Sagehorn Taps Into His Love of Water

It doesn’t take a pool party or luau at the beach to guarantee Matt Sagehorn’s presence, but having a water theme sure helps.

“Anything that’s in the water, I’m into,” he said.

Sagehorn has taken his passion for water sports to an elite level.

He’s the latest standout water polo player at Long Beach Wilson, which has won eight of the last nine Southern Section Division I championships and is seeded No. 1 in this year’s tournament.

He has become an expert at kite surfing -- riding a board while being pulled along by a kite.

Then there’s good old regular surfing.

“I’ve been surfing since I was 8,” he said. “That’s 10 years of surfing, and I absolutely love it. My mom tries to ban me from surfing during the [water polo] season.”

Mom would have to get up at 5 a.m. to prevent Sagehorn from heading to Sunset Beach in Orange County for a little surfing before school.

If water doesn’t provide enough inspiration, there’s always music. Sagehorn played piano and violin for years but has settled on bass guitar and is a member of the Wilson jazz band.

Of course, he also saves time for studying, since he has a 3.5 grade-point average and is being pursued by Stanford, USC, UCLA, California and UC Santa Barbara.

Water polo, though, is what he’ll be known for over the next decade, because whether he’s playing at the collegiate level or for the U.S. national team, he’ll be a force.

At 6 feet 2 and 185 pounds, the senior is an athlete extraordinaire.

“If there’s any sport in the water, Matt would excel at it,” Wilson Coach Tony Martinho said.

Sagehorn used to be a shortstop when he played baseball and had to choose a sport to pursue once he entered high school.

“It came down to whatever I felt like,” he said. “I felt more natural in the water.”

Sagehorn is one of the most feared scorers in the high school ranks. He had five goals and six steals in last year’s Division I final, a 13-11 victory over Santa Ana Foothill.

Besides being a good swimmer, he has a sixth sense when it comes to deciding where to place the ball on a shot at the goal.

“It’s more reading what the goalie is doing, being aware of your surroundings, being able to process what you see and adjust,” he said.

Added Martinho: “He’s got a great feel for the angle of the cage and what weakness a goalie has.”

One of the best water polo matches of the season took place Oct. 18, when Wilson defeated Foothill, 10-9, in a rematch of last year’s final. Sagehorn faced his junior world teammate, J.W. Krumpholz.

The two engaged in the usual under-the-water tussles, with elbows flying.

“He caught me a couple times and I caught him,” Sagehorn said. “We shook hands and laughed about the game.”

The two spent several weeks together this year in Argentina, where they represented the United States in the FINA junior world championships.

They are considered the Southland’s top two college prospects.

If they play again in a rematch, be prepared for another epic struggle.

“Anything goes underwater,” Sagehorn said. “And whatever the ref can’t see, you have to be able to take it and not lose your composure.”

Whatever happens in the pool, good or bad, Sagehorn moves on because there’s always another wave to catch, another song to write and another day to live in the life of a teenager motivated to succeed.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com