HIGH SCHOOLS:Masters shows promise

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the CIF Southern Section girls’ water polo Masters Tournament won’t be built in a weekend.

That much was clear to players, coaches and fans alike after the inaugural event, held last weekend at Irvine High.

“It’s just something that’s in its infancy,” Corona del Mar Coach Aaron Chaney said. “I mean, the Super Bowl wasn’t as great 40 years ago as it is today.”

The premise for the Masters Tournament is promising enough. Sixteen teams, playing for the right to be called the CIF Southern Section champions.

Not just Division I or Division II champion, but Southern Section champion.

But, the obvious problem is that’s a lot to ask girls’ water polo teams that just finished two grueling weeks of play for the right to be crowned division champion.

To be sure, there was some great water polo played. And there were upsets, like No. 6-seeded Laguna Beach making it to the finals and coming within a goal of upending No. 1 Foothill.

But what if Foothill had lost? It certainly would have been understandable, after beating Montebello in the Division I title game just four days earlier. After practicing for three months to play for CIF, it’s extremely difficult to expect teams to come back strong just days later.

“CIF has always been the primary focus, ever since we started winning back in 2000,” said Foothill Coach Dave Mikesell, whose teams have won six CIF titles. “That will always be the primary focus for me. This is all gravy; this is extra whipped cream. For me, it was difficult getting these kids back out here.”

Yes, Foothill beat the Breakers, 7-6, in the Masters Tournament final. But if the Knights had lost, it would have been nothing more than a blip on the radar for a team that also won the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions and the Irvine Southern California Championships.

So more power to Foothill for coming back strong at the Masters — but should high school kids really be expected to do that?

Sure, why not, Chaney said, paraphrasing Sir Winston Churchill.

“There’s a price that comes with greatness, and the price of that greatness is responsibility,” Chaney said. “Everybody here went to CIF. Whether you win or lose at CIF, you still have to pick yourself back up.

“It’s like the boys’ basketball team at CdM,” he continued. “They won CIF, then they have to pick themselves back up and go to the state tournament. Nothing in life is easy. You make a big sale in real estate, and the next day you’ve got to get back up and go back to work again.”

Still, the players recognize how difficult it is to get back up for a tournament right after CIF. When asked if it was tough, Newport Harbor senior Sarah Roberts slowly nodded her head.

“It’s hard for the people who were at CIF finals,” said Roberts, whose Sailors played their former Sea View League rivals Foothill a whopping five times, the last in an 8-4 semifinal Masters Tournament loss. “When you’re at the top, it’s hard to stay at the top. That’s more pressure on them.”

In theory, the Masters Tournament could be great. But, with paltry attendance over the weekend at Irvine High, it’s clear that its not on a CIF level. At least, not yet.

The local coaches all say it looks unlikely that Northern California sections will change girls’ water polo from a fall to winter sport, so a state championship probably isn’t in the cards. But, if the Masters Tournament could be expanded to include San Diego Section powerhouses like Poway (this year’s Division I champion), Division II champion the Bishop’s, Coronado and Carlsbad, then it could be a legitimate Southern California championship.

Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett, who has been Sailors coach since the CIF Southern Section offered girls’ water polo as a sport in 1996, said he liked what he saw at the tournament.

“Being the first year, it was a little anticlimactic after CIF,” Barnett said. “But I think it’s a step in the right direction. If you know it’s coming, if it becomes a tradition in the minds of the players, then you can go beyond CIF.”

Maybe five or 10 years down the road, when someone mentions, “CIF,” the appropriate response will be “Which one? Division playoffs or Masters?”

To be sure, there may need to be some fine-tuning. The Masters Tournament consolation brackets could easily be eliminated. As Chaney demonstrated in both of Saturday’s CdM games when he pulled many of his starters, the difference between fifth and eighth place, at that point, is fairly insignificant.

But, ultimately, the CIF Southern Section staff can only put on the tournament. They can’t control how much prestige comes out of winning it — that will be up to those water polo players, coaches and fans.

And, once the fans start coming out to the Masters Tournament, I think they’ll like what they see. As far as girls’ water polo goes, it’s hard to have too much of a good thing.

MATT SZABO covers girls’ water polo for the Daily Pilot. He can be reached at (714) 966-4614 or via e-mail at [email protected].