Goalkeeper Grubbs Pools His Talent : Preps: Water polo standout is refining his skills in hopes of leading team to another Southern Section 2-A Division title.

Every weekday morning at 5:30, Brendan Grubbs jumps into the swimming pool at South Pasadena High and sinks his soul into a workout designed to help keep him afloat.

The morning darkness is broken by the lights above the pool-deck as Grubbs straps a 25-pound belt around his waist. While his teammates swim laps, Grubbs’ legs churn like eggbeaters as he repeatedly treads the length of the pool with his hands out of the water.

Grubbs, a 6-foot-6, 170-pound senior goalkeeper, was selected as the Southern Section 2-A Division player of the year in water polo last season after leading South Pasadena to its second consecutive championship.

This season, with the aid of a goalie coach, Grubbs has stepped up his workouts in an attempt to lift his body and his shot-blocking skills to a higher level.

“I think Brendan is going to surprise some people,” said South Pasadena Coach Jerry Wulf, who has guided his teams to two Southern Section titles and two semifinal appearances in six seasons with the Tigers. “He’s been working harder than I have ever seen him work in the preseason.

“When it gets down to playoff time, you’re going to see a goalie that’s all over the place. (Opposing teams) aren’t going to recognize him.”

The reed-thin Grubbs, 17, is one of the top college prospects in Southern California. For the past two years, he has made the first cut in tryouts for the U.S. junior national team--which is open to players 19-and-under. He also works out with older club-level players and has attended clinics run by Harvard-Westlake Coach Rich Corso, a former goalie coach for the U.S. National team.

“He’s got great wingspan and fills up the cage very nicely,” Corso said. “He is also a good passing goalie. I tried to tell all goalies they aren’t just playing defense. They are offensive players as well (on outlet passes).”

Grubbs and senior Dan Cherrie are the only returning starters from a South Pasadena team that finished 25-4 last season, defeating Santa Maria, 11-10, for the 2-A championship.

“It helps to practice against Brendan because he takes down everything we shoot at him,” Cherrie said. “After games, if I’ve scored some goals, guys on other teams sometimes say, ‘Wow, you’re a great shooter.’ But out here in practice, you’re just another guy against Brendan.”

The Tigers began this season 4-7. But they have rebounded to 8-8 and are ranked fourth in 2-A following an impressive performance at the San Luis Obispo tournament last weekend. South Pasadena finished second to Royal, which is ranked No. 8 in 3-A.

“I think we can still win CIF again,” Grubbs said. “Santa Maria, Costa Mesa and Walnut all have good teams. But by the end of the season, I think we’re going to be right there.”

Grubbs is right where Wulf thought he would be when he moved Grubbs from the field to goalkeeper after his freshman season.

Grubbs had come to South Pasadena with a strong water polo background, having begun playing the sport with a local club program when he was in the sixth grade. His brother, Barney, was South Pasadena’s goalkeeper during Brendan’s freshman year, so he did not flinch when Wulf moved him into the goal as a sophomore following Barney’s graduation.

In 1989, Grubbs started for a South Pasadena team that included six senior starters.

“He was apprehensive at first, but the team built him up and really tried to make him feel like it was their fault, not his, if a goal was scored,” Wulf said. “By the end of the preseason, he had figured things out and he was rarely out of position.”

South Pasadena went on to finish 26-2 and win its first Southern Section championship.

Last season, Grubbs was dominant. He blocked 60% of the shots attempted against him and baited opponents into launching ill-advised attempts from difficult angles. Grubbs would leave half the cage open and appear to be out of position. But when the ball came flying in, Grubbs knocked it down or out.

“Good players don’t fall for it,” Grubbs said. “Bad players fall for it a lot.”

After the Tigers defeated Costa Mesa for the Southern Section championship, Wulf decided that Grubbs needed a new challenge this season.

“I felt like I needed to push him to another level,” Wulf said.

Wulf hired Berkeley Harrison, a former goalie for the club team at Duke University, to work exclusively with Grubbs and the other Tiger goalies.

“Brendan has the skills and knowledge and quickness, but one of his weaknesses was his legs,” Harrison said. “He could go up after a ball very quickly, but then he would fade. Jerry wants him to be as solid as a rock like the good college goalies are.”

Grubbs, an A student, is hoping to become one of those excellent college goalies next year at either UCLA, Stanford or UC Berkeley. He recognizes that becoming a standout at a higher level requires preparation now.

“My leg strength is getting better and I’m improving in a lot of areas,” Grubbs said. “Having a goalie coach has really helped.

“I’m not all the way to where I want to be yet, but I’m getting there.”