In sports, there are certain measurable items, like wins and losses. Oftentimes, we use these to measure success. Former NFL head coach Bill Parcells was famously quoted as saying, “You are what your record says you are.” The implication being that no matter how much success a team has throughout a game, without a win personal success means nothing. However, this ideal is sometimes challenged by athletes, especially in youth and prep athletics, where victories can be measured through off-field successes.
When it comes to the Righetti Boys’ Water polo team, success is an all-encompassing matter. Not only has the team enjoyed enormous accomplishment with its record in the pool, the impact the coaching staff has had on the community is equally as prominent, if not more so.
Since 1998, the team has dominated in the water, winning the CIF Southern Section crown five times and making the finals on three other occasions, including four consecutive years from 2012-2015. The program is led by varsity co-coach Kyle Shaffer and junior varsity coach Chris Yee, in addition to the Righetti Aquatic Center’s new namesake, Rob Knight.
Coach Knight grew up in Fullerton, attending Fullerton High School before moving on to Cal-State Chico where he earned a degree in English with a minor in Spanish. When an opportunity arose for his first coaching job, the school also “needed a Spanish teacher, so that’s where I started and that’s where I have been ever since.”
In 1990, coach Knight took over the water polo program at Righetti High School. In 2007, Charles Bell and coach Knight started the One Way Water Polo Club. One Way now boasts a staff of more than 10, including two coaches who once played for coach Knight: Yee and Justin Murillo. When asked if having former players involved with a program he helped found provided as much fulfillment as winning, coach Knight confirmed that producing quality adults is as much of a goal as winning high school water polo games. He said he sees the results of that goal at the annual alumni game, which took place this year on Saturday, Nov. 5. As coach Knight put it, “The alumni game is always a great day because you get to see these guys with their families … . It seems like they are gaining some good life lessons from being in our program … .”
In addition to Yee and Murillo, Shaffer is also a former player of coach Knight’s. Knight attributes a large amount of the program’s success to the individuals who participate in it.
“It sure helps keep the program going when you have alumni coming back and coaching. We’re on the same page, we work well together,” Knight said of Shaffer and Yee.
Like any good leader, he is quick to pass along praise but back in 2013, it looked like it would be coach Knight himself who would be leaving. As he told the Sun, “I thought all along that I would be done when my two sons went through.” Colter, the second of his two boys, would be graduating in 2013. Their final game together was a gut-wrenching loss in the Southern Section finals to a Los Osos team they had fallen to the year before, also in the finals. Yet, coach Knight came back and the team went on to win back-to-back CIF Southern Section championships. When asked why he came back, coach Knight replied, “I’m finding there are always two or three or four young guys on the team that I have developed a bond with, and that’s what keeps me going … Championships feel good but it’s more about the close relationships and seeing these young guys develop over four years.”
In July, Righetti’s water polo team was moved by the CIF Southern Section Office from Division 4 to Division 1. While a tough challenge, the message was clear: The team was one of the elites in Southern California. Coach Knight and coach Schaffer both called the move a big compliment. As coach Knight put it, “In a way, it was bigger than winning a single championship. … Just being in Division 1, you are top 16 [teams] in Southern California.” At the time the reputation of the program had stretched to the highest points in the area and all across the southland, everyone was taking notice.
This year, Righetti faced its hardest schedule ever. They finished 16-11, while going undefeated in league games. Facing stiffer competition was an obvious hurdle but one coach Knight was anxious to tackle. The season ended for Righetti on Nov. 9 with a loss to Harvard-Westlake, a team that had been ranked No. 1 for most of the season. Coach Knight called it a successful season albeit a tough one.
The game against Harvard-Westlake was played in the newly minted “Rob Knight Aquatic Center.” When asked how it felt to have the pool named after him, coach Knight said, “It’s hard to describe. It’s something you would never expect to happen when you start coaching. My alma mater needed a coach so I jumped in there to help them out and here I am. … It’s more about the program, it’s been a lot of hard working kids that have come through and made the team good year after year. Yeah, my name is on it but it’s more about the program being good over a long period of time.”
Even with all the success he has accomplished, coach Knight is still quick to pass along praise and credit to those surrounding him. Leadership requires humility, dedication, and hard work, all things coach Knight has excelled in, both personally and in motivating others to do the same.
Send sports news to Jason O’Neill via Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 17-24, 2016.