GOAL-SCORING MACHINE—Thousand Oaks senior utility Christian Brock takes a shot during Tuesday’s Marmonte League match against first-place Agoura. With a strong finish to the year, Brock can shatter the program’s all-time record for single-season goals. Christian Brock is the LeBron James of boys’ water polo.

Brock combines finesse with power to score goals in bushels for Thousand Oaks High, which is fighting for a Marmonte League championship.

A senior utility, Brock was his formidable self during last week’s home matinee against Moorpark.

He scored a quick goal by turning around and firing a shot. In a different sequence, his entire upper body fluttered above water, waiting for the defenders to slip back into the water before firing the ball in for yet another goal.

By the end of the day, he tied a season high with nine goals during the Lancers’ 19-7 victory.

He even took a hit on the chin from an inadvertent elbow by friend and Musketeer Danny Lorch during the match.

“It’s all good,” Brock said, showing his bloody cut to a reporter.

Brock’s offense isn’t the only part of his game that stands out.

“It’s everything,” said teammate Dylan Ackerman, a senior 2-meter set. “He’s good at everything. If I had to say one thing about him, it’s making the shot when we need it the most.”

Entering the week, Brock had 88 goals and has a chance to break a school single-season record for goals.

Matt Irwin, a 2007 TOHS graduate, notched 118 goals during Brock’s freshman year.

Thousand Oaks coach Mike Giles said Brock, one of only three four-year varsity players under Giles, will break the school record for career goals.

“Since I’ve known him when he was playing for the South Coast Water Polo club, he’s been the head of his class,” the seventhyear coach said.

“He plays up and he plays big. He gets out of the water. He can shoot, create and defend. He’s a tremendous asset to the team.”

Ackerman said his teammate finds multiple ways to score, even when it seems like he’s out of range.

“It’s nice to have someone who can put the ball away every single time,” Ackerman said. “He’s made some amazing goals.

“It seems like whole other teams guard him, or he shoots from half the (length of the) pool, or it seems like he’s on a breakaway. He seems to be everywhere.”

Giles said Brock has matured over the years.

“Christian has definitely become the leader that I hoped and knew he would become,” Giles said. “He’s developed into an outstanding young man. . . .

“He’s an outstanding leader in and out of the water.”

Brock has certainly enjoyed his senior season.

“It’s been a good year,” he said. “I’ve grown up with the seniors on this team since elementary school. And the younger guys know how to work together, too.

“Everyone knows what their place is on the team. I’ve got to give credit to my teammates and to my coach.”

Besides his physical gifts, Brock is an apt student of the game. He looks for weaknesses and tendencies from players he’s seen before or how to perfectly time a shot-on-goal.

The 17-year-old said he enjoyed his “breakout” season as a sophomore. Brock adjusted to a water polo game that was more physical and intense than at the club level.

Brock hopes the Lancers can advance past the first round of the playoffs, where they have lost to Righetti in two of the past three seasons.

The senior was introduced to the sport by his uncle, Craig Rond, the head men’s water polo coach at Cal Lutheran. Needless to say, Rond wants Brock to join the Kingsmen. Brock is also thinking about playing at Long Beach State or the Claremont Colleges.

Brock’s father, Phil, played water polo at TOHS. His mother is Stephanie, and his younger sisters are Kelsey and Karina.

Brock enjoys hanging out with friends and surfing, especially with his dad once a week along Ventura hot spots.

Although Brock enjoys catching waves, he’s also making plenty of waves in the pool.

“He’s the best player on our team,” Ackerman said. “And he’s one of the top players in the area.”