Butera answers call

Standing away from the pool, Newport Harbor High Coach Bill Barnett still got wet.

It was raining Wednesday and his girls’ water polo team warmed up in the pool.

Barnett, wearing his rain boots, shivered.

Practice had just begun. Two things protecting players like Mia Butera from the cold were a cap and the water.

The pool at Newport Harbor is heated.

“It’s standard. We always practice,” Butera said. “I really like playing for him. He’s really harsh, like a good harsh. He will help you, like tell you, ‘You need to do this better.’ ”

Butera is doing all the right things early on in her senior season.

Follow the longtime coach’s rules and the driver said he probably won’t come down hard on you.

Scoring four goals in a nonleague match against powerhouse Foothill helps.

Butera recorded such a feat, as the Sailors went on to win, 10-7, in overtime. One of Butera’s goals forced overtime with 23 seconds left in regulation.

The scoring effort came at no surprise to Barnett, even though it marked a career-high for Butera.

“She’s a real good shooter. That’s her forte,” Barnett said. “She shoots the ball like a boy. I don’t know [how she does it]. Maybe she played softball when she was young.”

Butera’s dangerous shot can be credited to her giving water polo a shot.

As a child, she resisted taking up the sport. Her father, Chip, still continued to ask her if she wanted to check it out.

Each time, Butera said, “No!”

“I never had seen a game,” Butera said. “I finally gave into it.”

One of Chip’s friends piqued Butera’s interest in water polo. What better person to convince her to participate than Randy Parole? He excelled under Barnett at Newport Harbor as a goalkeeper in the mid-1970s before playing at USC.

Butera said Parole easily turned her on to water polo as a 10-year-old. Barnett is glad his former player did.

Ever since then, the pool has been Butera’s second home.

She got her feet wet back then and during her first three years at Newport Harbor.

Now, Butera is a focal point with the Sailors, the defending CIF Southern Section Division I champions.

Newport Harbor is going to need Butera to score goals if it plans to defend the crown.

In Barnett’s mind, Newport Harbor isn’t the favorite. Only four players returned off last season’s team.

“Corona [del Mar’s] got all the power,” said Barnett, whose Sailors rallied to defeat CdM, 6-5, in overtime in the section championship last season. “They’re the team to beat.”

If you look at the Division I preseason coaches’ poll, it shows Newport Harbor is the team to beat.

The Sailors are No. 1.

The Sea Kings aren’t too far behind at No. 2.

Today’s outcome might cause a shakeup at the top of the rankings next week, as Newport Harbor (1-1) plays at CdM (4-0) in the Battle of the Bay at 4 p.m.

These two rivals met six times last season, the Sailors winning four of the matches. The one that mattered most to Butera stung the Sea Kings on Feb. 23 and gave the Sailors their fourth Division I section title.

Butera saw current teammates Nicolina McCall and Kaleigh Gilchrist combine for three goals, helping Newport Harbor overcome a three-goal deficit in the fourth period to force overtime and beat CdM.

“It’s going to be crazy,” Butera said of today’s match. “They’re going to be really difficult. We have a good chance if we make our shots.”

The ball shouldn’t be as wet for Butera to handle as it was Wednesday. The forecast for today calls for clear skies.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].