New faces, same goal
Thousand Oaks boys' water polo team returns only four seniors
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers LAST LINE OF DEFENSE- Thousand Oaks goalkeeper Nathan Neil, center, gets a little help on defense from No. 9 Paul Gober, left, and No. 13 Kyle Johnson as they raise their hands to help block a shot on goal during Tuesday's practice session. The Lancers are ranked No. 8 in the CIF-SS poll.

Last season the Thousand Oaks High boys' water polo team dropped a 12-11 heartbreaker in the first round of the CIFSouthern Section Division IV playoffs to Righetti High. A year later, the Lancers are hoping a revamped roster can get them back into the postseason.

Thousand Oaks returns only four seniors after losing eight players to graduation. Head coach Mike Giles is hoping the new players can gel quickly with the veterans in order to have a chance of winning the Marmonte League title.

"We have a brand-new team this year," Giles said. "Sometimes I wish we could keep a lot of the players from the year before and keep everything fresh and exciting, but it just doesn't work that way. Still, I've put new teams together before, and this is a good group of guys that should play well."

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers SURE SHOT- Thousand Oaks' Matt Irwin rips a shot on goal during a recent practice.

The Lancers' four returning seniors include Matt Irwin, Nathan Neil, Brendan Donahue and Corey Evans. According to Irwin, the team is relying on more of its players this season to win league.

"Last season we were basically led by two guys, Daniel Smith and Ryan Vick," Irwin said. "This season we have a more team-oriented game, and we have had a lot of players step up their games."

Some of the players stepping up include junior Paul Gober, sophomore Christian Brock and junior Kyle Johnson. Johnson played especially well at the Conejo Classic Water Polo Tournament two weeks ago by earning all-tournament honors.

Other juniors that should contribute in their first year on the varsity squad are Griffin Talan, Kevin Brown and Alden Blair.

Thousand Oaks began the year ranked No. 8 in the CISS Division IV coaches' poll, trailing league rivals Royal High (No. 3) and Agoura High (No. 1).

"We are very pleased that we got recognized with a high ranking," Giles said. "My ego isn't that big, and I know there is no way we should be ranked ahead of Agoura and Royal right now."

The Lancers began the season on a good note by winning their first two games and only giving up seven goals. The defense, however, has since suffered.

TOHS has given up 49 goals in the last four games as the team has gone 1-3. One of the losses came at the hands of division rival Royal, who beat TOHS 16-7.

"After the Royal game it became pretty evident what we needed to improve on," Giles said. "We have a great counterattack, and we have great speed there. But we need to work on our front court if our counterattack is shut down. Against a good team like Royal we need to have a more controlled front court and we need to play better defense. If we do that we're nails, we're tough to beat."

The defense is led by senior goalkeeper Neil, who's taking a different approach this season with a year of varsity experience under his belt.

"I'm taking my warm-ups more seriously now," Neil said. "Last year I didn't do much stretching before games, and it really hurt me. I'm really looking to improve this year in the net because I'd like to go to a good college, possibly Pepperdine."

Giles is hoping that the few seniors on the team will provide good leadership for the rest of the squad. Donahue said leading the Lancers has been easy thanks to sound advice given to him last season by Smith and Vick.

"Daniel (Smith) and Ryan (Vick) were always telling us to never be worried," Donahue said. "Don't listen to the crowd, just focus and worry on playing your game in the pool.

"As far as the younger class goes, they have really stepped it up and been easy to lead. They always listen, and they are able to take advice very well."

Thousand Oaks played yesterday at Dos Pueblos but as of press time the score wasn't available. The Lancers host Westlake today with game time set for 3:15 p.m.