Coaches: The two men at the helm for the entirety of Drake's recent run of success have been Matt Swanson and Mark Anderson. For ten years, this coaching team has been leading, arguably, the most dominant high school sports program in Marin County history. For Swanson, who played water polo at UCLA, 2010 will be his second year as head coach. Anderson -- also the coach for the dominant Sleepy Hollow swim team -- is stepping back and has been reducing his role with the team in preparation for his son's arrival at Drake.
"I want somebody else to give him a hard time," Anderson said. "But seriously, we have a great coaching staff in place with Matt."
Highlights of the 2009 Season: The first decade of the century was a dominant one for Drake's boys water polo team. They won nine MCAL championships between 2000 and 2009. That means that the Pirates have been the best team in Marin County all but one year out of the last ten – an unbelievable run for any team at any level.
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Final 2009 MCAL standing: The Pirates finished last season with a 15-10 record. They were MCAL champions and made it to the second round of the North Coast Section playoffs before being eliminated by the East Bay powerhouse Monte Vista. Robbie Justice, who will be playing for UC Davis this fall, received Player of the Year honors in MCAL.
Returning Players: The 2010 team has four returning MCAL All League players. Seniors Chase Jarrett and Damon Pogoncheff are coming off great seasons in which they earned first and second team all MCAL honors, respectively. Jon Bevilacqua and Will Sale, both juniors, are also returning from All League campaigns.
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For most ordinary teams, in any sport, returning four All League players would ensure big things for the season. For the Drake team, such a high level of talent has become routine. Five of the last six MCAL players of the year have been Drake students. Since 2004, Drake water polo players have earned All League honors a remarkable 37 times.
Coming off yet another MCAL championship and the graduation of the league's best player, Swanson has tempered his expectations for the up coming season.
"Going into a season we usually expect to win MCAL," Swanson said. This year, however, things are a little up in the air. "We are going to be a very young team." This team will feature many players from last year's very solid JV squad.
"It's the kind of year where we won't really know what we have until we have practiced for a couple of weeks," Swanson said. Despite their relative youth, the Pirates will once again be loaded with talent and are expecting great things.
Pogoncheff agreed with Swanson assessment of the season adding that it might be the teams' chemistry that is their strongest point. "This a very tight knit group and I believe our playing will be a reflection of that," he said.
The team's impressive history motivates its current squad to work hard and win. "Because of our legacy, my expectations, as with the rest of the team's, are high, and we hope to contend well in both MCAL and NCS play and continue our tradition," Pogoncheff said.
This year Drake will face strong competition from their MCAL opponents. Marin Catholic, which always fields a strong team, will have the best player in the county, according to Swanson. Tam will improve after a solid 2009 campaign. Terra Linda will also be a contender, with one of the emerging squads in MCAL.
Regardless, as back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back defending champions, the path to the MCAL pendant will go through the Drake pool -- again.
