DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Earlier this season, Zach Lucas was stuck in an awkward situation.

The 17-year-old describes himself as energetic. Being shy? That’s not him. Timid? No way.

So it was weird for him to be so hesitant at the start of the season with the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team.

“Earlier in the year, I was kind of timid,” Lucas said. “The varsity level is just so much more intense. So much more is expected out of you.”

As the season has progressed, Lucas has loosened up. He’s not scared. As a driver for the Sailors and the team’s fastest swimmer, he’s been a big reason Newport Harbor believes it can repeat as CIF Southern Section Division I champion.

Lucas certainly wasn’t shy last weekend, helping lead the Sailors to the championship of the Memorial Cup Invitational in San Jose. The Newport Harbor junior really came out of his shell while at Bellarmine College Preparatory.

He totaled 19 steals, 10 assists and nine goals in the Sailors’ four wins at the tournament. The final victory was special for Lucas. Against previously unbeaten Miramonte, he recorded five steals, three goals and three assists. His goal with 16 seconds left in regulation tied the game, 11-11, and sent it into overtime.

In the second overtime period, Lucas provided an assist to Jack Yeager, who scored the game-winner with one second left that gave the Sailors a 13-12 victory.

“That helped me a lot confidence-wise,” Lucas said of the win against Miramonte, which dropped to 22-1. “That showed me that against a good team I can step up. That was a big game for me.”

Newport Harbor Coach Jason Lynch had a good feeling Lucas’ game would rise. Lynch says Lucas works hard and he’s the fastest swimmer among the Sailors. Lucas’ speed has helped him lead Newport Harbor (20-6) in steals. He has 75, averaging nearly three per game. David Linden is second on the team with 50 steals.

Lucas also has 42 goals and 42 assists. Of course there was concern at the beginning of the season, but Lucas has ended all those fears.

“He was struggling for a bit,” Lynch said. “He was on the varsity team last year, but he didn’t ever really play. He’s a very hard worker and our fastest swimmer by far. He’s definitely grown over the past year ... Hopefully he keeps growing and developing.”

Lynch has enjoyed the timing of Lucas’ breakout play most of all. The Sailors close out the regular season today at home against The Bishops and begin the playoffs next week. They will learn of their opening-round opponent Sunday when the playoff pairings are released by the CIF Southern Section.

“We’re eager to play the better teams now,” Lucas said. “We want to challenge ourselves now and play the best competition.”

Lucas and the Sailors are anxious because they think the race for the CIF Division I title is wide open. They’ll most likely be dealt the No. 3 seed, after finishing second in the Sunset League behind Los Alamitos.

But the Sailors are determined to show they can defend their CIF title. Lynch provided that mentality from the outset of the season. He told his players to strive for above-average grades in the classroom, Lucas said. But that wasn’t enough. He also wanted the players to have the look of a champion. He told each player to wear a collared shirt every day to school.

“Going into this year we knew we had to work a lot harder,” Lucas said. “We’ve been working since January of last year. We’ve worked twice as hard. Expectations for grades and appearance have gone up ... We try to raise our game in every aspect.”

Lucas has been raising his game this season, but not just this year. He’s been trying to improve ever since he started playing the sport seven years ago. He has his sisters and friends to thank for getting him into the sport.

His oldest sister, Kamy, played water polo at Newport Harbor, as did Kally, who went on to compete at USC for two seasons and has now chosen to be solely a student. They were friends with Jessica Ball, who also played for the Sailors. Ball’s parents, David and Cheryl, are close friends with Lucas’ parents, Kent and Mary Pat, and told their kids to try water polo.

Lucas is thankul for that. He said he loves the sport and wants to play in college. If he does make it, he’ll point to his junior year at as the season in which he broke out.

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