Cole Raulston has the kind of mentality that locks in when the competition becomes real.
“He’s one of the best game-time goalies I’ve had,” says his long-time water polo coach at La Jolla High, Tom Atwell. “He’s serious about games. He has a strong ego. I mean that in the best way. He doesn’t get riled during games.”
Raulston, a 6-foot-3-inch-tall senior, credits communication with his defenders for his effectiveness. “I’m pretty long. Having quick reactions is important,” said Raulston. “But having your team talk makes it possible to cover the opponent effectively.”
“I’ll call for a drop (a teammate on defense filling a gap near the goal). If a teammate has someone driving on them, I might call out, ‘Help Cole (Atwell, a perimeter player),’ or something else like that.”
The Viking cage minder is on the “short list” of prospects for USC’s program, according to Atwell. “They have three goalies (they’re recruiting),” he said. “One is from Europe. The other two are from California (including Raulston). They were told, ‘You’re all equal in ability. Whoever verbally commits first goes up in the ranking.’”
It’s a dog-eat-dog world, in which college programs extend verbal offers of scholarships to more high school athletes than they can really accommodate, in the interest of having more players to choose from. Then, as the scholarship deadline approaches, colleges can withdraw their verbal offers. Parker Seale, an All-CIF swimmer for La Jolla High, had that very thing happen when USC, which had recruited the standout, cancelled their offer in April, after application deadlines for other schools were passed. Fortunately, Seale was able to enroll at UCSB, where he competed.
Atwell, always the coach, says further on Raulston, “I’m trying to get him to take the same (serious) attitude toward workouts.”
Raulston’s younger brother, Max, an inch shorter as an incoming ninth-grader at La Jolla High, is showing promise as a football and basketball player. “He’s a good athlete,” the older brother says proudly. “He grew up too fast. He’s going to dominate basketball.”
Max played summer league in that sport with Coach Paul Baranowski’s varsity in June and July, showing poise, in the trite phrase, beyond his years. He could fill a valuable role in the frontcourt if Baranowski chooses to include him on this winter’s varsity roster.
In football, Max, a receiver, teamed up with freshman quarterback Jackson Stratton for three scores in a preseason scrimmage against Hilltop and El Capitan in a promising performance.
Cole and Max Raulston come from “good genes,” as Atwell says. Their father, Brad, teamed with Brent Woodall (who died in the 9/11 attacks) on the football team for La Jolla. They both went to Cal, where they played.
Cole Raulston, carrying five Advanced Placement classes in one semester last year, has a 4.0 grade-point average and looks ahead to study in finance.
Atwell says Vista and Poway should be strong in CIF again this year, in addition to the traditional elite powers of La Jolla, Bishop’s, Cathedral Catholic, Coronado, and Carlsbad.
“I eat a lot,” acknowledges Raulston, who faced two-a-day workouts with his teammates during “Hell Week”(actually three weeks) prior to the season. He favors breakfast burritos and ice cream cookie sandwiches.