Vargas Makes Decision to Go Back to Basics

After John Vargas reached perhaps the pinnacle of his profession last summer, he walked away from it.

Vargas coached the U.S. men’s water polo team at the Olympics in Sydney last year, but he withdrew himself as a candidate to take the national team job again.

On Jan. 14, U.S. Water Polo named Ratko Rudic, who has coached the Yugoslavian and Italian teams to Olympic gold medals, as its new full-time coach.

So was it the stress of the high-profile position that drove Vargas away? Was it criticism or scrutiny for a sixth-place finish at Sydney that soured his experience?

“It was a tough decision,” said Vargas, who coaches the boys’ and girls’ teams at Corona del Mar High. “But essentially, I just didn’t want to be pulled away from certain things.”

Those things included his coaching commitments for his club and high school, which he has led to five Southern Section boys’ titles. And there’s also Dawn, his wife of barely a year.

“The new position involved even more traveling and that would take me away from her,” Vargas said. “My wife has been very understanding and supportive, but it was time.”

Because of a grant from the U.S. Olympic Committee, U.S. Water Polo was able to hire full-time coaches for the first time in its history.

Newport Harbor’s Bill Barnett, who coached the Olympic team in 1988 and ‘92, supported U.S. Water Polo’s decision to make the national team coaching position a full-time one.

“I had to worry about what to do with the national team,” Barnett said, “and my high school team, my algebra classes . . .

“I think it’s a step in the right direction to have someone be the coach full-time, to devote all of his energy to it.”

“And I think all the coaches of U.S. Water Polo can benefit from Rudic, watching how he prepares the team, how he coaches.”

KEEP YOUR CHINS UP

With this year’s Corona del Mar girls’ team, Vargas is facing another challenge. The Sea Kings returned a core of players who helped them reach the Southern Section Division IV final last season, but they are struggling.

Corona del Mar is only 9-9, but Vargas still believes in this group.

“The girls say, ‘Coach, you keep telling us that we’re a good team but we keep losing,’ ” Vargas said. “I just tell them, ‘Trust me. Just give us some time.’ ”

NCSI TOURNAMENT

Nancy Arias scored six goals in the final two games Saturday to help Santa Ana Valley win its second consecutive NCSI--No Club Swimmers Invited--tournament.

The Falcons won the tournament, which is in its fourth year and is limited to teams that feature only high-school training. Saddleback finished second and Santa Ana third in the 12-team tournament.

LOOKING AHEAD

One week after there were two No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns, there will be another one Friday at 3:30 p.m. when top-ranked Foothill plays at second-ranked Newport Harbor.

There will also be two big league showdowns this week.

The South Coast League’s unbeaten teams meet Thursday when No. 3 Capistrano Valley hosts No. 4 El Toro at 4 p.m. at Saddleback College.

The Cougars (13-4-1, 2-0 in league) come into the game losing three of their last four games, although two of the losses were to top-ranked Foothill and another to second-ranked Newport Harbor.

El Toro (14-4, 2-0), led by junior Ke’ala Carter, is playing well coming off victories over San Clemente and No. 7 Irvine.

After two weeks in the Sunset League, No. 9 Edison is the only unbeaten team after defeating 10th-ranked Los Alamitos, 8-3, last week. Wednesday, Edison plays the preseason league favorite, No. 8 Marina, at 7:30 p.m. at the Joint Forces Training Base at Los Alamitos.

If you have an item or idea for the girls’ water polo report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at: mike.itagaki@latimes.com

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GIRLS’ WATER POLO TOP 10

Orange County Coaches’ Poll

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Pos. School (League) Rec 1. Foothill (Century) 15-1 2. Newport Harbor (Sea View) 15-4 3. Capistrano Valley (S. Coast) 13-4-1 4. El Toro (South Coast) 14-4 5. Santa Margarita (Serra) 10-7 6. Laguna Beach (Pacific Coast) 15-4 7. Irvine (Sea View) 9-8 8. Marina (Sunset) 9-7-1 9. Edison (Sunset) 10-5 10. Los Alamitos (Sunset) 12-6

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