DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.

— John Wooden

On most occasions, Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo coach Aaron Chaney will use a quote to motivate his players.

Several of them come from UCLA’s legendary coach John Wooden. Call it a coincidence, but Corona del Mar senior Heather Van Hiel can certainly identify with UCLA. She recently committed to play water polo for the Bruins.

She might actually get to meet the man they call the Wizard of Westwood and find out about the man who coined the Pyramid of Success.

Most NCAA championship teams at UCLA meet Wooden and spend a day with him at his house. NCAA titles for the UCLA women’s water polo program are not foreign. They must know how to get to Wooden’s house without needing directions.

The Bruins have won four straight NCAA championships and six overall.

But before Van Hiel can start thinking about Wooden or an NCAA championship ring, she has her mind set on helping bring Corona del Mar its first CIF Southern Section Division I title.

This is the Sea Kings’ third year in CIF Division I. Before, they won five straight section titles.

Sure it would be a great story of redemption to tell if Corona del Mar wins the CIF title this season. The Sea Kings lost a three-goal, fourth-quarter lead to Back Bay rival Newport Harbor in the championship match last year.

But the truth is, the Sea Kings have a goal for a CIF title each year.

Last year, many were surprised to see such a young team on the brink of winning it all. So, the CdM girls all know they won’t sneak up on anyone this year.

“I feel that there’s always pressure on every team to do well,” Van Hiel said earlier this season. “But I think being at the top, and Coach says this too, there is a target on our backs and we have to work that much harder. But we’re not scared of anything. We’re going to come out hard no matter what. That’s our outlook on it.”

Van Hiel has certainly started strong for the Sea Kings, who are undefeated at 6-0 and are expected to be the top-ranked team in CIF Division I in the upcoming coaches’ poll.

Maybe they’ll finish the season undefeated like the Bruins en route to their fourth straight NCAA title.

But, Van Hiel is not thinking that far into the future. She’s listening to the motivational quotes from Chaney, who holds his players to a high standard, Van Hiel said.

That’s why it was important for the Sea Kings to beat Newport Harbor last week. It wasn’t so much for revenge, but it was more to make a statement that they are the better team.

In that CdM victory, a 6-3 win Dec. 19, Van Hiel led the Sea Kings with five steals, two assists and one goal. The next day, she had three goals, two assists and one steal in a 9-3 win against El Toro at the Santa Margarita Water Polo Extravaganza.

But Van Hiel and the Sea Kings will need to make a stronger statement as the season progress.

Their next challenge comes next week at the Holiday Cup.

“We still have a lot to work on,” Van Hiel said.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].