La Canada’s Naeve Feeling Right at Home in Orange County

Larry Naeve doesn’t own any property in Orange County, doesn’t have any relatives in the area and isn’t fond of the traffic. But he sure spends a lot of time there.

Naeve is boys’ water polo coach at La Canada High, which debuted today at No. 10 in The Times’ coaches’ poll. The Spartans (5-4) are a regular in the Southern Section Division III rankings but a stranger to most teams in their division, which includes primarily the San Gabriel Valley and South Bay areas.

“We still haven’t played a home game this season,” Naeve said. “I like to play water polo in Orange County. We can play in better pools and against better teams.”

La Canada reached the final of the Villa Park tournament Saturday, losing, 14-4, to San Diego Section power La Jolla The Bishop’s. Naeve, however, wasn’t around to watch. He was in Princeton, N.J., at another water polo tournament involving his son, Brendan, who is team captain at Navy.

But Naeve is expected to be at poolside today, when the Spartans return to Orange County to play Anaheim Servite, the second-ranked team in the region and in Southern Section Division II.

La Canada, ranked fifth in Division III heading into last week, has benefited from its difficult nonleague schedule in the past, winning Southern Section titles two of the last four seasons.

The Spartans start five seniors, led by Matt Yang, who averages five goals a game. Naeve has a wealth of experience as well, having coached at La Canada from 1974-80 before taking 15 years off. He returned in 1995, when Brendan was a sophomore.

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Hair today: La Canada players have been known to show their team unity in a unique way. Two years ago, when the Spartans won the Division III title, team members showed up at the championship game with their hair dyed red. Another season, it was polka-dotted hair. This year, they have abandoned artificial colors and simply let their hair grow out.

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No respect: Riverside Poly broke into the top 10 last week after placing ninth at the prestigious South Coast tournament. Now, the eighth-ranked Bears are preparing for a 1 p.m. nonleague game Saturday against Whittier La Serna, the top-ranked team in Southern Section Division III.

Poly is top-ranked in Division V, a region that includes schools from Riverside to Indio. It’s probably the least competitive division in the Southern Section. The Bears won the division title over Palm Desert, 25-8, last season and have reached the semifinals or final each of the last five seasons.

“We’re a little better than last year,” said Poly’s Mark Colwell, the Division V coach of the year last season. “We returned a lot of players.”

The Bears are led by Eric Qualls, a Division V first-team selection last season, second-team pick Mike Looy and goalkeeper Casey Finrock. Their only loss this season was to Newport Beach Corona del Mar, the top-ranked team in the region, in the South Coast tournament.

Colwell said it’s difficult getting the attention and building the reputation that many teams in Orange County enjoy. He tries to schedule as many Orange County teams as possible, but transportation costs keep Poly close to home.

Likewise, he said, many top teams don’t schedule Poly because they can find quality opponents without having to travel so far.