Camille Hewko

Steve Virgen

There was a time in Camille Hewko’s life when water polo made her

cringe.

After the swim season last spring, Hewko felt uneasy about water

polo and took the summer off. She had earned first-team All-Pacific

Coast League honors in her freshman season for the Corona del Mar

High girls water polo team, but there were doubts tugging at Hewko

and she had to confront them.

“I took the summer off, completely,” Hewko said. “I just got burnt

out. I just relaxed and did no polo. I kind of regret that now. But

at the time that’s what I needed. I didn’t know if water polo is what

I really wanted to pursue. I didn’t know if I really loved the game

or not or if I wanted to commit myself.”

Before the end of the summer, Hewko had renewed her passion for

water polo. She knew if she were to come back she would attack the

game as she never had before. And so she went to work. She scored 41

goals during the season, and helped lead the Sea Kings to their third

straight outright PCL championship and Corona del Mar’s third

straight CIF Southern Section title.

Hewko, who contributed at two meters and was a key factor in the

Sea Kings’ counterattack, was also named the PCL’s Co-MVP.

“This past season, I just had so much fun actually playing water

polo,” Hewko said. “I had a new desire and a new passion to play

water polo. And, the girls on the team are just so fun and crazy. We

do have a real close team.”

During the summer, Hewko talked to several people, seeking advice,

including her older sister, Christine, a former Sea King star now

playing at Stanford. Camille Hewko said she never really felt

pressure of being the younger sister to Christine, who was the CIF

Player of the Year in Division IV and II her junior and senior

seasons.

“I look at her and she’s a total role model; she definitely helped

me,” Camille Hewko said. “I try not to think about [the pressure]

because I’m a different player. I learned so many new things last

year from playing against her. Even watching her college games I

still learn from her.”

Hewko’s description of herself as a player is nothing flashy, but

for the Sea Kings and Coach Aaron Chaney it definitely got the job

done.

“I always try to give my best at whatever I do,” she said. “I

always try to work my hardest. That’s the way I’ve always been. Ever

since I was little when I was playing AYSO and club soccer, I wanted

to be the best I could be.”

When the Sea Kings faced Peninsula in the CIF Division II final

March 1, Hewko came up with her best once again. She scored one goal

and recorded two steals. She also drew two four-meter penalties and

one ejection, thus being named the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week,

as Corona del Mar won its third straight CIF title with a 13-3

victory over the Panthers.

“I don’t think [Peninsula] could stop her one on one,” Chaney

said. “She did so well on the perimeter for us [late in the season]

and that really sparked our team. She countered really hard. She

comes to play everyday in practice and she comes to play everyday in

games. If she doesn’t feel she’s playing well she’ll come up to me

and apologize. She holds herself to a higher standard.”