Oda, Jones are
cool in the poolThe Iolani teammates are
two reasons why Iolani is a
contender for ILH water polo title
Paul Newman was "Cool Hand Luke," but an Iolani water polo player is plain old "Cool Luke."
Not that Luke Oda is extra hip around campus, but he happens to like the cooling effect the pool has on his body.
As a matter of fact, when he arrived for an interview in the stifling heat of an Iolani office, Oda immediately sat as close as he could to an air conditioner. It was is if he needed to get into the pool right away and dispense of anything to do with dry land.
"I hate land sports," Oda said. "I did them when I was a kid, but now it's just water polo and swimming."
There is one area where Oda and fellow Raiders senior Damon Jones are red hot and that's in their ability to lead the team toward its ultimate goal, which is an ILH championship.
Earlier in the year, Iolani beat three-time defending champion Punahou in a match for the first time since 1999. The Buffanblu evened the score last week and Punahou won the regular-season championship last night 5-4.
Tonight, the postseason tournament begins, with the final set for Friday. Iolani and Punahou are expected to meet again in that one, and if Iolani wins then another match will be held next Tuesday for the overall title.
Oda and Jones have been teammates and the best of friends since first grade. Oda is a driver and Jones plays 2-meter offense and 2-meter defense.
"Jones is tall and lanky and a good swimmer and he's solid at either position," Raiders coach Mark Cornish said. "When he gets the ball on offense, the other team is forced to drop back, but he's probably a better defensive player and does a great job guarding the guy on the other team who's playing two-meter offense.
"Oda (the team's top scorer) is quick and good at stealing and has a good sense of the game. He's very versatile, knows what to do in most situations and can see mismatches and take advantage of them. Out of the water, he's not very vocal, but in the water he's always showing the other guys how they might be able to do certain things better."
Both Jones and Oda want to play collegiately at the Division-I level. Jones is trying to get into Air Force Academy. Oda is looking at going to Santa Clara (Calif.), where his brother Mark plays.
Cornish, Jones and Oda feel like they played their worst match of the season in the loss to Punahou and are focused on going all the way.
"When we beat them the first time, it was awesome because we hadn't beaten them since I've been on the team," Oda said.
Jones' favorite part of playing water polo is the team game.
"When the entire team plays as one, you can really feel it because everything goes right. It's an amazing thing," he said.
Oda likes the mental part.
"It's just a fun game because you have to rely on other people and use your brain and your physical skills," he said.
Oda and Jones are senior advisors for the school's chess club, so they're both into tactical mental combat. Oda admits Jones is a little bit more skilled in chess, but Jones probably doesn't realize he has one major advantage.
It's a land activity.
