Sister Act Could Be Catalyst for Cougars

For almost as long as sisters Ashley and Amber Stachowski have had feet, they’ve been getting them wet.

Same with hands, arms, legs and heads.

That’s because the Stachowskis, the top girls’ water polo players for Capistrano Valley High, were practically raised on a pool deck. Their father, Mark, has coached swimming and water polo for as long as they can remember.

Ashley, 17, and Amber, 15, can’t even remember a time when aquatics wasn’t a significant part of their lives. Now, it practically consumes them.

“When I was 7, my dad just threw me in the pool and said, ‘Get in, you’re playing,’ ” Ashley said. “At first, I wasn’t sure about it. It was just something I had to do at the time.”

Now it’s something she does very well.

Ashley, a senior, is considered by many coaches the top prep player in the county, the state and maybe even the United States.

The South Coast League player of the year in 1997-98, she spent a good amount of time last summer practicing with the U.S. women’s national team and has signed a letter of intent with UCLA.

Amber, a sophomore, is not far behind. She plays for the U.S. youth team that will play an international tournament in Canada over winter break.

Together, they make the Cougars a favorite for the South Coast League title and a serious contender for the Southern Section Division I championship.

“They are the best two players in high school,” said Marina Coach Dave Carlson, who guided his team to the Division I title last season. “They’re big-time players.”

After practicing at the world-class level all summer, Ashley had concerns about coming back to the high school level again, but decided to use what she had learned to the Cougars’ advantage.

“When I practiced with [the national team], I was one of the youngest and I was learning all kinds of things,” she said. “In high school I have to be more of a leader. The girls on the team are learning from me.”

Which is just fine with Cougar Coach Craig Fransen, who has a young team with only three seniors returning from a team that finished third in the final county coaches’ poll last season.

“She knows it’s critical that the whole team does well,” Fransen said. “I encourage her to coach in the pool.”

As Ashley’s younger sister, Amber has a lot to live up to, but she has shown the kind of development that has her projected to be at Ashley’s level by her senior year.

“She didn’t get a lot of recognition last year because she was a freshman,” Fransen said. “But she’s definitely right there behind her sister.”

Ashley and Amber are 5 feet 11. Their combination of size, speed and strength make them equally impressive at both ends of the pool, and because of the time they put into improving their game, they are as comfortable swimming as they are walking.

“It’s their life,” said Julie Stachowski, their mother. “It’s a practice here, a game there, a banquet here, a tournament there. When I see them I just ask, ‘Where are you guys going? What’s going on now?’ ”

More often than not, it entails getting wet.