Meadows Catches Everything for Cougars

MISSION VIEJO —  Eric Meadows knows first-hand about mood swings. As goalkeeper for Capistrano Valley’s water polo team, he has seen a crowd’s adoration turn to animosity on the flick of a wrist of a two-meter shooter.

“The position can be thankless,” Meadows said. “People love you when you stop the ball. But when you don’t . . . it can be very tough.”

Nevertheless, Meadows, a senior, can’t imagine playing any other position. In fact, he prefers the games where hard-flung balls and game-winning saves are the norm.

“I really hate the lopsided games and we do most of the scoring,” Meadows said. “Don’t get me wrong. I want to win our games, but when the games are close and I have to work at keeping the ball out of our goal, that’s how I like the play the game.”

Meadows, 18, is one of Orange County’s top goalkeepers. Playing the position since age 13, when he started on a club team, his prowess in the cage has attracted interest from such colleges as Stanford, Pepperdine and UCLA.

“He’s a very smart kid, and I’m not just talking about his academics [Meadows has a 4.2 grade-point average],” Capistrano Valley Coach Jason Lynch said. “He’s very aware of what is going on in the pool and he’s in control, even when the game might be out of control.”

Lynch said it takes an athlete with a special personality to play the position; a person who’s relaxed and not prone to panic. Meadows fits the job description.

“Eric is very calm,” Lynch said. “He’s not a volatile person who’s going to become unglued when a goal is scored.”

In addition, Lynch said Meadows has mastered perhaps the hardest part of the game: moving on after being scored on, and not dwelling on it.

“A goalie has to remain focused on the game,” Meadows said. “I can’t be thinking about what I did wrong or worrying about the goal. I can do all that when the game is over.”

Meadows moved with his family from St. Louis to Orange County when he was 13. Before arriving here, he had no experience playing water polo.

“I used to swim with a swim club in St. Louis and I was aware of the sport,” he said. “So when I had the chance when we moved, I joined SET (the Saddleback/El Toro water polo club).”

Back then, he didn’t have a clue about what position he should play.

“It was the case of my team needing a goalie, so I volunteered for the position,” Meadows said. “I guess I didn’t really think about all those balls coming at me.”

Jack Bowen, Capistrano Valley’s assistant coach, said Meadows’ quickness and ability to read a play is uncanny.

“Eric is just a very smart kid. He’s not quite the size [of some goalies], but he makes up for it in his strong legs and his quickness,” Bowen said.

High praise, indeed, when considering Bowen played goalkeeper for the U.S. national water polo team last year and was a standout goalie for Stanford and San Diego Coronado High.

Bowen said he likes to get in the water and work out with the Cougar team, often employing drills he picked up from his days at Stanford.

“Eric and I work out a lot together, and the drills I do with him are not easy,” Bowen said. “But Eric picked up on them very well, which is a sign of just how good he is.”

The opportunity to work daily with one of the nation’s best goalkeeper is not lost on Meadows.

“It’s unbelievable how great it is to have him [Bowen] in the water with me,” Meadows said. “I saw him play at the NCAA championships. He’s a great goalie. He’s been great not only to me, but to the whole team.”

Lynch and Bowen said Capistrano Valley’s success--the Cougars are ranked fifth in Orange County and seventh in Southern Section Division I--will depend on the success of its goalkeeper, but Meadows doesn’t like being singled out.

“I think we have a really good team and I think we’ll go far,” he said. “But it’s not just me. It’s a team effort.”