Royal’s Kocur Pitches With Control in Water Polo

To a water polo player, there is no sound more gratifying than that of a leather ball smacking into the canvas backdrop of the floating goal.

“It gives you a natural high,” Royal High junior Jack Kocur said.

Last week, Kocur (pronounced KOH-ker) played three audibly pleasing games, scoring 26 goals as Royal deep-sixed Simi Valley (31-0), Agoura (22-3) and Costa Mesa (19-9).

Kocur, who plays the hole man and driver positions, scored 10 goals against Simi Valley, seven against Agoura and nine against Costa Mesa. That performance gave him a slight edge for the week over teammate Mike Radka, who scored 24.

But Kocur’s outburst was more than just a scoring festival. He and Radka helped send a message to every major water polo team in the Southern Section 3-A Division: Royal (15-3) is no pretender to the throne.

“On any given day, we feel like we can beat anybody,” Kocur said.

If no one else, Royal’s Marmonte League rivals should take notice. On paper, Agoura figured to be the team most likely to give Royal a run for the Marmonte title. The Highlanders have not lost a league game since 1986, but Agoura, most observers thought, would make things difficult.

Those thoughts were washed away in Royal’s 22-3 win.

“We figured that Agoura, especially in their pool, would give us a game,” said Royal Coach Steve Snyder, the architect of the Highlander dynasty for the past 10 years. “So after that, we figured, OK, we’ll point to Costa Mesa as a big test. We figured, the No. 2-rated team in the 2-A, a team that made the finals last year . . . and, voila , it was no problem again.”

Kocur, meanwhile, was impersonating a baseball pitcher all week, cranking up that right arm and firing strike after strike. Actually, it was second-nature for him: Kocur pitched and played shortstop for Royal’s junior-varsity baseball team last spring. Mixing baseball and water polo is a rare form of double duty for a high school athlete, but, according to Snyder, it is not difficult for the multitalented Kocur.

“Jack Kocur will excel at any athletic endeavor he tries,” Snyder said. “Whatever it takes to be a great athlete, he has--hand-eye coordination, cardiovascular strength, you name it. He has a concept of his body in time-space, and that’s just something you’re born with.”

Kocur has played both baseball and water polo since the age of 10, so in his eyes, the two are not incongruous. But his baseball teammates?

“They tease me about the little Speedos,” Kocur said with a laugh. “That’s my nickname: ‘Speedo.’ ”

Snyder, although he coaches the Royal swim team in the spring, said that he does not mind Kocur’s passion for baseball. In fact, he sees tangible benefits.

“He’s got a pinpoint accuracy that baseball has given him to throw strikes,” Snyder said. “He just has a real uncanny sense of placement of the ball.”

Other coaches notice too. Buena High Coach John Siman, who played on the U.S. National team from 1976 to 1984, commented to Snyder that Kocur had a “phenomenal” ability to catch a strong pass from a teammate and come back with a quick shot.

“He liked his soft hands,” Snyder said. “And he’s a guy that should know.”

All of this recognition has given the ambitious Kocur ideas. He might forgo baseball in the spring to swim for Royal.

“If I do swim, I’d get more recognition,” Kocur said. “And I want to make the Junior National team.”

As a 13-year-old, Kocur played on a Simi Valley Junior Olympic team that traveled to Florida and won a national championship. His sister Kelly is on a swim scholarship at Washington State. Aqua sports, it seems, are in his gene pool.

“I’m going to stay completely neutral,” Snyder said of Kocur’s decision between baseball and swimming. “He should do what he wants.”

Which at this time of year is to keep making noises as a water polo player.