The Coach For Every Season

Coming off back-to-back state championships, outside expectations were high this season for the SBCC women’s water polo team, but, in reality, there was a lot of room to grow. 

Led by legendary aquatics coach Brian “Chuckie” Roth, the Vaqueros kept building all the way to the state championship match, but fell short of the ultimate goal with an 11-6 loss to Long Beach City College.

“At the beginning of the year, I’m not sure we were in the top four to be honest with you. We had a lot of learning to do.” Roth said. “We had some areas of growth and so the girls really buckled down and did a really good job of that.”

The Vaqueros were able to rely on a strong group sophomores, including Cate Daland, Maddie Myers, Lily Carrick, Esther Sullivan, Erin Otsuki, Addie Lane, Kate Densmore, Taylor Classen, and Sofia Paez, who were a part of last season’s state championship team and helped to boost the development of the team as a whole.

Lane and Daland were stalwart offensively and led the team with 99 and 97 goals respectively for the season. Defensively, goalkeeper Densmore has displayed consistent excellence the last two seasons.

“I think I have a really special group of young women. They work incredibly hard, and they are extremely dedicated,” Roth said. “If you have to move practice the day before because of some kind of obstacle or pool closure, they are always game. There’s no excuses.”

Roth credits assistant coach Paige Treloar-Ballard for helping him in identifying and recruiting talented athletes of high character, which has led to the unprecedented success that SBCC has experienced over the past several years.

SBCC is 78-2 in Western State Conference play during Roth’s ten-year tenure and have captured ten consecutive WSC Championships in the process.

“I think it’s just consistency. Chuckie has really high standards of what he expects,” said SBCC Athletic Director LaDeane Hansten of the SBCC water polo program’s continued success. “[Roth] does an excellent job of recruiting kids that buy into the high expectations of his program.”

One of the key indicators of the team’s growth this season was its competitive matchups against four-year universities over the course of the season. The Vaqueros defeated Concordia, Biola, and NCAA Division 1 Cal State Fullerton at the midseason SBCC Arena Invitational.

“We played against NCAA Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 opponents and did really well,” Roth said. “As the season progressed, it was obvious that we would have a chance.”

The opportunity for a CCCAA State Championship three-peat was still very much alive when the Vaqueros began their postseason run.

SBCC captured a key 8-7 victory in the semifinals of the SoCal regional over Riverside Community College (RCC). RCC defeated the Vaqueros twice previously in the season, but SBCC came out on top when it mattered the most. Lane scored three goals, while Jada Ashen and Lily Carrick each had two.

“That was a really pivotal game. That was a must win situation, because if we had lost that game we would have had to play Long Beach in the semifinals of State,” Roth said. “By winning that game, it put us on opposite sides of the bracket and really helped us out.”

At the State Tournament, SBCC defeated San Joaquin Delta 12-9 in the quarterfinals and West Valley 10-8 in the semifinals.

In the Championship game against Long Beach, SBCC hung tough early trailing 5-4 at halftime, but struggled to keep pace in the second half enroute to an 11-6 loss. 

“As it turns out, we had one bad quarter,” Roth said. “Long Beach is really good, and I think at some point you have to step back and be realistic about some things.”

Now Roth will make the transition to high school water polo where he guides the powerhouse San Marcos High program. 

Two of Roth’s high school players at San Marcos — Charlotte Raisin and Lucy Haaland-Ford — are competing with the United State National Team and won the gold medal at the Pan American Championships in Colombia.

The United States completed their conquest with an 18-5 victory over Argentina in the Championship game.

“Haaland-Ford and Raisin have had a lot of opportunities present themselves recently, but they work incredibly hard as well and they deserve all the accolades they get. They really are hardworking dedicated young women,” Roth said. “It’s fun to watch them succeed at that level, but we have to balance that with our high school season.

“You want to help these kids pursue their dreams at the highest level, so you find a way to make it work. The team is very accommodating, and they understand.”