Daily Journal Girls' Water Polo Player of the Year: Sacred Heart Prep's Maddy Johnston
CCS Player of the Year Honors for the Second Straight Season
See Full Story
She does it again as a senior.
Johnston helped lead the Sacred Heart Prep girls’ water polo team to its 10th straight CCS title, earning the title of CCS Player of the Year honors for the second straight season.
And for the second year in a row, Johnston is the Daily Journal’s Girls’ Water Polo Player of the Year.
“We can put her in any role we want, which is the thing that stands out,” said SHP coach John Burke. “I’m convinced we could put her in at goal and I think she would be a great goalie.”
But it wasn’t just the raw numbers that make her one of the best players in the country, but they were plenty impressive: 97 goals scored,45 steals, 43 exclusions and 41 assists. Similar numbers to what she put up last season.
“She got a lot faster (this season). Her training also amplified. She knew it wasn’t going to be as simple as just making outside shots. It had to be a more nuanced level of play,” Burke said.
This year, however, Johnston was the unquestioned leader of the Gators and she took her mental game to the next level.
“I think she goes above and beyond during her [preparation] out of the pool. Thinking about an opponent, thinking about what she wants to do,” said SHP coach Jon Burke. “She knows the other teams very well. How she prepares is rather unique and rather extraordinary.”
Last season, Johnston paired with then-senior Malaika Koshy to form one of the most lethal 1-2 punches in CCS water polo. With Koshy graduated to Stanford, Burke asked Johnston to take on lot more responsibility when it came to offense. Last season, Burke was content to have Johnston dominate the perimeter offensively. This year, she was asked to score in a variety of ways — while at the same time continuing her dominant defensive play.
“The conversation we had over the summer was more framed around, ‘You’re a great leader out of the water, let’s ramp that up in the water,’” Burke said. “We needed MJ to become more dynamic, to add to her scoring opportunities. If she was just the same player as a junior (during her senior year), our ability to win a CCS title would have been greatly diminished.”
The Gators had a much bumpier path to their 10th straight CCS title than in the last several years and Burke credits Johnston with keeping the team together and focused on the prize.
After winning the West Catholic Athletic League regular-season title, SHP was upset by St. Francis in the championship game of the WCAL tournament.
“We had beaten them eight times in a row. We had to practice moving on. We had to practice what we preached. We wanted to be playing our best in the CCS championship game,” Burke said. “I think that loss (to St. Francis) was a really tough moment for her,” Burke said.
The Gators experienced some more rare adversity in the CCS championship game against Soquel. SHP held a 2-0 lead at halftime, but Soquel scored three unanswered goals in the third period to take a 3-2 lead.
But never did any panic materialize from the Gators. They simply went back to work and outscored the Knights 5-0 the rest of the way to record the 7-3 victory.
“There were moments we could have doubted ourselves, (but) you could tell she still had that mindset of, ‘We’re going to win this darn game.’ You could see how hard she was battling out there,” Burke said. “We got the best player in the section on our team. She can handle this. She can do this for us.”
Ultimately, that may be Johnston’s biggest growth from her junior to senior seasons. The sheer want to will her team to victory. And she doesn’t even have to do it offensively. Her true strength lies on the defensive end and the old saying “defense wins championships” applies to water polo as well.
“She’s every bit as valuable defensively as offensively, if not more. In my opinion, there is no question about it: She is one of the top three true center defenders in the country for her age,” Burke said. “As a defender to score nearly 100 goals is a phenomenal performance.”
Back
What does Maddy Johnston do when you’re already considered the best water polo player in the Central Coast Section as a high school junior?
She does it again as a senior.
Johnston helped lead the Sacred Heart Prep girls’ water polo team to its 10th straight CCS title, earning the title of CCS Player of the Year honors for the second straight season.
And for the second year in a row, Johnston is the Daily Journal’s Girls’ Water Polo Player of the Year.
“We can put her in any role we want, which is the thing that stands out,” said SHP coach John Burke. “I’m convinced we could put her in at goal and I think she would be a great goalie.”
But it wasn’t just the raw numbers that make her one of the best players in the country, but they were plenty impressive: 97 goals scored,45 steals, 43 exclusions and 41 assists. Similar numbers to what she put up last season.
“She got a lot faster (this season). Her training also amplified. She knew it wasn’t going to be as simple as just making outside shots. It had to be a more nuanced level of play,” Burke said.
This year, however, Johnston was the unquestioned leader of the Gators and she took her mental game to the next level.
“I think she goes above and beyond during her [preparation] out of the pool. Thinking about an opponent, thinking about what she wants to do,” said SHP coach Jon Burke. “She knows the other teams very well. How she prepares is rather unique and rather extraordinary.”
Last season, Johnston paired with then-senior Malaika Koshy to form one of the most lethal 1-2 punches in CCS water polo. With Koshy graduated to Stanford, Burke asked Johnston to take on lot more responsibility when it came to offense. Last season, Burke was content to have Johnston dominate the perimeter offensively. This year, she was asked to score in a variety of ways — while at the same time continuing her dominant defensive play.
“The conversation we had over the summer was more framed around, ‘You’re a great leader out of the water, let’s ramp that up in the water,’” Burke said. “We needed MJ to become more dynamic, to add to her scoring opportunities. If she was just the same player as a junior (during her senior year), our ability to win a CCS title would have been greatly diminished.”
The Gators had a much bumpier path to their 10th straight CCS title than in the last several years and Burke credits Johnston with keeping the team together and focused on the prize.
After winning the West Catholic Athletic League regular-season title, SHP was upset by St. Francis in the championship game of the WCAL tournament.
“We had beaten them eight times in a row. We had to practice moving on. We had to practice what we preached. We wanted to be playing our best in the CCS championship game,” Burke said. “I think that loss (to St. Francis) was a really tough moment for her,” Burke said.
The Gators experienced some more rare adversity in the CCS championship game against Soquel. SHP held a 2-0 lead at halftime, but Soquel scored three unanswered goals in the third period to take a 3-2 lead.
But never did any panic materialize from the Gators. They simply went back to work and outscored the Knights 5-0 the rest of the way to record the 7-3 victory.
“There were moments we could have doubted ourselves, (but) you could tell she still had that mindset of, ‘We’re going to win this darn game.’ You could see how hard she was battling out there,” Burke said. “We got the best player in the section on our team. She can handle this. She can do this for us.”
Ultimately, that may be Johnston’s biggest growth from her junior to senior seasons. The sheer want to will her team to victory. And she doesn’t even have to do it offensively. Her true strength lies on the defensive end and the old saying “defense wins championships” applies to water polo as well.
“She’s every bit as valuable defensively as offensively, if not more. In my opinion, there is no question about it: She is one of the top three true center defenders in the country for her age,” Burke said. “As a defender to score nearly 100 goals is a phenomenal performance.”
Sacred Heart Schools Atherton
Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, SHS is a Catholic, independent, co-ed day school for students in preschool through grade 12
