Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Sherwin Kim

Barry Faulkner

After the most important game of his high school career, which also

happened to be the last, Corona del Mar High boys water polo goalie

Sherwin Kim quickly focused on one simple thought: his next practice.

For though the senior standout isn’t quite sure about a collegiate

future in the sport, he knows his passion for the game won’t allow him to

walk away without pursing every last opportunity to continue playing.

“I’m going to keep myself going and working out,” said Kim, who

amassed 13 saves to help the Sea Kings defeat Esperanza, 16-4, in the CIF Southern Section Division II title game Saturday at Belmont Plaza. “I

love being in the pool and I love working out. It’s an addiction.”

It was this thirst for improvement that has driven Kim ever since he

first settled in front of the cage as an eighth grader. This devotion was

a constant companion, even as he sat out virtually half the season,

sharing time with junior goalie Beau Stockstill.

“I know that I can improve, because I’ve felt what it’s like to step

it up and reach another level,” Kim said. “I want to keep on increasing

my intensity to try and reach a higher level of play.”

The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week was clearly at a high level

against Esperanza, stopping all seven of the Aztecs’ fourth-quarter shots

to post one last zero in the final box score of a three-year varsity

career that included second-team All-CIF Division II and All-Pacific

Coast League recognition in 2000. This years honors have yet to be

announced.

He also had nine saves in a 12-6 semifinal win over Los Alamitos Nov.

14.

“Coach (John) Vargas came to me ahead of time and let me know that I

was going to play the whole (Esperanza) game,” said Kim, who remembers

playing all four quarters on only one other occasion during the Sea

Kings’ 24-3 campaign. “He said it was my time to shine. I started getting

hyped up right then. I felt a little pressure on top of me, but I also

felt there was no way (Esperanza) was going to beat us.”

CdM led, 2-1, after one period and 7-2 at halftime, before cruising to

the program’s third straight Division II crown.

Kim, though gratified to have helped his team win, reflected upon a

pool half empty.

“It was up there, but it wasn’t my best game,” he said. “It was fun,

but I always think about how I could have done better.”

Experience and strong swimming ability, combined with his voracious

quest to be the best, have made Kim better than most.

He said his ability to communicate with teammates is one of his

strengths. But pinpoint passing on the counterattack, a consummate

knowledge of positioning and technique, as well as the dismissal of fear,

are all factors in his well-rounded game.

“There is a style to blocking shots, but as long as I block a shot,

I’m happy,” Kim said. “What you really want to do is control the ball

after you’ve stopped it, but you have to be willing to do anything to

stop it. If you’ve got to take one in the face, it happens.”

The reigning PCL champion in the 100-yard freestyle (48.03 seconds),

who was also second in the 200 individual medley at last year’s league

finals, Kim could easily hold his own as a field player. But being the

last line of defense has provided him the ultimate challenge.

He also believes sharing playing time all three of his varsity seasons

(with Brad Netherton his sophomore year and Stockstill the last two) has

actually been a plus.

Kim and Stockstill had three saves apiece in the Sea Kings’ 2000

Division II title-game triumph over University and Kim said the strength

of his friendship with Stockstill has not beencompromised by their

competition.

“It makes me more competitive,” Kim said. “I want to get better any

way I can because I want to play as much as I can. But Beau and I are

great friends. What we do in the pool, stays there.”

Kim would obviously like to remain in the game and he plans to set

about lining up a spot on a collegiate team.

“Leaving the restaurant Saturday night after the last of our team

dinners that have followed all our matches, was a little emotional just

because Coach Vargas is leaving (to take over the Stanford men’s

program). But I’m looking forward.”