Dolley rises from the depths
By Tom Harshbarger
Daily Forty-Niner
The Long Beach State menís water polo
team has high expectations this year.
They have a new coach with years of international
experience and a bunch of talented athletes, including record-setting senior
Corey Dolley.
Dolley, 22, who plays the two-meter position,
recently tied former 49er and current U.S. National Team member Chi Kredell
for the all-time school career record for two-point goals.
"Corey can play defense as well as he
can play offense," LBSU Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo said.
Dolley has only been at LBSU for one year
and there are still at least 16 games left this season.
"I used to watch my brother play when
I was a kid," Dolley said. "The first thing I ever did when I picked up
a ball was score."
Dolley said he didnít begin playing organized
water polo until his freshman year in high school. Unlike Southern California,
he said there werenít any youth club teams in his hometown of San Ramon,
which is in the San Francisco Bay area.
Toward the end of his high school career,
Dolley said he had scholarship offers from several prominent schools, but
those offers fell through when his grades slipped.
Instead, Dolley went on to Diablo Valley
Junior College in Pleasant Hill. There, he said, he lost some of his desire
for the sport and needed a change.
"I didnít really feel like I was forwarding
my life at all," Dolley said. ěThen one day I got a call from Ken [Lindstrom,
the former 49er head coach], who said he was really interested in having
me come down to Long Beach."
Dolley said he has since refocused himself.
His coach agrees.
"Heís having fun out there this year,î
Azevedo said. ěHe's creating and going out there and making things happen.
î
He said he will play as long as he can, perhaps eventually in international
competition, but he does have plans for life after water polo.
An economics major, Dolley said if he
canít make a living as a water polo coach, he may go into mortgage banking.
He said he would rather coach, though.
"I can definitely see myself coaching,
so I can pass on what I know," Dolley said. "I sort of do that now. Some
of us older guys help out the freshmen [with their skills]."
With being frustrated with the 49ersí
inability so far to beat the top teams, Dolley placed most of the blame
on himself.
"I want to win," Dolley said. "I need
to step it up a little more, to be a leader on the team. I'm not doing
my team any good just standing around, letting somebody else do something."
Dolley said once he does step up and the
team gels a little more, he likes the 49ersí chances.
"Every team out there is saying 'watch
out for Long Beach,'" Dolley said. "They all know the potential is there,
we've just got to show them we can win." |