Sports
Cal High Boys Water Polo Preview: Grizzlies Looking to Make a Deeper Playoff Run
Cal should have a much more balanced team than in 2009.
School: California High
Sport: Boys water polo
Coach: Tony Tovani
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2009 record: 13-13
Key returners: Eric Hildreth, Jake Hoyt and Jamison Shapland
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Top newcomers: Alex Voloshko and Charlie Perschau
Quote: "We are a young team, so my expectations are to surprise a lot of people. I don't think a lot of people are going to take us seriously." — Tony Tovani.
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The California High boys water polo team ended its summer vacation a week early, but it wasn't in the classroom.
The Grizzlies began their double days at 7 a.m., in the San Ramon Olympic Pool on August 16.
Ready to sneak up on teams this season, the Grizzlies are preparing for a more successful season than last year, which ended with a second-round loss to Campolindo in the North Coast Section playoffs.
First-year head coach Tony Tovani said that if there are teams underestimating the Grizzlies, he hopes to prove them wrong.
"We are a young team, so my expectations are to surprise a lot of people," Tovani said. "I don't think a lot of people are going to take us seriously."
Tovani said he expects the team to have 16 wins, improving upon their 13-13 record from last season. He also expects the team to move past the second round of NCS this year.
Other teams may be right in questioning the Grizzlies' ability to fill the shoes of Jeremy Lewis, last years East Bay Athletic League MVP who tallied 144 goals. He also was the Grizzlies' MVP for the past three seasons.
"Jeremy is an incredible player, however what comes with a team that solely relies on one player is if he gets shut down, the rest of the team doesn't know what to do," Tovani said.
Tovani's goal is to make sure that all his players know when and how they can contribute.
An improvement of the team from last year is the fact that they don't rely on one playey, which should create more stability.
"This year, everyone of my starters can score and all of them could be the team leader," Tovani said. "They all know that. I've told them that's my expectations from them, so it's really exciting."
Along with a more cohesive unit, the Grizzlies also hope to improve their defense.
"We are stressing team defense this season," Tovani said. "I know it's an old cliché, but defense truly does win championships."
Expectations are high for the players as well.
"We want to make NCS, we want to get at least to the third round of NCS," said Alex Voloshko, a junior driver. "We can beat teams like Foothill, Monte Vista and Livermore."
Jake Hoyt, a junior driver, said that this year the team needs to score more goals and be more aggressive to achieve the level of play the he feels the team needs in order to be successful.
"Last season we did pretty well, but we can definitely do better this year," said Eric Hildreth, a junior. "I think we can beat some of the key teams we lost to last year, like Amador and Foothill."
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