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.”
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