Pieces in place for Agoura boys' water polo team to thrive

ONE GOAL IN MIND-AHS senior Alex Thompson knows his team has what it takes to challenge Royal for the Marmonte League title. Could this be the Chargers' year in the pool?

Agoura boys' water polo head coach Dustin Litvak and his players realize with a talent-laden roster featuring a smattering of varsity returnees and a contingent of callups from a J.V. squad that went 231 last season, they are wellequipped to challenge perennial powerhouse Royal for the Marmonte League crown in 2006.

"Royal's tough, and until anybody beats them, this is their league," said Litvak, whose Charger teams have finished second to Royal the past two years before advancing to the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division IV playoffs in each season.

While several teams in the league have two or three true playmakers on their rosters, Agoura can hurt the opposition in a variety of ways, Litvak said.

"The strongest part of our team is depth," the coach said. "We have so many talented players that I could interchange the starting lineup with 15 or 16 guys and not lose a whole lot."

AHS features a pair of four-year varsity players in Alex Thompson and Justin Kovanis. Thompson, a tri-captain along with seniors River Jordan and Jake Smither, said trust between teammates in and out of the pool will be vital.

"That's probably one of the most important things-trust," Thompson said. "Being able to trust your teammates to make the extra pass, to get that extra goal or to make that extra steal, it's huge in this game."

Jordan said his job as a captain is to keep everybody motivated and focused on the task at hand.

"This group is awesome," Jordan said. "The juniors are best friends and the seniors and sophomores all sort of just mesh really well. We haven't had any problems during the summer. It's been good because everyone's been honest with each other."

While its roster may be formidable, AHS returns only two fulltime starters from last year's team. In addition to Thompson, a driver, junior two-meter defender Matt Carlson is back. Junior goalkeeper Ryan Paris returns, too, but he split time in the net a season ago.

Of the new players who were on the J.V. squad in '05, juniors Peter Kurzeka, Joey Sparks and Brandon Gross, along with Smither, are expected to make the greatest impact, Litvak said.

Kurzeka, in particular, was a man among boys at the junior varsity level.

Because he transferred to Agoura prior to his sophomore year, CIF rules prohibited Kurzeka from playing varsity water polo last year. While competing on the Charger J.V. team, he scored 91 goals.

This summer as a member of the Los Angeles Water Polo Club, Kurzeka was named Most Valuable Player at the U-16 boys' National Junior Olympics, and later earned MVP honors during the National Club Championships.

Furthermore, Kurzeka again was named MVP while playing for Agoura's summer squad at the San Diego Suns International.

Kurzeka's "extremely mature in the water, always composed," Litvak said. "He's fast, quick, smart, strong, very tricky and very unpredictable. He's a playmaker in the true sense of the word. And as good as he is at creating for himself, he's even better creating for his teammates. He's the kind of player you want to have on your team because he makes everyone else around him better."

If there's one concern for the Chargers early on it's been injuries. Kovanis is expected to miss six weeks after breaking a finger during a football game.

"It's unfortunate for him because it was a really bad break in a very bad spot," the coach said. "He'll be out the first time we play Royal, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks. We hope to have him back during the second half of league and before the playoffs start."

Senior Robi Kupan suffered a knee injury but is expected to return within a month.

"Right now the only thing holding us back are the injuries," Litvak said. "Other than that, we're playing really well. We've got a lot of speed and a lot of shooters-more shooters than we're used to having, and a lot more talent, too."

On paper, it seems like all of the Division IV schools caught a break when the CIF-SS elevated the Channel League to Division II status, which means the days of Marmonte League boys' teams facing Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos in the postseason are now gone.

Litvak, however, said the move will be offset by the addition of the Bay League and schools such as Mira Costa and Palos Verdes.

"It doesn't change a whole lot," he said. "Santa Barbara is very strong in the Channel League, but Dos Pueblos graduated everyone and probably won't be as good. Mira Costa and Palos Verdes are very good, so I don't think it really changes anything."

Agoura opens its preseason schedule next Tuesday at home vs. Dos Pueblos.