CdM water polo charges ahead

Joseph Boo

CORONA DEL MAR - Every CdM freshman water polo practice ends with

a 100-meter dash in the pool. The ones who finish first gets a small

reward. On this day it was the opportunity to talk to the guy who was

there to write an article on Coach Tom Norton’s team.

So let me begin by mentioning that freshmen John Money and Artie Dorr,

along with sophomores Matt Meyer and Bobby Messenger, turned in the

fastest times.

Money would especially like to point out that he is the team. He was

joking, I think.

But there are a lot more contributors to CdM than the four fast swimmers.

Messenger and Marcello Pantuliano were named honorable-mention in junior

water polo. Dorr led the team with five goals in the Charger Cup

championship against El Toro. And goalie Beau Stockstill scored a goal in

that game, along with accumulating some key saves.

In fact, naming standouts are hard because the team is so deep.

Nevertheless, the Sea Kings are a close-knit team. Most of the kids

played with each other since they were 9-years-old in junior water polo

under club coach Ted Bandaruk. Since then, the kids earned a lot of

success, none more important than the Charger Cup.

“It’s like the CIF for us,” Messenger said. “All the teams in the league

are there.”

CdM won it’s second consecutive Charger Cup two weeks ago by defeating El

Toro, 12-6. Along the way, the Sea Kings avenged their only loss of the

year to Foothill with a 6-5 sudden death win. The team is currently 12-1

at press time, with a couple of games left. But the season is already a

success with the Charger Cup.

“We work hard in practice,” Meyer said. “The Charger Cup is what we

practice for all year.”

The team practices twice every day, at 5:15 a.m. and again after school.

Practices can be intense, to get the kids ready for high school

competition. Hence the mini-contests during practices.

“We have a lot of competitive stuff,” Norton said. “We have timed swims

after every practice, with rewards for the fastest times.”

“The competition was hardest to adjust to,” Dorr said. “It just makes you

practice harder, though.”

When the Sea Kings compete against each other in practice, they’re not

just going against teammates. Most of them knew each other for years in

the juniors, so it’s inevitable that the Sea Kings are close as a team.

“We’re pretty close,” Dorr said. “We go to Bill’s for breakfast, and

there’s a lot of team unity.”

The years of familiarity is also evident in the pool. Since most of the

kids played water polo earlier, very little time is spent on the basics.

“They knew the game a lot more than others entering high school,” Norton

said. “We work on more advanced offense and defense,” Norton said.

So far, CdM’s advancement has been encouraging. Obviously, the Sea Kings’

confidence has grown with every passing year.

“We’ve been working together for a while,” Money said. “We work hard

together and the payoff is winning.”

And with the wins, CdM is getting the trophies.