Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Peter Belden: Skimming the

surface.

Barry Faulkner

If he entered the pool tucked like a cannon ball, Newport Harbor

High’s Peter Belden might make a noticeable splash. But, as the action

unfolds during any Sailor water polo game, it quickly becomes apparent

the 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior creates waves big enough to submerge even

the most formidable opponent.

“We match Peter up with the other team’s best guy, no matter who he is,”

Newport Co-coach Brian Kreutzkamp said. “Against Coronado, Peter was on

Jesse Smith, who is on our junior national team. Jesse is almost a foot

taller and outweighs (Belden) by about 50 or 60 pounds. But he scored

zero goals against Peter.”

Belden, surprisingly strong for his size, more than holds his own with a

superior motor, as well as a seasoned mind.

The defensive darter, who also uses his speed to excel as a driver and

part-time two-meter man, scored seven goals, amassed 12 steals and

distributed five assists in a pair of season-opening sudden-death

overtime victories last week over Long Beach Wilson and Coronado.

“He’s been playing since he was 10 years old and he’s been playing with

the varsity since the day he walked in the door here,” Kreutzkamp said of

the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, who combines speed, savvy and

accomplished skill to outduel larger opponents.

“I totally rely on quickness and speed,” said Belden, who is a big reason

the Sailors (3-0 heading into Friday) are ranked No. 1 in Orange County.

“And, I try to anticipate as much as I can. I’m usually going against

bigger guys, so I have to try to out think them.”

His high steal totals indicate he is often a pass ahead of the

competition and, Kreutzkamp believes, his rare aquatic agility enables

him to make up for the infrequent occasions his rival beats him to the

punch.

“When you line him up on the starting blocks, he’s fast,” Kreutzkamp

said. “He qualified for CIF in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle the last

two years. “But he’s also tremendously quick and has fast hands. For six

strokes, in any direction, it’s tough to find anyone quicker.”

Belden is so valuable to the Tars, he played each of the nearly 71

minutes it took to fend off Wilson and Coronado, ranked No. 1 in Los

Angeles and San Diego counties, respectively.

Against Wilson, he had enough energy to break free in the first minute of

sudden death, drawing a defender to allow Brandon Hanson to score the

game-winner.

Against Coronado, Belden scored with seven seconds left in the second

three-minute overtime to force sudden death, then fired in a four-meter

penalty shot, ending the contest just less than three minutes into the

decisive session.

“We can’t expect him to guard the other team’s best guy and set two

meters,” Kreutzkamp said. “But he’s a go-to guy on offense for us, even

though he only sets about four or five times a game. We let him shoot our

penalty shots, because he’s able to stay calm and cool and separate

himself from the game in those situations.”

Belden’s speed helps him separate from defenders, and makes him a

dangerous weapon on counterattacks.

“He has what I call a small bag of tricks,” Kreutzkamp said. “He can

shoot with the left or right hand, he has a good lob shot and he has a

quick release. He can pull off a lot of shots.”

Still, Belden, echoing the defensive emphasis Sailors Co-coach Bill

Barnett has preached for decades, considers himself a more a defensive

player than an offensive weapon.

Belden’s contribution also includes leadership, though he’s only a

junior.

“We lost a lot of seniors last year, so I’m trying to be a leader this

year,” said Belden, whose father, Dwight, played collegiately at UCLA and

UCI and whose younger sister Katherine was a freshman starter on last

year’s CIF champion Newport girls squad.

“Those wins last week were definitely confidence builders,” Belden said.

“But we can’t get big-headed yet.”