Iannone making sure AHS doesn't miss a beat

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers ON THE RISE—Agoura High's P.J. Iannone fires a shot on goal during an early-season match against Thousand Oaks. If Agoura High junior water polo player P.J. Iannone had a nickname, it might as well be Aquaman.

"I'm not that coordinated on land," Iannone said with a laugh. "Growing up, I tried to play basketball, baseball and soccer, but I just wasn't very good at all. I'm not that gifted out of the water."

Call him what you will on land, but in the pool Iannone is proving to be as talented as any superhero. He has scored 72 goals in the team's first 20 games and has lead AHS to an undefeated record (4-0) in Marmonte League play.

"He's definitely one of the leaders on this team," head coach Dustin Litvak said. "The game plan is designed to give him the ball if the time is right. Being a 2meter player, he's going to get a lot of scoring opportunities."

Iannone first began competing in water polo after watching his older sisters, Monika and Adrienne, play.

Soon after, Iannone joined the South Coast Water Polo Club based in Thousand Oaks.

"I was on a novice little kids' swim team growing up, so the swimming part of water polo was never a problem," Iannone said. "I mostly began playing the sport, however, because I was having a lot of fun.

"I was lucky that I joined South Coast, because coaches would take a lot of time with me, and they helped me improve my game."

Iannone became a great player so quickly that, before he knew it, he was playing varsity water polo his freshman year at Agoura.

Last season, as a sophomore, Iannone was a member of the CIF-Southern Section Division IV championship squad.

"When we won the championship last year, when the final second ticked off the clock, I just couldn't believe it," Iannone said.

"I mean, I always knew we had the talent to do it, and it had always been right there on the forefront, but it didn't sink in right away. It felt so good to accomplish what we had worked so hard for as a team."

The majority of the titlewinning team has graduated, and Iannone's role is a far cry from last season.

In 2007, Agoura had stars such as Peter Kurzeka, the 2007 Marmonte League MVP, as well as Ryan Paris and Matt Carlson.

"Iannone has been a great player ever since I first saw him play, but last season we had a ton of great seniors, and P.J. was kind of able to hide in the shadows," Litvak said. "This year, he realizes that guys are looking for him."

The 16-year-old admitted that this season hasn't been the same.

"It's been a different role for me," Iannone said. "Last season I would just go in for a few plays, mostly relieving someone to play better defense. This season I'm one of the more experienced players on the team, and Litvak's told me it's my time to help lead."

Litvak said he talked with Iannone before the season about his new role

"We had a couple of meetings, but, to be honest, I didn't have to have any," Litvak said.

"He knew more than anyone he had to be a leader this year. He's very mature. As a 2-meter man, he's going to get hit a lot and sometimes even have punches thrown at him in the water. But he stays calm. He talks with his play instead."

With Iannone scoring at a high rate, it's only natural that he would start to be compared with Kurzeka.

"I think P.J. is his own player," Litvak said. "There are some similarities. They're both very good students of the game. They both make good decisions in the pool, and they both never seem to lose composure.

"Peter was a little bit more of a playmaker for us, and he picked his spots when he needed to score. P.J. right now is more of a pure scorer for us."

Although the Chargers remain a solid team, many picked Royal to win the league title because of the Highlanders' experience.

When the two teams squared off against each other for the first time last week, it was Agoura that won a thriller, 1110, in suddendeath overtime. Iannone set the tone early in the game for Agoura by scoring four of the Chargers' first five goals.

Iannone said he's having a little more fun this season because the team doesn't carry last year's expectations.

"Yeah, Royal has the experience. We don't, but I don't mind being the underdog," Iannone said. "Last year was great, but there was also a lot of pressure because if we didn't win it would seem like a failure.

"This year we can just have fun, and I believe we'll show people just how good we are."

When Iannone isn't in the pool, he said he likes to relax and read a book.

"People have this stereotypical view of me that because I'm a water polo player I have to be some sort of jock," Iannone said.

"But I have more layers than that. I'm actually a huge bookworm and read a lot of fiction. I really like the Harry Potter books."

Iannone and the Chargers continue their quest for another league championship when they host Calabasas on Mon., Oct. 13 at 3:15 p.m.