UCI’s Redd Is All Business When It Comes to Water Polo, Studies, Work

Despite the fact he works out seven hours a day, maintains a 3.4 grade-point average and earns about $30,000 a year in commercial real estate, UC Irvine water polo player John Redd says there is a part of him that rebels against his no-nonsense demeanor.

But just try finding it.

When it comes to silliness, Redd is a long way from Pee-wee Herman. At 22, he has a work ethic that belies his youth. When he says, “I just try to be the best I can be,” you know it’s not an empty slogan.

Consider his workout schedule. Like all members of the Irvine water polo team, Redd meets at 6 a.m. every morning to lift weights, do sit-ups--1,000, no cheating--along with leg lifts, flutter kicks, stomach crunches, etc.

Then there are 3,000 to 4,000 yards of swimming, and passing drills, shooting drills, blocking drills . . . and that’s only the morning session. At 6:30 p.m., the team meets again and works out until 9:30.

But unlike most of his teammates, Redd, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound two-meter guard, continues his conditioning year-round and puts in extra time during the season.

“John is very dedicated,” said sophomore teammate Andy Nott. “Everyone on the team is dedicated, but John is probably the hardest worker. Even when we have breaks (December and August), he’s still there every morning at 5:15. He’s a real serious guy.”

One of four returning starters, Redd, who scored 11 goals last season, should be a great boost to Irvine this season. The Anteaters are the No. 3-ranked team in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. behind top-ranked Stanford and No. 2 California.

Friday through Sunday, Irvine will have a chance to move up in the rankings when it plays host to 10 of the nation’s top teams--including Stanford and Cal--at the Toshiba/UC Irvine water polo tournament at Heritage Park in Irvine.

Along with his athletic pursuits, Redd, a fifth-year senior, has been a scholar athlete each year. He also made the dean’s list twice.

But outside of school, Redd, an economics major, is all business. For the past three years, he has worked during the off-season for a commercial real estate firm in Anaheim.

At first, he just earned college credit for his work. But after getting his real estate license in January, Redd has begun to earn much more than that.

Jim Kruse, a managing partner in the firm for which Redd works, was an All-American water polo player at Irvine in 1972 and a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1976. According to Kruse, Redd is an ideal employee.

“To me, the exciting thing about John is that because he’s getting knocked around in the pool by guys 6-5 and bigger, when it comes time to talk to some tough landlord or property owner, it’s nothing for him,” Kruse said.

“In the pool, he’s very systematic about what he does. He’s not flashy at all, to the point of being boring. But he’s also very, very effective. It’s rare that you see a level of maturity in a man his age.

“He has great discipline, a great work ethic. This kid is not a clock watcher. And he is very well-respected by my senior brokers. They say, ‘Look, after he graduates, we want him here.’ He’s going to do splendidly for himself.”

Although he was not highly recruited out of Palos Verdes High School, Redd came to Irvine after meeting Anteater Coach Ted Newland, who immediately had a big effect on him.

Newland, 61, is legendary for his dedication to hard work, especially in the conditioning department. Of sit-ups, Newland said he can reel off “2,000 an hour . . . anytime you want.”

So Newland ought to know when he says Redd is one of the hardest workers he’s coached in his 24 years at Irvine.

“Unfortunately, the kids aren’t all that way,” Newland said. “I have flakes in my group like anyone else has flakes. Redd’s not one of them.”

Redd not only sees Newland at practice every day, but at home, too. He rents a room from Newland and his wife, Ann, in their four-bedroom home in Costa Mesa.

“He knows every thing I do,” Redd said, smiling. “It’s kind of interesting.”

Not that Redd spends much time goofing off. Nott says Redd’s idea of wild and crazy is wearing baggy, blue-and-gold striped, mail-order trousers.

Unlike many college athletes, Redd says his athletic aspirations will come to an end once he graduates this winter. Although he was a member of the U.S. National “B” team this year, he said he has not seriously considered trying for the Olympic team in the future.

“I’m done after this season,” Redd said. “I’ve put in my time and I’ve enjoyed it, but I want to get on with life.

“Right now, I feel like I’m getting ahead, getting a jump on other kids who are still in college but don’t know what they’re going to do.”

The Irvine tournament features 10 teams split into two brackets. In Bracket A are Irvine, UCLA, Stanford, UC San Diego and Fresno State. Bracket B features Cal, Cal State Long Beach, USC, Pepperdine and UC Davis.

Irvine opens Friday with Fresno State at 2:20 p.m. and Stanford at 7. Saturday, the Anteaters face UC San Diego (7 a.m.) and UCLA (12:50 p.m.).

Irvine, which finished sixth in the nation with an 18-15 overall record last year, appears to be much improved this season. But so are the others, Newland said.

“It’s going to be a really tough year,” he said. “There should be about six super-tough teams. It’ll depend on who will concentrate and keep their heads. That’s what will matter.”

Returning players for Irvine include senior Tom Warde, a former standout at Marina High School, who scored 108 goals last year, and senior goaltender Chris Duplanty, who returns after redshirting last year. In 1988, Duplanty was an alternate goalie for the U.S. Olympic team.

After spending all of last week enjoying the fresh mountain air and an abundance of hilly, rocky, dusty, high-altitude trail runs, Irvine’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams finished their preseason training camp at Mammoth Lakes and appear to be ready for another strong season.

Especially the women’s team, which Coach Vince O’Boyle says should be one of the best in the school’s history. Of course, only competition will tell, and this Saturday’s meet, the Fresno State Invitational, should provide the Anteaters with a serious test.

The race--5,000 meters for the women, 10,000 meters for the men--is run on the same course that will be used for the NCAA Regional 8 championships in November. O’Boyle said many of the top teams in the West are expected to compete, including Cal, Arizona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The Anteater women are led by senior Brigid Stirling, the Big West Conference champion last year, and All-American Buffy Rabbitt, the Big West champion in 1987. Rabbitt returns after spending the 1988-89 school year studying in southern France.

An added boost to the Irvine women should be Maria Mendoza, the former Santa Ana High star who transferred from Cal Poly Pomona this year, though O’Boyle said she might redshirt this season.

The men’s team will be led by junior Aaron Mascorro and senior co-captains Scott LaForce and Steve Imlay.

Anteater Notes

Irvine’s soccer teams did not have the best of success last week. The women (1-3-1) lost to St. Mary’s, 5-0, Cal, 3-0, and Santa Clara, 4-0. And sophomore goalkeeper Alicia Miller broke her hand in the Cal game. The men also lost three matches, including a 7-0 loss to UCLA, the NCAA’s fifth-ranked team. The men will face Cal State Bakersfield at home Saturday. The women play in the Cal State Dominguez Hills tournament Friday through Sunday.