Winning deflected in words only

Bryce Alderton

For Corona del Mar High girls water polo coach Aaron Chaney, X’s and

O’s are merely half the key to success.

Teamwork, commitment and completing a task together carry just as

much, if not more weight, for a coach who prefers to keep the word

“winning” out of his players’ vocabulary.

“Rarely, if ever, do we use the word, ‘winning,’ ” Chaney said.

“We focus on other things, such as team unity and concentrating on

our own learning, improvement and effort.”

But it is hard to dodge the word “winning” when speaking about a

program that has claimed the last three CIF Southern Section Division

II titles under Chaney’s guidance.

Six of the top nine -- seven in all -- from the squad that knocked

off Peninsula, 13-3, in last year’s CIF title game return. Chaney,

who has three Coach of the Year awards for Division II in his three

seasons, said this is one of the hardest working teams he’s had thus

far.

The returning corps includes senior goalkeeper Brittany Fullen,

who earned Division II Player of the Year honors last winter after

making 280 saves, along with All-CIF first-team honoree and junior

two-meter standout Camille Hewko.

Fullen, whom Chaney said has taken recruiting trips to UC Santa

Barbara, Hawaii, Cal, UCLA and USC, and Hewko, shared Pacific Coast

League Most Valuable Player honors last winter.

Hewko scored 41 goals last season, as did returning senior Jordan

Anae, who garnered second-team All-CIF recognition along with senior

Katlin Kubas, who tallied 38 goals.

Several Sea Kings provide versatility. Chaney said Anae, a member

of CdM’s girls volleyball team that won the CIF Division III-A

championship, can play either two-meter offense, drive and

occasionally sprint.

“Jordan is physically strong and is an excellent shooter,” Chaney

said.

Hewko and Kubas are equally strong in both two-meter offense and

defensive sets.

“We are really strong in the two-meter area,” Chaney said.

“Camille is good at a lot of things. She is physically strong and has

a lot of experience playing. She’s played a number of years at the

junior level, so she is very intelligent.”

Hewko was a member of the United States national youth team that

traveled to Australia for a 16-and-under girls tournament. Anae

competed on the U.S. “B” team.

“I think they gained a lot of confidence and learned how to play

at a higher level than what they see in high school,” said Chaney,

who officiated in last summer’s Olympics.

Drivers Ashley Chandler (junior), left-handed sophomore Katie

Indvik and junior Chelsea Lyman will be counted on to help power the

Sea Kings’ offense, as will seniors Katie Tomlin, Whitney Caskey,

Annie Winners and Ashley Hyter.

Sophomore Leilani Livingston, Sarah Hutchison, Taylor Harkins and

Cari Levine provide additional scoring threats for the Sea Kings.

Hutchison, Levine and Livingston are primarily drivers while

Harkins spends time at driver and at two meters.

The Sea Kings will know fairly quickly where they stand among the

sport’s elite teams right off the bat.

CdM opens against visiting Arlington at 3:15 p.m. today before

battling Long Beach Wilson Dec. 14, defending Division I champion

Newport Harbor on Dec. 17, Santa Barbara on Dec. 21 and Division I runner-up Foothill on Jan. 5.

“I don’t know if any other team has a schedule like we do,” Chaney

said. “I don’t like playing all these tough teams this close

together, but it’s just the way it falls.”

To get his players ready for the season, as he has done every year

to help foster team unity, Chaney and his players visited a Frazier

Park ranch for a weekend retreat Nov. 19-21.

The retreats involve several team-building activities, such as

navigating through a ropes course.

“The girls learn to work together in different groups and work

together toward a common goal,” Chaney said. “They learn to be

tolerant of others’ mistakes. A lot of the discussions relate to

sports. Leadership comes out and the kids become accepting of what

other people tell them.”

The solutions the girls come up with to solve a problem in the

team building exercises can often re-surface during the season.

Chaney often reminds the girls of what they learned from a

discussion or activity to handle certain situations that arise during

the season.

“I try to make [playing water polo] a fun, rewarding experience,”

Chaney said. “I feel fortunate with the kids coming to me from CdM

junior polo [guided by Ted Bandaruk]. They come in with a knowledge

of the game and I think that really helps us down the road. They are

talented kids who work hard.”