THE PREPS : Capistrano Valley Water Polo on Solid Ground : Coach Cholodenko Reshapes Shaky Program, Guides Team to Its Best Start

In 1985, the Capistrano Valley High School water polo team had a 2-13 record and finished last in the South Coast League. Nearly four years later, the Cougars are off to their best start.

Capistrano Valley has won its first seven games entering the Villa Park tournament, which begins today. The Cougars are ranked third in the Orange County coaches’ poll and are considered one of the favorites to win the Southern Section 3-A championship.

It’s no coincidence that the Cougars’ rise began with the arrival of Coach Don Cholodenko, who had turned Santa Ana Valley into a winner in three seasons. The Falcons finished 23-2 in 1985, Cholodenko’s final season. He was hired by Capistrano Valley in the spring of 1986 and immediately began to reshape the program.

“The athletes were here, they just didn’t have the participation,” Cholodenko said. “There were a lot of swimming kids who didn’t play water polo and there was no summer program at all. Those are two key things if you want to have a good program.”

Cholodenko first persuaded several members of the Cougars’ swim team to play water polo. This was easy, considering he also was hired to be the swim coach. Cholodenko had been the swim coach at Santa Ana Valley, too.

The Cougars also played an extensive summer schedule.

The result has been progressive improvement:

--In 1986, the team finished fifth in league play, but had a 14-7 record. The Cougars played everyone tough, including league champion El Toro. They lost by a goal to the Chargers, who had beaten Capistrano Valley, 22-3, the previous year.

--In 1987, the Cougars qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the program’s history. Capistrano Valley finished with a 20-6 record and reached the quarterfinals.

--In 1988, the Cougars shared the league championship with El Toro. They finished 19-5-1 and reached the semifinals.

“There’s no pool here, so the team really didn’t have a place to practice,” Cholodenko said. “They were driving down to Dana Hills (High School) every day, which I think kept a lot of kids from coming out.”

Cholodenko solved that problem by contacting Flip Darr, water polo coach at Saddleback College. They made an arrangement for the Cougars to practice and play games at the college.

“That made a major difference because Saddleback is basically across the street from Capistrano Valley,” Cholodenko said. “We started getting more kids out for the team. We were able to get a good summer program going.”

Cholodenko credits this season’s fast start to experience. Seven of the top 10 players are seniors, five of whom began playing the summer before their freshman year.

“We got them started early,” Cholodenko said. “They got competitive really fast.”

Seniors Paul Felton and Chris Bowman, two key players, have been in the program for four years. Felton was named first-team All-Southern Section last season and Bowman is the team’s goalie.

The Cougars also have some standout juniors, who could help keep the program strong for the next two years. Kevin Eggert, a third-team All-Southern Section selection last season, is the team’s second-leading scorer behind Felton. Nick Kittredge, who split time at goalie last season, now is the first player off the bench.

Cholodenko also has a few standouts from last season’s freshman-sophomore team, which had a 23-2 record. Dan Hancock is the best of that group and usually is the second player off the bench. He was the freshman-sophomore team’s most valuable player in 1988.

“I feel very good about this team,” Cholodenko said. “We have a lot of depth and a lot of talent. We’ve come a long way in four years.”

The Villa Park tournament features four teams ranked in the top 10 of the Orange County coaches’ poll. Besides Capistrano Valley, the tournament includes sixth-ranked Villa Park, seventh-ranked Foothill and ninth-ranked El Toro.

The tournament will be played at Villa Park and Foothill high schools. The championship game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.

In today’s first-round games at Villa Park:

Villa Park vs. Costa Mesa at 3 p.m.; Coronado vs. San Clemente at 3:50; El Toro vs. Sonora at 4:40; Royal vs. Edison at 5:30.

In first-round games at Foothill:

Foothill vs. Buena Park at 3 p.m.; Mission Viejo vs. Los Altos at 3:50; Capistrano Valley vs. Claremont at 4:40; Fullerton vs. South Pasadena at 5:30.