Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Artie Dorr - Slammin’ Dorr

Tony Altobelli

Only a sophomore like two-meter player Artie Dorr could best

describe the moments just prior to Corona del Mar’s win over Newport

Harbor, 12-11, in the finals of the S&R; Sport Water Polo Cup championship

final last Saturday at Heritage Park in Irvine.

With only seconds remaining and Sailors’ senior Caine Littrell was

one-on-one with sophomore goalie Beau Stockstill. Stockstill slapped away

Littrell’s lob shot and the Sea Kings were victorious.

“Man, I was right there, freaking out,” Dorr said, colorfully. “When

Beau made that save, it was so awesome.”

The win over the Sailors was just one of many top-ranked teams the Sea

Kings, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division II, had to defeat to

win the title.

“We had to knock off Long Beach Wilson (No. 3 Division I) and San

Clemente (No. 6 in Division I) just to get a shot at Newport (No. 2 in

Division I),” Dorr said. “That was the first time we’ve beaten Newport

all year, including all the summer matchups.”

Dorr, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, scored five goals in CdM’s

win over Newport and with his strong all-around play, was named the

tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“That whole tournament, our team really stepped up and played together

as one unit,” Dorr said. “Sometimes the two-meter guy gets overplayed a

little bit. Everyone contributed in that tournament.”

He had 10 goals in the four-game tournament and for the season has

scored 33 goals over a course of a dozen contests.

Dorr’s offensive explosion began with an eight-goal outburst in the

Sea Kings’ 11-4 nonleague win against El Toro on Oct. 3.

“Last year, I played some varsity, but that was more of a learning

experience,” Dorr said. “Even this year, I’m still learning a ton of

stuff from the older players as well as Coach (John) Vargas. He’s one of

the best coaches in the entire world so I better take advantage of that.”

Dorr might as well have been born with flippers and gills because he’s

been in the water as far back as he can remember.

“I’ve been swimming since I was four and I’ve always been in aquatics

programs my whole life,” Dorr said. “My dad played water polo at

Pepperdine and he introduced me to the sport when I was nine.”

Spending over 20 hours a week in the pool is a great conditioning tool

for the 6-foot, 225-pound Dorr, but he still thinks there’s a long way to

go before his maximum potential is used.

“I feel like I make good decisions when I get the ball down low, but I

still need a lot of work on my swimming,” he admitted. “I need to get

faster in all areas.”

Coach Vargas agrees, but is also impressed in other areas of his game.

“I would like to see him improve on his swimming and get a lot faster

while I have him,” he said. “In his position, leg strength is important

so I’d like to see that as well. But, his overall sense of the game is

very good and he has great awareness of what’s going on around him.”

Dorr credits Vargas with making him the player his. “He’s taught me

everything about this sport,” Dorr said. “Not only the physical side, but

the mental approach as well.”

When he’s not in the CdM pool, you can find Dorr, where else, in the

Pacific Ocean doing any number of activities.

“I love to surf and body surf,” Dorr said. “I also love to go

spear-fishing down at Crystal Cove. There’s some great spots out there to

catch some sea bass and sheephead, among other things.”