Coach Everist Becomes Captain Kirk

What do you do when your opponents reach new heights of intimidation?

You turn to your leaders.

And what do they do?

They switch sides.

The Cal men's water polo team will be feeling the sharp pain of loneliness when Bears coach Kirk Everist, a water polo Olympian, former NCAA National Player of the Year and Berkeley alum, forsakes his players in Saturday's alumni game.

Last season, Everist didn't have this opportunity, which makes him all the more excited this year.

"I'm getting in for sure," says Everist. "These jokers can coach themselves."

Assistant coach Gavin Arroyo-Cal's other Olympian water polo coach-will also be playing with the alumni.

The remaining assistant coach, Boyd Lachance, will also not be available for the young Bears-he will be honeymooning.

So with 43 testosterone-filled young men and no coach, the youth will take on the formidable powers of Everist and his teammates. But they aren't letting it get to their heads.

"We're gonna take it to 'em," says co-captain Greg Panawek, a 6-foot-8, 215 pound two-meter-man. "Bring the pain."

But taking it to Olympians can be tough, especially with Everist in his game-time mindset.

"I'm going for the hat trick," he says. Surely, three goals won't be that hard for this water polo guru and pride of Cal's past. But will Everist's tutelage come back to haunt him?

Besides his outstanding playing career, Everist also boasts an impressive coaching career stemming from his Miramonte High School tenure during which he pumped out 22 All-Americans-including current Golden Bears Joe Born, Derek Schaufler, and Greg Panawek-and eight CIF North Coast championships.

Everist plans on distinguishing his coaching career even further by creating a world class program and a family.

"I'm here because I feel that I owe a lot to this program," says Everist, who hopes that the newly established alumni game will reunite old friends and reestablish connections with boosters.

With big names like Rick Cronk, former CEO of Dreyer's Ice Cream, backing the Cal men's water polo program, the boosters' side of the family seems secure.

On the players' side of Everist's family, a nice start in 2002 led the Bears to a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship and a second place finish in the NCAAs.

"Its all about a continuance of a standard tough, hard-nose attitude over the years," says Panawek, who suffered minor shoulder problems during the offseason, but now is excited to put his latent energies to work against his predecessors. "We're in this together, and the alumni game is a chance to remember that."

Panawek isn't shying away from anyone in the family, like everyone's awkward family reunion. He's always willing to talk to the weird uncle.

"Its more than just Kirk, its Stoddard and all the guys. I want a piece of it all," says Panawek. "It's all in good fun though."

Though the team is getting pumped up for this rare match, they all agree that this game is about having fun.

"Saturday's all about having a good time," says goalie Derek Schaufler. "I'm just looking to have fun, enjoy the sun and chow at the barbeque."

Panawek holds his perspective, though and, like most of his teammates, he insists he'll enjoy staying in touch with the program for years to come.

"The alumni game is a chance for the (younger) guys to have some fun and meet some of the older players and to get those older players back involved with the program," says Everist. "It's a chance to come out and have some fun without a whole lot of pressure on anyone."

The excitement of the alumni game will begin at 12:15, following scrimmages against local rivals Pacific, UC Davis, and Stanford.

The games start at 8:00 a.m. when the Bears take on the Tigers. Immediately after, Stanford takes on UC Davis which boasts a former Cal water polo player as their head coach at 8:40 a.m. The remainder of the tournament schedule is as follows-UC Davis-Cal at 9:20 a.m., Pacific-Stanford at 10 a.m., Pacific- UC Davis at 10:40 a.m., and Stanford- Cal at 11:20 a.m.

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