FALL ATHLETES OF THE YEAR : Coaches Glad Corona del Mar’s Mr. Everything Won’t Be Back

If you listen closely, you can hear the goodbys. High school water polo coaches across the county are saying their goodbys to Ryan Weir.

Listen closely, and you’ll find it’s more cheerful than tearful.

“Come back when you can’t play so long,” says one.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” cackles another.

“Hello Ryan, here’s your hat,” giggles a third.

That’s because Weir, a senior at Corona del Mar and The Times Orange County water polo player of the year, won’t be back to kick around opponents anymore.

Weir did everything in leading Corona del Mar (25-5) to the Southern Section Division 4-A semifinal.

And that was by design.

As one of only two starting seniors on the Sea Kings, Weir did not have any specific responsibilities--he had to do everything.

“To be honest, we don’t really rely on one player to do certain things because, if they have to miss a game, then we have a hole. So we ask all our players to learn to do everything,” Corona del Mar Coach John Vargas said. “Obviously Ryan was able to do everything better than everyone else.”

Weir still broods a little because he was on the first Corona del Mar team in seven years not to reach a Southern Section final. He says his team might not be the best since it didn’t make it to the final, but he has reason to believe that it could have been.

Corona del Mar faced Southern Section 4-A champion El Toro three times this season and the Sea Kings won all three with relative ease. In a mid-September nonleague game, Weir scored four goals as Corona del Mar won, 12-7.

In the late-September South Coast tournament, Weir scored five goals in a 14-11 victory. That game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates: the Sea Kings led, 11-6, after three quarters. In the mid-October North Orange County tournament, Weir scored only one goal before getting a major ejection before halftime, but the Sea Kings won, 12-7.

It was supposed to be a relatively “down” year for Corona del Mar because the Sea Kings started five juniors. But Weir had the Sea Kings at the top of the county coaches’ poll by the third week of the season and Corona del Mar did not give it up until the last week of the season.

“Our first two weeks of the season we were going crazy--we we’re blowing people out and playing great,” Weir said. “I give a lot of credit to the juniors because I remember the pressure. But the other teams got better and caught up. Our intensity wasn’t as good later in the season.”

Maybe the team’s intensity diminished, but not Weir’s.

“I truly believe Ryan was the best player in CIF,” Vargas said. “There may have been other players who are as good as (Weir) but no one did it day-in and day-out like Ryan.

“He’s always worked hard and he’s very competitive. This year he came in and he tried to take the leadership role. He did it by the example of hard work. He is one of the easiest kids to coach that I’ve ever coached.”

That’s quite a compliment from a coach who has been to the section finals in six of his eight years and to the semifinals in the other two.

As is the case with most two-meter men, Weir, who had 104 goals, led his team in scoring and bruises because of the close proximity to the goal. Certainly, Weir is one of the best at avoiding the foul, but he also was a monster on the counterattack, too.

For example, in a nonleague game against Sunny Hills, Weir scored six goals and displayed nearly every way to score in a water polo game.

On one opportunity he stole the ball, drove and scored at the other end. On another, he scored from six meters, then scored on a four-meter penalty shot and got two more from the two-meter position in the 17-4 victory.

Weir, who has a 3.5 grade-point average, is undecided about where he will play college ball. He has applied to California, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and USC, plans to study math.

TIMES ALL-COUNTY WATER POLO

FIRST TEAM Player: Ryan Weir School: Corona del Mar Yr.: Sr. Position: Two-meter man Comment: Times’ County Player of the Year

Player: J.P. Mathot School: El Toro Yr.: Sr. Position: Two-meter man Comment: Southern Section 4-A MVP

Player: Kevin Eggert School: Cap. Valley Yr.: Sr. Position: Two-meter man Comment: County’s top talent

Player: Matt Svoboda School: El Dorado Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Led Hawks to top ranking

Player: Kip Parsons School: Villa Park Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Led Spartans to league title

Player: Mike Thompson School: Sunny Hills Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Led Sunny Hills to league title

Player: Nick Kittredge School: Cap. Valley Yr.: Sr. Position: Goalie Comment: Top goalie in the county

SECOND TEAM

Player: Corey Delahunt School: Costa Mesa Yr.: Sr. Position: Two-meter man Comment: Southern Section 2-A Player of Year

Player: Josh Hetland School: Esperanza Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Showed flashes of greatness

Player: Greg Craycraft School: El Toro Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Set-defense was key in 4-A final

Player: Dan Hancock School: Cap. Valley Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Good defender and smart on offense

Player: Kyle Utsumi School: El Dorado Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Quick with good assortment of shots

Player: Neil Brockmeier School: Villa Park Yr.: Sr. Position: Driver Comment: Fast and an excellent defender

Player: Robbie Pike School: Corona del Mar Yr.: Jr. Position: Goalie Comment: Top returning goalie for 1991

Honorable mention: Bryan Noyes (Brea-Olinda), Jeff Williams (Buena Park), Miguel Franco (Canyon), Brent O’Brien (Corona del Mar), Ted Simpkins (Corona del Mar), Aaron Axton (Corona del Mar), Todd McClung (Edison), Brian Melstrom (Edison), Larry Felix (El Dorado), Greg Milton (El Dorado), Andy McIntyre (El Toro), Dan Mathot (El Toro), Mark Campagna (Esperanza), Scott Griswold (Foothill), J.J. Carvin (Laguna Hills), Mark Weinecken (Los Alamitos), Eric Roberts (Los Alamitos), Brandon Douglas (Los Amigos), Jason Pasol (Kennedy), Matt Braun (Marina), Felipe Delgado (Mission Viejo), Dan Johnson (Mission Viejo), Richard Ruffini (Newport Harbor), Rob Worthing (Newport Harbor), Clay Kaytis (Orange), Sean Lane (San Clemente), Jeremy Laster (San Clemente), Todd Wines (Santa Ana Valley), Cameron Price (Servite), Paul Marceau (Sonora), Scott Reilly (Sonora), Brad Winter (Sunny Hills), Mark Magna (Sunny Hills), Pat Collins (Tustin), Chad Thurmond (Tustin), Eric Johnson (Villa Park), Ben Eastman (University), Shad Wicker (University), Jared Johnson (Woodbridge).