Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Danielle Carlson: Covering all the

angles

Barry Faulkner

Freshman Danielle Carlson plays driver for the Corona del Mar High

girls water polo team. More specifically, she plays the percentages.

Whether it be deceiving goalies with misleading glances in the opposite

direction she plans to shoot, choosing when to gamble for one of her many

interceptions and steals, leaving soccer behind for water polo, which has

less scholarship competition, or exploding for a season-best eight goals

the one game her dream school, Stanford, had an assistant coach in the

stands, Carlson can usually be counted upon to make the smart play.

“I’ve never gotten a B in my life,” said the articulate and athletic

standout, who helped the Pacific Coast League tri-champions reach the CIF

Southern Section Division IV championship game, a 7-4 loss to top-seeded

Santa Margarita Wednesday.

Carlson, who emerged slowly in her first prep campaign, wound up leading

the Sea Kings in goals (59), assists (43) and steals (151).

She scored four goals, including the game-winner with four seconds left

in a 7-6 quarterfinal upset of No. 3-seeded Rosary, the defending

Division IV champion, Feb. 22. She then scored two goals in a 5-4

semifinal win Feb. 25 over Santa Monica to wrap up Daily Pilot Athlete of

the Week recognition.

“She’s a heady, intelligent player,” said CdM Coach John Vargas, whom

Carlson regards as both a role model and mentor. “She’s able to read

situations, which puts her in position to score. She’s a real good

defensive player, who watches the ball and anticipates. She has a knack

for the game and she also listens well to instruction and can apply what

she’s being told.”

Carlson’s impressive numbers do not include her 5-foot-8, 108-pound

frame, which prompted Vargas to nickname her “sticks.”

“I’m relatively small for a water polo player,” Carlson said. “I’ve

always been a physical person, but I don’t have enough body to throw

around. I have to use my speed and be smart to have success.

“I really trust what (Vargas, a former U.S. national team player who now

coaches Team USA) says, because he isn’t the biggest guy either and he

wound up playing for the national team. I like the way he explains things

and he knows how to be intense. He takes an interest in your questions

and he inspires you to play harder and better.”

Carlson has always enjoyed aquatics. She began swimming at age 5 for the

Newport Hills team and also was a junior lifeguard.

She also competed in softball, roller hockey and volleyball, but soccer

was her passion for nine years.

In seventh grade, however, she gave water polo a try with the Corona del

Mar junior program, then shifted to the SoCal club program, based at

Foothill High, as an eighth-grader.

“There are so many people playing soccer, I thought I’d have a better

future in water polo,” she said. “And I found I liked water polo much

better than soccer. I’m loving water polo.”

She was first-team All-American at the 14-and-under Junior Olympics last

summer in San Jose, but didn’t become a prolific scorer until this

season.

“I’d always been a defensive player,” she said. “The beginning of this

season, I was happy to get my one goal a game. Then, I realized I could

be just as good as anyone else and I needed to pick it up. As a team, I

think we all picked it up.”

Though she does not play the two-meter position, which typically produces

the most goals, Carlson uses her accurate outside shot, her quick driving

ability, and the transition game, to produce scoring opportunities.

Though her shot is not overpowering, it’s usually well-placed.

“I like to fake out the goalie by using my eyes a lot (which goalies

focus on to try to anticipate a shooter’s aim). I do that to compensate

for not being able to throw the ball hard. But I’m working on (her

velocity).”

Carlson said she has begun weight training to add upper-body strength and

she noted Vargas has indicated she may be utilized at two meters as soon

as next season.

Though she’s excited about the CdM program’s future, she is also already

receiving interest from collegiate suitors.

“A coach from Michigan State introduced himself after a game and I got a

recruiting letter from UCLA,” said Carlson, who aspires to one day play

for the national team.

“I’ve been saying my whole life, I want to be a doctor. But first, I want

to see how far (water polo) takes me.”