2011 boys water polo preview

Troy’s boys water polo teams have established high standards the past three seasons. So when Coach Justin Link says this season’s squad will be the most talented in school history, it’s time to take notice.

“This is my best team,” Link said during a break from practice last week.

“We don’t have a Josh Stedman, a player of that level, but we have 13 guys that are all really good. That’s going to be our strength: our depth. … I’m excited.”

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Stedman was Troy’s prolific scorer in 2008-2009. Last season, he started every match for Air Force.

While at Troy, Stedman helped the Warriors claim their first of three consecutive, undefeated Freeway League titles in 2008. Troy also finished as the CIF Division 5 runner-up in 2008.

The Warriors now reside in Division 4. Their depth could make them a unique threat in the division and for a spot in the Orange County Top 10. They won’t face many teams with deeper benches.

Troy returns most of the players from last season’s 19-12 team. While the Warriors feature reigning league MVP in Michael Franco, rising sophomore defender Trent Samaha, emerging goalie Sam Feaster and his counter-attacking twin brother, Joe, and an improving Eric Richens.

Link credits the team’s depth to offseason training. Most of the varsity team played club, including several with Troy-based FLO Water Polo. FLO’s coaches, Timmy Herbertz, and, Mike Varela, are assistants for Link.

Troy also joined El Toro’s summer night league and also played in summer leagues at Capistrano Valley and Los Osos.

“We’re definitely going for league and we’re going to try to go for CIF,” Franco said.

NOTES

The U.S juniors, featuring Mater Dei’s Bret Bonanni and James Walters, finished ninth at the recent FINA world junior championships in Greece. Bonanni led Team USA with 13 goals. Santa Margarita’s Pablo Carballo helped Mexico place 19th. …

Corona del Mar traveled to Hungary over the summer. The Sea Kings finished second to Hungary's Eger in a tournament and trained with the Slovakian junior national team. ...

The first Santa Barbara Invitational includes Mater Dei, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach among others. The tournament runs Sept. 16-17. ...

Eric Corona has returned as the head water polo coach at Kennedy. Corona will be assisted by Dean Wang. The duo replaces Kevin Hammond, who resigned, Corona said. Shane Unger is the new boys coach at El Modena. ...

A star-studded Villa Park alumni team recently defeated the school's varsity, 16-13, in an annual alumni game. The almuni featured U.S. national teams Andy Stevens (goalie) and Shea Buckner plus former Olympians Gavin Arroyo and Doug Kimbell. Villa Park will feature a 6-foot-7 freshman goalie this season in Sam Thompson. ...

New pools at Yorba Linda and Woodbridge will debut this fall.