DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Colin McKibbin’s shot has never been in question.

The Newport Harbor High senior has the best shot on the team, Coach Jason Lynch said. It’s not even really close.

Simply put, there’s no one else the Sailors would rather have taking a perimeter shot than “Kibbs,” as he is called by his teammates.

“He’s definitely our strongest shooter, by far,” Lynch said. “He’s a pretty big kid, and he’s got good leg strength and good overall body strength.”

Of course, Lynch could have rattled off the same characteristics last year. McKibbin was a starter on that team, too, but he admitted his play was inconsistent.

“It was kind of expected of me last year, but I didn’t really step up as much as I should,” he said. “I’d score goals here and there.”

Lynch remembers when the Sailors played Back Bay rival Corona del Mar last October in a nonleague game. McKibbin scored three goals in a 7-4 Newport Harbor win.

“That was kind of a breakout game, but nothing that he could sustain,” Lynch said. “He struggled when we played CdM again in the CIF quarterfinals.”

But the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week has been scoring so much this year that three goals is nothing out of the ordinary. He is racking up the stats so fast that it’s impossible not to take notice, and the Tars, ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, are reaping the benefits.

McKibbin has scored 38 goals this season headed into today’s matchup with Laguna Beach, second only to teammate Clinton Jorth. In seven of the Sailors’ 17 games, McKibbin has either led Newport Harbor in goals or tied for the lead.

“I think I’ve just been shooting the ball a lot more, and picking times when to shoot it instead of just wild shots,” McKibbin said. “I’ve been focusing on working for the shot a lot more.”

McKibbin said the plan has been to take more shots, and he’s been working with Lynch on that. McKibbin is ideally supposed to take six to eight shots a game, and score three to four goals a game.

But he also focuses on the team play. Even in the Southern California Invitational championship game on Oct. 6, where McKibbin scored four goals in Newport Harbor’s 8-7 loss to Coronado, he recognized his teammates’ role.

“Two of my goals were on counters, and that’s a whole team thing,” McKibbin said. “And one was on a six-on-five, so that was set up by whoever got the ejection.”

He is also quick to recognize the play of David Linden, Matt Russell and Zach Osadche, the Sailors’ two-meter players. When the defense plays them tight, it can open up the outside shot for McKibbin.

The team aspect is one of the reasons McKibbin loves the sport, which he’s been playing since he was 10. It’s also a reason why he’s not quite so in love with swimming, the aquatics counterpart of water polo. He still swims — he was fifth in the 500-yard freestyle at last year’s Sunset League finals — but it wasn’t really his true passion.

“I tried a bunch of other sports and didn’t like them,” McKibbin said. “I didn’t like swimming. It’s kind of set up where all you do is follow the black lines. I don’t mind it, but I don’t really see the thrill of competition. It’s more of an individual sport, it’s not like a team thing. I tried water polo and I liked it.”

McKibbin still swims plenty in the Sailors’ training. Water sports run in the family; his older sister Heather, who went to USC, was a kayaker in college.

McKibbin said he’d also like to continue playing water polo in college, and whatever school he goes to should like his scoring touch.

In Tuesday’s game against No. 4-ranked Northwood, McKibbin scored with one second left in regulation to force overtime, then scored the game-winning goal in the second sudden-death overtime.

Even on the last goal, he recognized his teammate’s role.

“I scored because Spencer Richley drew the goalie over,” McKibbin said. “I had all of cross-cage open.”

And if the net is open, that usually means only one thing: it’s time for McKibbin to score a goal.

“He tends to get pretty hard on himself if something goes wrong,” Lynch said. “He used to go into a big shell but he’s fighting through that. His mental toughness is getting a lot better.

“He’s not afraid to score when he needs to. The game is on the line, and he’s taking the shot.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].