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Tuesday, August 15, 2000
Kern making Life's been playing at warp speed for Sean Kern.
a splash for U.S.
Dedication and hard work
Muhammad fails to qualify for U.S. team
has earned the Punahou grad
a spot on the Olympic
water polo teamBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinHe was saying on the phone from Irvine, Calif., yesterday that it seems to him like yesterday that he was playing for Punahou's perennial water polo championship team. Just like yesterday that he was swimming the 100-yard back stroke for the school, winning two state titles and setting a state record.
He still uses his powerful back stroke. It helped him win collegiate water polo's equivalent of the Heisman after only three seasons at UCLA. It helped him make the U.S. national squad last year, and most recently helped him secure a berth on the Olympic team leaving for Sydney in just 26 days.
Even Kern is stunned by the rapid development of his career in the pool.
"My thoughts were originally for 2004," said the 22-year-old Kern. "Coming out of Punahou I didn't know what I was up against. I hadn't planned on this.
"But as time progressed, my game improved and I understood what the coaches wanted. It (Olympics) seemed more like a realistic goal."
He said another Punahou alumnus was an inspiration -- three-time Olympic water polo goalie Chris Duplanty, who is now an assistant coach with the U.S. women's team.
Head coach John Vargas officially announced Kern as a member of the U.S. team on Aug. 9 in Budapest.
That same day, he experienced one of his biggest thrills in Olympic-level competition.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound utility player scored a goal in an 8-7 exhibition upset of highly favored Hungary. The game was on Hungarian TV.
The Hungarians, who have a record six gold medals in the Olympics, are favored by many to win gold again this year.
"It (the goal) was off the counter-attack," said Kern. "I kind of slid into set, and had the ball dumped into me from the wing. Their goalie came out to steal it and I lobbed it over his head."
The win meant even more in light of the fact that the U.S. will open competition on Sept. 23 in Hungary's bracket .
"It's good to get something to build off of in our training over the next couple of weeks," said Kern. "The last time we beat Hungary was definitely before my time."
The win over Hungary followed a disastrous last-place finish in a tournament in Genoa, Italy.
Besides Hungary, other nations in hot contention for gold in Sydney are Croatia, Spain, Italy and Russia.
"I'd say the U.S. could finish anywhere between first and eighth," said Kern.
"It's that even down there."
The last time the U.S. medaled in water polo was 1988 when Duplanty shared the silver.
Kern said Punahou prepared him to play at the Division I college level. But no prep program could've prepared him for the underwater street fighting at the international level.
College play in the 2-meter area made him glad he had size. But in international competition, Kern found that size wasn't enough.
Kern said an increased emphasis on lifting and squatting helps a player survive at his level.
"One thing that's helped is the squatting," he said. "The stronger your legs, the more stable you are in the water, the more balance you have."
International water polo is more brutal than the collegiate or prep versions, and the most brutal activity takes place below the surface, right in front of the goal.
"They grab anything they can, especially the suit," said Kern.
"They always go for the 'family jewels.' If you can imagine, you're facing outward and if the guy behind you loses position as the last line of defense, he can just reach around."
Kern said the U.S. doesn't use protective cups, although he thinks Germany and some other teams have done so.
Olympic Profile
Sean Kern
Sydney 2000 Olympics
