Daily Pilot High School Athlete of the Week

It was apparent immediately after his transfer from Mater Dei High that Preston Schow would bring plenty to the Estancia boys’ water polo team this season.

“He joined us out of the blue,” Eagles Coach John Carpenter said of his arrival at the beginning of the summer. “Right away, when I saw him play, I thought ‘Oh, wow! This kid’s good.’ ”

Almost as quickly, it was equally obvious that Schow would not be contaminating the Eagles’ talent pool with his ego.

“He is kind of quiet and unassuming,” Carpenter said. “Not a lot of bravado.”

Schow’s humility seeps through during an extended conversation, even after the biggest week of his career. He scored 12 goals in two games, including a then-career-high five in the Eagles’ crucial 10-6 win over crosstown and Orange Coast League rival Costa Mesa Oct. 14. It was the Eagles’ first league win over the Mustangs in seven years.

“It’s all about the team,” said the 6-foot-3 junior, who had a career-high seven goals in a nonleague loss to Ocean View on Oct. 16. “I just want to play hard and contribute any way I can.”

Carpenter cites Schow’s contribution as the single biggest factor in the team’s turnaround from a 4-12 campaign in 2008, when the Eagles failed to make the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Coming into Friday, Estancia was 15-7, 2-1 in league and poised to earn the league’s second guaranteed postseason berth.

“He has really made the difference this year,” said Carpenter, who was generous with praise for his no-longer-secret weapon.

“Preston is fast, has a good head on his shoulders and he knows the game pretty well,” said Carpenter, who utilizes the lanky newcomer in set, along with leading scorer Charlie Umansky, as well as on the perimeter. “He is becoming more and more effective in the set, where he is figuring out that he can turn guys and he is good at drawing a kickout, or a penalty shot. And, he is a really good outside shooter. He is one of our better ball-handlers and, on defense, he uses his long arms to get underneath guys and steal the ball.”

Schow admits that his headline-making performance against Costa Mesa, which included a cover-spread action photo in the Daily Pilot, has heightened his profile as a new kid on campus.

“I definitely got a few e-mails and phone calls after the article came out,” said Schow, a longtime competitive swimmer who attended Carden Hall in Newport Beach before taking up water polo as a freshman at Mater Dei. “Some of my old Mater Dei teammates told me that was pretty cool.”

Schow played junior varsity last season for the Monarchs, whose varsity team won the Southern Section Division II crown.

“It was a great program,” Schow said of Mater Dei. “But it was an academic decision to come to Estancia. I came not knowing what to expect, but I really like being on this team. And, it’s a fun school.”

Schow warms up daily with Umansky, from whom he said he has learned a lot.

“Charlie is a great athlete and he has told me what to expect,” Schow said. “He really has his stuff down. Everybody learns from everybody, but I’ve especially learned from him.”

Added Carpenter: “Charlie and Preston feed off each other. They work as two-meter hole men together and they are really starting to click.”

Schow, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, said his recent scoring surge is merely a response to increased defensive attention on Umansky.

“Charlie has been a key component for us and teams are really pressing him hard,” Schow said. “I knew I had to step up big. If I need to score, I will. If I don’t, I won’t. But I try to be just as aggressive playing defense as I am playing offense.

“It just depends on how the game is looking. It makes me feel really good that I can help this team.”