Lightning looking for league of their own

Steve Virgen

Just a few weeks into his new job and Jeff Andrews already knows

exactly what he wants for his Sage Hill School boys water polo team.

He also has a sense his players will reach their goal because of

their work ethic.

Andrews wants Sage Hill to become part of a league and leave its

freelance status behind. All of the sports at Sage Hill compete in

the Academy League, but Andrews’ boys water polo team is the only

sport on campus without a league in which to compete and has taken on

the freelance status the past two years.

Andrews, who had his first practice with his team Sept. 2, knows

that the only way Sage Hill will enter a league is if the Lightning

win and become competitive.

“I would like to see us in a league,” Andrews said. “But we have

to earn it.”

So far, Andrews has been impressed with his players’ work ethic

and their ability to learn quickly. He has also appreciated the

leadership skills of senior Anthony Milovantsev, who will most likely

be the Lightning’s leading scorer this season.

“He’s an intense guy and he’s got great game presence,” Andrews

said. “John Neff, our two-meter man, is developing nicely and adding

new moves to his repertoire every practice. Tyler Youngblood is a

very athletic two-meter defender, which allows us to be more

aggressive on defense.”

While Andrews is getting to know his players, he has also been

setting his standard, which comes from his background in water polo.

Andrews, who was an All-American honorable mention performer at UC

Irvine, asks that his players work hard.

“With hard work, everything else follows,” Andrews said. “If you

work hard you will have a commitment to what you are doing and you

will have respect for everything and everyone who is involved.”

Andrews saw corrections to be made after the Lightning’s season

opener against Rancho Alamitos Thursday. Sage Hill was down, 6-5,

with two minutes left to play in the third and succumbed to a 6-0 run

by Rancho.

“There was a lapse of concentration,” Andrews said. “A lot of that

has to do with the fact that we had the late start, but that’s not an

excuse. We have to be ready.”

Andrews started coaching the team a bit behind schedule because he

was a late hire. He was planning to be the team’s assistant but went

for the heading coaching position when last year’s coach, Genai Kerr,

stepped down because of his demanding schedule as goalie of the U.S.

men’s national team.

Now, Andrews wants to pick up where Kerr left off and improve the

squad, which finished 7-11 last year.