Scorpions looking to rebound from tough year
Polo team adjusting to new coach, eyeing postseason
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers HIGH HOPES- Camarillo High's Andrew Mulligan works on his receiving skills during Wednesday's practice at Rio Mesa High.

After failing to make the playoffs last year, the Camarillo High boys' water polo team is hoping a new coach can help right the ship and point the Scorpions toward the postseason.

Replacing Kevin Buddhu as head coach is 22yearold Austin Walker, who played water polo for four years at Oxnard High before graduating in 2003. After living in Florida for some time, Walker came back to Southern California last year. He was itching to get back into water polo.

Walker soon became an assistant coach with the Camarillo Titans youth team before getting his first head coaching job with the Scorpions at the end of the 2006 school year.

"I'm happy to be where I'm at now in Camarillo, where I'm involved with a lot of good people," Walker said. "I'm really nervous about my first head coaching position, but also very excited."

Walker has assigned two cocaptains- seniors Andrew Mulligan and Chris Stebbings. Mulligan seems pleased with his new coach thus far.

"We are doing much better now with Coach Walker," Mulligan said. "We are in better shape now with him because he is working us very hard in practice, with more intense workouts. We needed a new coach because it just wasn't working the previous years."

Stebbings said Walker works well with his players.

"I just got tired of losing," Stebbings said. "One thing I like about him is that besides working with the team, he works with all of us individually. I'm not that good at shooting, so he has tried to help me personally with that."

Although Walker has been gaining confidence with some players, the reality is the team still has a lot of work to do before it will compete for a Pacific View League championship.

To get the program back on track, Walker sometimes takes the whole team outside the pool to teach them the basics of the sport.

"When I take them out of the pool, it's because I want to teach them the basic skeleton of a play," Walker said. "Before they know how to do something in the pool, they need to know how to run it in their minds."

Another thing Walker has had to work on is getting ACHS to believe it can win again.

"One of the hardest parts of this job is getting the team in the right mind frame," Walker said. "Honestly, they are almost there, but there needs to be that motivation and confidence in order for them to change their work habits."

The coach wants his squad to be in peak physical condition, and has demanded they work harder than before.

"Swimming is the key to everything in water polo," Walker said. "I try to drill them more into being good swimmers so they can be quick in the games."

One of the players the coach said has a lot of upside is junior Chris Lewsadder.

"Chris has got a lot of speed, and he is a wild shooter," Walker said. "If we can work out just a few kinks with him, he is going to be a great player."

Walker said Stebbings and Mulligan should have big years, too, as will senior Max Zadini.

"Max will be playing the set position, and I think his size really helps him out," Walker said. "I'm expecting him to have a very good season."

While Walker has had to do a lot of teaching this year, he admitted he has gone through a learning process this year.

"At the start of the year they tell you that it's going to be a two-hour job that lasts five days a week," Walker said. "It's not even close to that. There is so much more you need to do, from ordering shirts and caps to making sure everyone has a ride to the pool."

With everything else taken care of, Camarillo will now get a chance to see what they are made of when they compete in the Conejo Classic Water Polo Tournament this weekend.

"This is going to be a great building tournament," Walker said. "We are going to have five games that have nothing to do with rankings to help get everything working.

"I'm not expecting to win much, and to tell you the truth I would almost rather have us lose some of these games so it can put in perspective just exactly what we need to work on once league starts."

Stebbings, who played on the 2005 Scorpion squad that made the playoffs, is hoping his senior year can begin with a return to glory.

"I just hope that our games are more realistic this year, and close," Stebbings said. "It's my senior year, so I would really like to be on a team that has a chance to go to CIF."