Believe it or not, Ripley looms large for Newbury Park
Senior leads NPHS boys' water polo team
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers STANDING TALL- Newbury Park senior Tyler Ripley has embraced his role as team leader.

Newbury Park High senior Tyler Ripley is helping make the Panthers boys' water polo team a dark horse in the Marmonte League.

Although Newbury Park (5-7, 1-1 in league) may not be as big of a threat in league as powerhouses Agoura and Royal, with Ripley in the pool anything is possible for the Panthers. Last week the senior scored seven goals during a win over Calabasas.

Ripley may not look imposing, but NPHS head coach Casey Graham said he competes like a much bigger player than he really is.

"People are surprised when they see him get out of the pool," Graham said. "He's somewhere around 5-foot-5, but he plays like he's 6-foot-2."

Ripley, who's actually 5foot7, said height is just a number.

"There are advantages to being big in size, but once you're in the pool and under water, everyone is really the same size," Ripley said.

Ripley knew he wanted to play water polo at an early age. On days when the Panthers don't have a practice or a match, Ripley tries to go to the beach as often as possible. Once there, he likes to surf, something he's been doing since he was 2 years old.

When Ripley was in the fifth grade, he started watching his older brother, Kyle, play water polo. A year later the younger Ripley was giving the sport a try.

"When I first started playing water polo I was pretty confused and didn't understand the basic rules and what was going on," Ripley said. "I had my brother show me the ropes, though, and I picked up the sport pretty fast after that."

Ripley would have his older brother as a mentor once again when he joined the varsity team at NPHS as a sophomore.

"It was nice to have him helping me," Ripley said.

"He was really good, and I was known as Kyle's little brother by everyone back then, which was kind of annoying, but I got over it. The best advice he gave to me was to just stick with it, no matter how tough the game gets."

Ripley stuck with water polo and soon became one of Newbury Park's best players. Graham, who became the head coach during Ripley's first year at NPHS, said the senior has improved tremendously over the years.

"Tyler has grown well in that he's more mature now," Graham said. "He's growing as a person, not just a water polo player. He takes his losses a little better now and shows good sportsmanship."

Graham said that as well as being a better person out of the pool, it's Ripley's play in the pool that has caused the biggest waves.

"He's probably the most prolific scorer on our team," Graham said. "He's a very smart player, and for a driver he's very quick and squirrelly. By that I mean he is hard to handle and players tend to hold on to him when he's swimming and get ejections. That gives us 20-second power plays, which always helps."

Last season the Panthers graduated nine seniors, making Ripley one of the few seniors on the '07 squad. Ripley said he enjoys being a team leader.

"We have a very young team this year with a lot of people being called up from the junior varsity level," Ripley said. "But I don't mind leading them. They are not just good teammates; they are good friends of mine."

Ripley is hoping that the Panthers can make the playoffs in his final season representing the black and gold.

"I think we can make the postseason," Ripley said. "I've had a couple games where I've scored around seven goals, but I'd rather have the team do very well against a higher caliber team like Agoura or Royal.

"As a group we're hungry for a chance to do well in the postseason. We just need a big win to help spark us a little more."

Newbury Park hosts Royal on Friday. Game time is at 3:15 p.m.