SUPER CHARGER LLEWELLYN RECOVERS FROM INJURY TO PACE AGOURA.Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer AGOURA HILLS - Lindsay Llewellyn's doctor delivered the news that has haunted haunt v. haunt·ed, haunt·ing, haunts v.tr. 1. To inhabit, visit, or appear to in the form of a ghost or other supernatural being. 2. opponents all season. Once Llewellyn was reassured her surgically repaired left shoulder was strong enough to handle anything she might face in the pool, opponents have had a difficult time handling the Agoura High girls' water polo water polo, swimming game encompassing features of soccer, football, basketball, and hockey. The object of the game is to maneuver, by head, feet, or hand, a leather-covered ball 27 to 28 in. team's senior captain. After missing most of last season and all summer because of the shoulder, Llewellyn is the leading scorer and a top defensive player for a Chargers team that went undefeated en route to a fifth consecutive Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. title and is seeded second in the Southern Section Division IV playoffs. Llewellyn, who is being recruited by Division I colleges, has 62 goals and 42 assists entering Wednesday's semifinal against Cabrillo. She ranks second on the team in steals. ``I kind of wish I had surgery on all my joints,'' Llewellyn said. ``It's better than ever.'' Saturday's quarterfinal quar·ter·fi·nal adj. Of or relating to one of four competitions in a tournament, whose winners go on to play in semifinal competitions. n. 1. quarterfinals A quarterfinal round. 2. A quarterfinal match. victory over Ventura was an example of how Llewellyn's athleticism and renewed aggressiveness can hurt teams even when she doesn't score a lot of goals. Llewellyn scored just once against Ventura, but late in the first quarter, she shot up out of the water to swat away the Cougars' first shot, setting the tone for an Agoura defense that would dominate the afternoon. The play was similar to the one that caused her injury. Llewellyn suffered torn ligaments when she went to block a shot during the final two minutes of a tournament game early last season in which Agoura held a slim lead against Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. of La Crescenta. Her arm was pulled across her body, and Llewellyn said she knew instantly the damage was serious. Despite knowing the shoulder wasn't completely healed, she felt good enough to return after a couple of months of physical therapy. Llewellyn's contributions during the final two weeks of the regular season and throughout the Chargers' run to the semifinals were enough to earn her All-Southern Section honors. However, the pain intensified in·ten·si·fy v. in·ten·si·fied, in·ten·si·fy·ing, in·ten·si·fies v.tr. 1. To make intense or more intense: during swim season, and Llewellyn knew something had to be done. ``I basically had two options,'' she said of what doctors told her. ``Not have surgery and never play again, or have the surgery and be out for a while but get to play again. I knew right away I was having surgery, I love playing too much.'' Llewellyn was used to making sacrifices to play the sport she hopes to continue at either UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. or Michigan. Although she knew so little about water polo that she said her coach laughed at her when she first jumped into the pool as a freshman, she gave up her longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective passions of softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' and basketball within a year to concentrate on water polo. She never stopped trying to gain knowledge or help her teammates improve while she was injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. . She attended practices and even accompanied the team on its trip to a summer tournament in Hawaii. ``She was on the pool deck watching all summer,'' Chargers coach Jason Rosenthal said. ``It was killing her. It was real tough on her, but it was good for the other girls.'' Not having Llewellyn - one of only two players remaining from Agoura's 2001 Southern Section champion team - forced the Chargers to learn how to win without her. The result was a team so balanced Llewellyn is more than 40 goals behind the region's scoring leaders. ``A lot of people would feel left out, `Oh, what do they need me for?' '' Llewellyn said of the team's success without her. ``It wasn't like that for me. I saw how well-rounded a team we have, we don't rely on any one person. ... So it was nice to know they weren't relying on me to do everything. Just watching them play, I knew we were going to have a good team this year.'' Llewellyn admits she was a bit hesitant hes·i·tant adj. Inclined or tending to hesitate. hes  i·tant·ly adv. when she first returned and
was faced with an exceptionally physical game. However, that didn't
last long.
``They want to beat you up as much as they can,'' Llewellyn said. ``It was intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. . Then I talked to my doctor, and he said they can't do anything to it, that shoulder's not going anywhere. I don't worry about it anymore, I'm not afraid to do whatever I need to. Once I talked to the doctor, that was all I needed to hear.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Agoura's Lindsay Llewellyn has 62 goals in her first season back from shoulder surgery. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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