LA JOLLA -- The school is trying to rebuild its once-vaunted girls basketball program. The coach is trying to rebuild his varsity coaching career.

Rancho Buena Vista High made back-to-back trips to the CIF San Diego Section Division I finals in 1997 and 1998, winning the title the second time around, before falling on hard times. The Longhorns finished 10-16 last year.

Pete LaFrance spent the past 12 years as RBV's junior varsity coach after coaching San Dieguito High to two playoff trips in the early 1990s. But the administration at San Dieguito let LaFrance go because he didn't have a teaching credential at the time.

The two rebuilding efforts joined this summer when Rancho Buena Vista promoted LaFrance to the varsity job to replace Kathy George.

"It's a new challenge for me, but I enjoy working with kids," said LaFrance, who earned his teaching credential and has been a history teacher at RBV the past 10 years. "We've got some good young talent coming up from our JV team, but it's always a leap to the next level."

The leap looked more like a canyon when RBV opened play in the 20th annual San Diego Classic on Thursday afternoon at UC San Diego's RIMAC Arena. The Longhorns lost 54-23 in the 3A Division to a talented and veteran Santa Monica lineup that finished last season with a 20-3 record.

"We were missing some players who had to work or were on family vacations, but the girls played hard," LaFrance said. "We need some seasoning, but I was pleased with what I saw. They're doing a lot of things I didn't see three months ago."

The San Diego Classic, at 10 sites around San Diego with the headquarters at UCSD, bills itself as the largest high school tournament of its kind in the nation. It continues through Sunday. There are 376 teams competing in the event for high school summer-league teams. No club teams are allowed to participate.

"This is a good experience for us," LaFrance said. "We're playing some strong teams from the Southern Section. The only way you get better is to play good teams."

After LaFrance left San Dieguito, he was a site substitute teacher and then a student-teacher at RBV before he earned his credential. His Longhorns won the Avocado League JV title the past two seasons.

"We've got some good young girls coming up," LaFrance said. "But it's a big leap from JVs to the next level."

Michelle Sjodin led the Longhorns with six points. The scrappy point guard was forced to break the strong Santa Monica press, but her teammates sometimes failed to get the ball back to her.

"We're happy he's the new coach," Sjodin said of LaFrance. "He took two teams to the CIF playoffs, and that's our goal. He knows what he's doing. When he teaches us something it works."

San Diego Classic

+ What: Tournament includes 376 girls high school basketball teams most from California and other Western states competing in four divisions. Most North County schools are participating.

+ When: Tournament continues through Sunday.

+ Where: Ten sites throughout San Diego County, including Westview, La Costa Canyon and Cathedral Catholic high schools.