Sailors are returning to their winning ways
They were firsts that no water polo player would want to be a part of, and they happened the last two seasons for the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team.
The 2014 team finished 10-17, the first time in program history that the Sailors had an overall record under .500. The 2015 team went 16-11 but lost in overtime in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs at Long Beach Wilson. It was the first time in program history that Newport fell in the opening round of the postseason.
The players definitely heard the talk on the pool deck. What’s going on with the Sailors?
“It kind of made me feel like we’re not living up to expectations,” senior co-captain Cole Brosnan said. “We have 12 CIF championships [as a program], and then we’re losing in the first round. It kind of makes you feel like you’re shorting the program.”
Where would it go from there? As it turns out, the Sailors’ needle is definitely trending back upward.
Credit head coach Ross Sinclair, in his second year in charge of his alma mater. Credit senior team captains Brosnan and Nic Rimlinger, who are also in their second years in that role.
The Sailors are 19-8 after beating El Toro in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs on Wednesday night. They play host to top-seeded Los Angeles Loyola in the quarterfinals Saturday at 6 p.m., and many seem to like their chances to make that a competitive match.
That’s for good reason. Other players have emerged for the Sailors as well, from senior transfer Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt to freshman Makoto Kenney to junior goalie Mitch Sandberg to Brosnan’s younger brother, Ryan.
Sinclair also credits his coaching staff, which is full of alumni like Andy Hayes and Kimmy Morrison. Peter Belden helped out last year, and another former Sailor, Chris Whitelegge, is doing the same this season.
“All of us have had some sort of success as players here, and have a lot of pride in this program,” Sinclair said. “It’s a group effort with us and these kids, to try to get it back on track.”
The energy just feels good right now for the Sailors, who are a win away from making the CIF semifinals for the first time since 2013, when Olympian Luca Cupido was a senior. But it wasn’t always easy for Sinclair after he was hired in April, 2015, leaving the CdM girls’ water polo coaching position.
“I’m an ultra-competitive person, so I wanted to get right to the top right away,” Sinclair said. “That was frustrating for me, because there was a lot that needed to be fixed with the lack of consistency for the previous few years. I wanted to get to where I was when I was playing and when I was coaching with [Jason] Lynch, things were rolling. I’m not the most patient person, and I’ve learned a lot about myself and how to take a step back and let these kids develop into good young adults. Winning isn’t everything. I’ve tried to stress to these guys, it’s about being the best they can, in and out of the pool. If you have good character, playing in the game will take care of itself, and I think it’s really starting to click like that. We’ve got some fantastic kids in this program.”
When Sinclair came in, times were hard. Following the resignation of Robert Lynn in the summer of 2014, Newport Harbor was coming off a tough season under interim coach Marco Palazzo. The Sailors did upset Agoura on the road in a CIF first-round game that year. But, besides the 10-17 record, Palazzo suspended five starters for an unspecified reason prior to the Sunset League game against Los Alamitos. The Sailors lost that game and ended up finishing third in league.
Cole Brosnan and Rimlinger, who were on varsity but didn’t start, are the last remaining pieces from that team.
“The older guys were trying to take it in their own hands and win by themselves, and it’s really hard to make a team like that,” said Brosnan, a lefty driver. “Credit the coaching the last two years. Nothing against Marco, but it was a bad situation the first year, a tough situation to be in. Just having strong coaching for the last two years has helped us progress a lot.”
Rimlinger, who has switched to a primary defender this season, agreed with that sentiment.
“We had the opportunity to be on varsity our sophomore year, but it was just that rough patch,” he said. “It was hard to really become a part of that team. We were able to work consistently, go through the ropes. Once Ross came, we knew there was going to be change, and we were fired up. That was when we knew it was time to get ready to start winning. That was when the change started, really.”
Newport Harbor appears to have momentum heading into Saturday’s game against Loyola. It will be the teams’ first meeting of the season, and the Sailors’ first home playoff game in Sinclair’s two-year tenure.
“It’ll be exciting to get a high-level game in front of our community,” he said. “It’ll be a good experience for these guys, regardless of the result ... I think they deserve the No. 1 seed, and we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to go and play the best team.”
Whatever happens, Sinclair believes that the Sailors are back on the right track.
