveland

Ellis Richardson Jr. Birmingham Poly

xKevin Bentley Jr. Chatsworth Montclair Prep

xFabian Leon Jr.Canyon Valencia

Rafael Berumen So. Pomona Simi Valley

xAmir Law Sr. First Lutheran L.A. Baptist

xMike West Jr. North Hollywood Bell-Jeff

Kenny Estevez So. Eastside (Wash.) Bell-Jeff

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Name Yr. Previous school New school

xCara BlumfieldSo. Calabasas El Camino Real

Monia CalhounSr. Taft Kennedy

xVanessa Dunn Sr. Taft Kennedy

xRosa Ortiz Jr. Taft Kennedy

Tammy Barber Jr. Taft Kennedy

xCourtney Miller Sr. Thousand Oaks Westlake

Markia Derby So. Lincolnton, N.C. North Hollywood

FOOTBALL

Name Yr. Previous school New school

Marques Massengale Jr. Calabasas Oak Park

Robert Muller So. St. Genevieve Crespi

xPatrick Muller Sr. St. Genevieve Crespi

xKeith Johnson Sr. Chatsworth Taft

xRon Atkins Sr. Chatsworth L.A. Baptist

Damon Coleman Sr. Van Nuys Taft

xDerrell Daniels Sr. San Fernando Sylmar

xJohn Perry So. Crespi Chaminade

xDonald Carpenter Jr. Taft Sylmar

BASEBALL

Name Yr. Previous school New school

xJack Cassel Jr. Notre Dame Kennedy

xJason Westemeir Sr. Hart Alemany

Eric Eisner Sr. Calabasas North Hollywood

Danny Eisenberg Jr. North Hollywood Chatsworth

xBryan Gant Jr. L.A. Baptist Chatsworth

Ryan Long Sr. Faith Baptist Taft

Salvador Trejo Jr. Notre Dame Poly

SOFTBALL

Name Yr. Previous school New school

xMegan Reese So. La Reina Alemany

GIRLS' TRACK

Name Yr. Previous school New school

xTiffany Thompson So. Alemany Notre Dame

xStephanie Werth Jr. Chaminade Notre Dame

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL

Name Yr. Previous school New school

xKevin Dawes Sr. Sylmar Chatsworth

x - Transferred under open enrollment

CAPTION(S):

Chart

Chart: NOTABLE TRANSFER STUDENTS (see text)