LEADING BY EXAMPLE POLOIST'S LEADERSHIP GIVES AGOURA DEPTH TEACHING TEAM COMES FIRST FOR STANDOUT JUNIOR.

Byline: HEATHER GRIPP Staff Writer

AGOURA HILLS - Peter Kurzeka has a growing collection of championships and MVP accolades that formally recognize his value to Agoura High's boys' water polo team. He won his latest MVP honor at last weekend's Coronado Invitational after scoring 23 goals en route to the title.

Kurzeka's true value to the Charges can best be seen in the informal practice setting.

Realizing he can't win a Southern Section championship on his own, Kurzeka spends as much time as he can lending his vast experience to help in the development of teammates. Agoura has fed off Kurzeka's work ethic and expertise to form one of the program's deepest lineups in years, not to mention one of the area's hottest teams.

``The team is all he cares about,'' Chargers coach Dusty Litvak said of Kurzeka, a junior who was ineligible to play on the varsity team last season after transferring from Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. ``If you watched him practice, he's always teaching the other players and helping them become better players. A lot of times, the better players don't take the time to do that. They don't share their tricks. It's like, `The more I know than you, the better,' it keeps them in the spotlight. He wants everyone around him to be good.

``The guys respect him so much. He's never been egotistical. All he cares about is the team. He's so humble with everything. He really doesn't like the spotlight. He hates talking about the MVPs.''

Kurzeka's won his most notable MVP awards this past summer at the Junior Olympics and at the National Club Championships as a member of the L.A. Water Polo Club's under-16 team.

``I've never seen anyone with the complete package like him,'' said Litvak, who has known Kurzeka for years at the club level. ``I've yet to find his weakness. When he started playing for me in eighth grade, I could see he had a lot of potential. But I don't think anybody could have seen what he's done. ... He's just taking over games.''

Through 12 games with Agoura, Kurzeka has 49 goals, 21 assists and 25 steals. He scored four of those goals in Saturday's upset of Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, one of the top teams in Div.I. Earlier in the day, he scored six goals, including the tying and winning shots, in a sudden-death overtime victory over Murrieta Valley, which had beaten the Chargers a week earlier in the Riverside Poly tournament final.

``Having Peter on the team is an amazing asset,'' Agoura senior Alex Thompson said. ``He really helps the team. To be honest, it would be hard to be where we are without him.

``But at the same time, not taking anything away from him, the rest of the team has been just as important. No one player can do it by himself, and he knows that. We've got so many great role players this year who are stepping up. Our depth is a lot better this year.''

Thompson and goalie Ryan Paris joined Kurzeka on the all-tournament team last weekend. Eight others contributed goals in the tournament's five games.

Such depth is what sets this year's Chargers apart from previous versions, which were competitive but never reached a Southern Section final. Agoura (10-2) is ranked No.2 in this week's Div.IV rankings.

``We knew this could be a really good season, and we worked real hard to make sure we were ready,'' Kurzkea said. ``We've been going real hard since two weeks after last season.

``After this weekend, the teams we beat at this tournament, we know if we play our game we can beat anyone in our division.''

Being a part of a team like this is what Kurzeka envisioned when he decided to transfer to Agoura.

``Water polo's a big part of my life,'' said Kurzeka, who played varsity as a freshman at Notre Dame. ``It's a big part of what I do. I've always wanted to play at the next level, play in college. This is the type of team that will help me reach that goal.

``While I'm here, I don't really have any individual goals other than to keep improving every game. I want to keep getting better, and I want the team to keep getting better. I try to make everyone else better and let them learn from my success. We need the whole team to win.''

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Agoura High junior water polo player Peter Kurzeka, a Junior Olympics MVP, wants to help his team win a Southern Section championship this season.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer