Wednesday, November 4, 1998
Young gun
Star water polo player shoots for improvement and team"s
success
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
None of his teammates or coaches want him to get his head up in
the clouds. After all, he"s only a sophomore and has more than two
years of NCAA eligibility. Two years is a long time for a team to
deal with anyone"s self-absorption. It"s a good thing he"s managed
to keep himself in check.
But when asked, they"ll admit it. Same with the coaches. Sean
Kern is good. Not just good, but exceptional.
Every sport has its bright young stars. Like comets and
eclipses, a water polo player like him only arrives on occasion
 a flash of promising greatness in a sea of talent. Excelling
in an already standout team makes him all the more worthy of
acclaim.
"He"s good at everything," assistant coach Adam Krikorian said.
"Sean can wear a lot of hats for us, playing offense or defense.
But what"s most impressive about him is his mental toughness.
Especially for a freshman last year and being still young this
year, his focus on the job that needs to get done right now, even
if he"s had a bad game. You just can"t rattle him."
Kern entered UCLA as a top national recruit, with many touting
him as one of the best high school players in years. While most
players in this sport redshirt their first collegiate year, he
jumped into his freshman competitive season and emerged as the
team"s leading scorer and an NCAA All-American.
His individual honors call for due credit, but they"ve been
possible in large part through a solid support system: his team.
Kern and fellow sophomore All-American Adam Wright have been
especially successful at play in dual combination.
"We have good chemistry in the pool," Wright said. "We know
where each of us are all the time and I definitely think we work
well together as diver and two-meterman."
Kern continues to lead the stat sheet with 33 goals scored thus
far in the season. The 6-foot-6 setter just keeps on
accelerating.
The fact that he came from an area with few reputable high
school water polo programs magnifies his achievements as a college
athlete.
"Having played in Hawaii, he came with a little bit of depth
sickness," said head coach Guy Baker. "There are only two good
programs there, and they only play each other two or three times a
year."
While the transition from playing three intense games a year to
playing dozens can be difficult to absorb, Kern didn"t take it as
an disadvantage, but as an opportunity to learn.
"Keeping that in mind I always looked forward to when I came
into college, because I would think guys from Hawaii would get more
out of a 26 game season than guys in California, who are used to
it. I think that part was an advantage to me because I improved
more so than if I had played in California all along."
The desire to better himself: like breathing, like living, it"s
a natural part of him. And Kern"s infatuation with progress is his
greatest attribute as an athlete.
"By the time polo players get to this age, they"re so set in
their ways that it"s hard to break habits," Baker said. "It usually
takes guys a long period of time to make adjustments to their
game.
"The key to Sean"s success is he"s so in tune with how to get
better and improve so quickly," Baker said.
"You can talk to him and make suggestions to change something.
Even after we watch videos, he"s instantly working on it in
practice. It"s so rare."
It"s one thing being physically gifted, but having the right
head to guide and exploit that talent is what sets realization
apart from potential. And Kern said he makes a conscious effort to
adapt.
"The way I see it," Kern said, "I"m going to do what I think
would be best in the pool. And then if Guy or Adam says try
something, and it works, I get it down through repetition."
"And it"s definitely an improving year," he added. "Guy"s taught
me a lot. And this year I feel so much better, just getting
comfortable with the school and my teammates."
Kern is all about advancing, and his current success carries
huge momentum toward the next step.
He"d like to eventually practice with the national team once the
NCAA season is over, but he and his team"s focus right now is in
winning every game on the schedule"s remainder.
Winning takes hard work, but the high he gets from the outcome
provides enough incentive for him to pay the price in those
grueling practice hours.
"What motivates me is the fun of the game," Kern said.
"It sounds kind of cheesy, but I get a lot of satisfaction out
of a win. I like seeing our team getting better, and as a young
team, we"re going to improve more and more in the next couple of
years.
"Regardless of individual recognition," he said, "I"m definitely
going to be a lot happier with this season if we win."PATIL
ARMENIAN
Sophomore Sean Kern is the leading scorer on the men"s water
polo team.
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