Derse Was a Near-Perfect 10 While at Ventura

VENTURA —  For a guy who was nearly cut from the freshman basketball team and almost denied a swim tryout, three-sport athlete Mike Derse certainly made a lasting impression at Ventura High.

The coaches who doubted Derse four years ago now stand in awe of the academically gifted, multitalented athlete who is headed to Stanford to play water polo.

“What a kid,” said Dan Larson, basketball coach at Ventura. “He’s got to be one of the top guys who ever went through here.”

Derse, 18, is not your average athlete. Or student. Or teenager, for that matter.

He is among the few athletes selected all-region in three sports by The Times, earning recognition in water polo, basketball and swimming as a senior.

In addition, he was the Southern Section Division I breaststroke champion and the Division IV co-player of the year in water polo.

In four years, Derse collected 10 varsity letters.

“If he would have walked up to the volleyball coach, they could have turned him into a volleyball player,” said Joe Abing, the swimming and water polo coach at Ventura. “I really think he would have excelled at any sport.”

Derse’s work in the classroom was just as impressive.

He never received a grade lower than A in high school, finishing with a 4.4 grade-point average. He dabbled in student government and found time for community service.

“Playing sports helps you budget your time better,” Derse said. “I knew I had to practice, so I knew I had to [budget time] for homework. It was just a routine.”

His extraordinary achievements earned him a $7,500 college scholarship from America’s Dairy Farmers and Milk Processors, who selected him as one of their Scholar-Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year award winners. He was pictured recently along with 24 other national winners in a two-page advertisement in Sports Illustrated.

National recognition is the latest in a string of surprises Derse has produced since entering high school.

Even Derse could not have predicted how his athletic career would evolve at Ventura.

He grew up swimming and playing baseball.

But by eighth grade, Derse said he “burned out” as a swimmer, had a growth spurt and became interested in basketball.

He soon was convinced that basketball was his calling, but that wasn’t immediately obvious to everyone.

“At freshman tryouts, he was awful,” said Larson, who has coached at Ventura for 11 years. “All my lower-level coaches voted to cut him.”

But at the insistence of Larson’s wife, who coached Derse in elementary school and spotted his potential, Derse made the team.

After basketball season, Derse figured he would join the swim team to stay in shape. Although he showed up several days after the tryout, Abing reluctantly allowed Derse to jump in the pool and show him some strokes.

Within minutes, Derse made the varsity and competed in the backstroke and individual medley for the Cougars.

Throughout the spring and into summer, Abing encouraged Derse to try water polo. Derse wasn’t interested, but Abing persisted.

“I just wanted him to give it a chance,” Abing said. “I knew if I could get him out there a few times, it’s such a fun sport, he would get excited about it.”

Not only did the lanky Derse enjoy the game, he was a perfect fit.

After one season of water polo, basketball became almost an afterthought.

The summer before his junior year, Derse told Larson he was considering quitting basketball so he could concentrate on water polo.

“At that point, we just kind of agreed that he would play the best [basketball] he could and when he could,” Larson said.

“He passed up a lot to play basketball. But that’s the kind of guy Mike is. He realized the team kind of needed him.”

As a senior last season, the 6-foot-3 Derse averaged 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds.

After basketball, Derse joined the swim team and was switched from the backstroke to the breaststroke by Abing.

It was a stroke of genius.

“He has incredibly strong legs, which is great for water polo,” Abing said. “[It allows] him to extend out of the water. And the egg-beater kick [in water polo] is a replica of the breaststroke kick.”

Derse exceeded Abing’s expectations by winning the Division I title in the 100-yard breaststroke in 58.40 seconds, nearly a second faster than his closest challenger.

Derse has maintained his busy schedulethis summer.

On a typical day, while most teenagers are asleep, Derse rises at 5:45 a.m. to lift weights. Two hours later, he heads to his job writing software programs and maintaining a Web page for a manufacturing company.

After work, he dashes home to have dinner with his family. By 5:30, he’s out the door again, headed to UC Santa Barbara for water polo practice with other college-bound players.

Although Derse acknowledges his schedule is exhausting, he doesn’t complain.

“I have the weekends to rest,” he said.