Q: Do you have a mentor as a goalie?
A: Dave Mikesell. He’s the one who really launched me off on my goalkeeping career (at the SOCAL club). He’s taught me more things that I’ve been shuffling through my head ever since I started. He taught me everything that I know. I’d say he’s probably the best goalkeeper coach I’ve ever had.

Q: Do your feelings for your father influence you as a water polo player?
A: Yeah. When I look at my dad’s pictures, I look at a lot of real good sportsmanship. He liked to shoot the guys who were just real cool athletes and not necessarily the best ones but just the guys who had the most passion and all that kind of stuff and I like to play like a professional in the water. Those guys he shot kind of influenced me to have good sportsmanship as a player.

Q: How old were you when your dad passed away and how did you deal with that?
A: I was 13 and I had a lot of support from a lot of my friends. I was protected pretty well, so it wasn’t so bad. … A lot of people from the Sports Illustrated family came. They did a lot of cool things. We had this college benefit a long time ago for me and my brother (John) and a lot of professional baseball players came out. ... They just signed autographs. People bought them. … We made quite a good amount of money for that. That was pretty cool.

Q: Did the story of Katella coach Grafton Weiss passing away, and that he had a son who plays water polo, make an impact with you?
A: Yeah. It’s totally different because it’s such a late age. It’s kind of more difficult to handle. For me, it was a lot easier because I didn’t really get to understand quite as much. I feel way worse for him (Garrett) because he’s in high school. Its big changing, teen-age years. It’s a totally different story. With water polo, I think he’ll get some good support because it’s a big community, big family. I think he’ll be OK.

Q: What colleges are you interested in?
A: Right now, it’s between (Cal) Berkeley and LMU.

Villa Park's Josh Samuels

Five players of the year and the late coach Grafton Weiss were among the Orange County selections to the All-CIF-Southern Section boys water polo teams, which were released Monday.

Weiss, who died a week after helping coach Katella to its first section crown, was selected Division VII coach of the year by his fellow coaches. About 750 people attended the memorial service for Weiss on Dec. 6.

Weiss, 49, died from hypertensive and arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Katella junior attacker Dillon Avila was voted the Division VII player of the year.

In Division I, Foothill goalie Jay Lovero and attacker Griffin White of El Toro shared player of the year honors.

In Division II, Mater Dei attacker Alex Wherry, a junior, and senior Josh Samuels of Villa Park were co-players of the year.

Foothill's Jim Brumm in Division I and Mater Dei's Chris Segesman in Division II also earned coach of the year awards.

Here are the links to the All-CIF teams:

• Division I
• Division II
• Division III
• Division IV
• Division V
• Division VI
• Division VII

Video after the jump.

Division I quarterfinals

Foothill (21-7 ) at Ventura (21-9), 3:15 p.m.

Prediction: The biggest question going into this match is the health of Knights goalie Jay Lovero. The senior is a game-changer - as El Toro can attest - but he didn't play in the first round because of a groin injury.

Sure, the Knights played an overmatched Irvine but that was still a CIF match. That tells me that Lovero, for all his competitive spirit, is really hurt. Foothill coach Jim Brumm used words like "precautionary" and "rest" with his star goalie but says Lovero plans to play Friday.

"I'm sure he will fire up and be ready to go," Brumm said Wednesday night. The Knights will need Lovero at close to 90 percent of himself to beat a Ventura, a tough third-place team from the tough Channel League. Lovero will approach 90 percent and Foothill advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2005.

MORE PREDICTIONS:

• Division I: Newport Harbor vs. Santa Barbara
• Division I: Corona del Mar vs. Los Alamitos
• Division I: Dos Pueblos vs. El Toro
• Division III: Laguna Beach vs. Redlands
• Division III: Murrietta Valley vs. Costa Mesa
• Division V: Troy vs. Arlington
• Division V: Buena Park vs. Santa Monica