By Matt Schwab

Fresh off a strong performance at the Cesar Chavez Tournament at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, the Las Positas College men's water polo team is feeling positive heading into Coast Conference play this week.

The Hawks (11-8) beat three opponents down south and dropped a memorable international game against Jalisco U20 of Mexico, 14-13. The wins came against host Southwestern, 13-10, El Camino, 18-14, and Grossmont, 12-7. The Hawks travel to Cabrillo in their Coast opener on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

"This is by far the best team we've had in the history of our program," said Las Positas coach Jason Craighead, referencing the strong cast of newcomers and capable returners. "It's an interesting conglomeration of athletes from all over, and it's coming together real well."

Things are so good that Las Positas has designs on a high finish in conference play — State No. 2 ranked West Valley is the big favorite in the Coast.

"We're looking to get second in conference," Craighead said. "A win would be out of the ordinary, to say the least, but we're looking to get second in conference and definitely advance to the NorCal Playoffs and see what happens from there."

Craighead explains that part of the reason for the uptick this season is "a refection of our program and how we operate," which attracts quality recruits.

Key competitors can be found up and down the roster. Goalie Quentin Perry out of Liberty High-Brentwood is looking great after making first-team All-Northern California last year. His twin brother, Zach Perry, had a phenomenal Cesar Chavez tournament highlighted by five goals, three steals and three assists against Southwestern. On the week he totaled 12 goals, six assists, eight steals and four field blocks.

"Zach really had two outstanding games where he was our leading scorer, which is usually not his thing," Craighead said. "He's always always a contributor, but he contributed (goals) when we needed him to."

A host of former Liberty teammates are partnering with the Perry brothers at the Livermore college, also including with Kyle Young, Ryan Lichlyter, Cade Venables, and Zach Ulrich. Lichlyter, a freshman, is a big hole-set contributor.

"Our whole starting group is worth mentioning," Craighead said. "On any given day any one of them can take a lead role. That's one of the fun things of coaching; we have a good, deep team. We have good rotational players coming in even off the bench, so as teams try to focus on any one or two of our outstanding players, there's another one or two that will step right into that role.

"It's really difficult for other teams to shut everybody down because somebody is going to have a good game," he continued.

Even in losses against quality opponents, the Hawks are making a mark. They lost just 12-10 to Diablo Valley and led Sierra for a while before losing 21-13.

"We kind of ran out of steam (against Sierra), but we're definitely turning some heads," Craighead shared. "We got nods for Top 10 in the state when were they were doing their first coaches' polls. We got a few votes — we didn't make the Top 10, but we got a few votes to have us in the Top 10, and that's the first time that's ever happened."

Las Positas trains hard but has a lot of fun too — the good-natured atmosphere a reflection of the program's family-oriented approach and the players' personalities.

"If you can't enjoy what you're doing as a coach and you can't enjoy what you're doing as a player, why are you doing it?" said Craighead of the mindset.

He's in his fourth season as a head coach at the college after helping start the program as an assistant in 2015.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE: Craighead described the game against Jalisco in glowing terms. "That was an awesome experience … Their coach was also their Olympic team and National coach, and it was quite an honor (facing them). It was a different style of play, a little bit different. It was a fantastic experience for our guys. We took a picture with their team."