Colby Watson, Men's Water Polo

There is a buzz surrounding the Orange Coast College pool deck for the 2013 men's water polo season and freshman utility player Colby Watson is excited to be a part of it.

Head coach Adam Lee is bringing together some of the top recruits in the area, including Watson, who flourished as a three-year letterman and two-year starter for Corona del Mar High School. As a Sea King, Watson was a part of the 2010 CIF championship club and in 2011 and 2012, he was a two-time, all-league selection and a 2012 All-American.

With four-year school offers on the table -- including one from the University of Southern California, Watson was ready to become a Trojan.

"I was verbally committed to enroll at USC but my grades weren't quite where they needed to be, so after some discussion with some of my friends, we decided to come to OCC with the goal of trying to win a state championship here," Watson said. "I had heard about Coach Lee and what he was trying to accomplish here and I was excited to come here and help make this team successful."

Lee is equally enthused for Watson to be here as a Pirate.  "Colby has great knowledge of the game, tremendous work ethic, we are very excited he is on our team," Lee said. "We're hoping he's going to have a tremendous impact on our team this year."

Watson has made the transition from high school to college well in the first few weeks and is happy to be a part of OCC. "Everything has been awesome since I've been here," Watson said. "The team has been fun to play for and the classes have been tough but interesting to learn so I'm excited about that. It's been a great fit for me both as an athlete and as a student. Plus, I'm close to home so I'm not spending a ton of money on gas and an apartment."

The role of utility player for the Pirates is a position that fits the title -- a lot of different jobs and responsibilities throughout each match. "One time, I could be defending the 2-meter guy and the next time, I could be out on the point," Watson said. "There really is a lot of diversity in the utility position. I'm not the fastest guy, or the strongest, but you have to be able to do many things out there."

The best experience for Colby came as a sophomore on the CIF championship team, despite not getting a ton of playing time. "I used to practice every day against my brother, Chase Watson, who was a 6-foot-7, 250-pound senior 2-meter player," the 6-1, 185-pound younger brother said. "That experience really helped me become stronger as a junior and senior and it paid off because I was twice named Defensive Player of the Year."

As a senior, Watson was named to the Daily Pilot Dream Team for water polo after racking up 27 goals, 30 assists and 16 steals, helping the Sea Kings advance to the CIF semifinals. As a junior, his strong, all-around play helped CdM reach the CIF finals, before falling to Long Beach Wilson.

As for the future, Watson sees it like this ... "I'd really like to stay here, help us win a state championship and head up to USC," he said. "If I can keep going well with my grades, I will go there after Coast, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my time here at OCC."