Boys water polo looks for starters
After losing six starting All-League seniors to graduation, the
San Benito High boys water polo team
– a team that posted a perfect 7-0 record in league play last
year before advancing farther in the Central Coast Section playoffs
than any Baler team in history – will be hard-pressed to keep the
momentum going this season.
”
I know Salinas lost some players and Carmel lost a couple key
seniors too so I don’t want to make any predictions but it’s
definitely going to be a rebuilding year for us,
”
said Tom Again, the San Benito High coach.
”
We more or less lost our entire starting team from a year
ago.
”
Boys water polo looks for starters
After losing six starting All-League seniors to graduation, the San Benito High boys water polo team – a team that posted a perfect 7-0 record in league play last year before advancing farther in the Central Coast Section playoffs than any Baler team in history – will be hard-pressed to keep the momentum going this season.
“I know Salinas lost some players and Carmel lost a couple key seniors too so I don’t want to make any predictions but it’s definitely going to be a rebuilding year for us,”said Tom Again, the San Benito High coach. “We more or less lost our entire starting team from a year ago.”
A year ago that team, which was led by David Smith, James Shafer and Rory Bloch, posted an overall record of 16-7 before succumbing to Lynbrook High 13-7 in the Section quarterfinals.
The only two returning players from last year’s squad that enjoyed playing time in the pool are Adam Rianda and Jordan Shafer. Both of them filled in at the field or driver positions a year ago and are expected to start there this season. Another field player to watch this season is Phil Torres, a senior who is also expected to crack the starting lineup for the defending league champs.
While all of these players are expected to play the “go-to-guy” role this season none of them are big enough, size wise, to play the demanding two-meter hole set position – the upfront position where most scoring opportunities are generated. As a result, the Balers may enter each game with a much different game plan than a year ago, which was to feed the ball into David Smith or James Shafer to set them up for the easy score.
“Both of those guys were over 6-feet. Those are big roster spots to fill but we’re going to work on it,” Agan said. “We’re a little size challenged this year. We’re going to have to do more driving and razzle-dazzle plays. We’re going to have to run plays and possibly shoot from farther out.”
With the season not set to get under way until Sept. 1, Agan doesn’t plan on breaking out and tweaking the playbook just yet.
“Right now, we’re mostly working on conditioning,” he said. “We’re working on a little bit of ball-handling, but mostly conditioning work. Overall, I would say the varsity squad is pretty well conditioned, because most of them have been playing over the summer. The JV team has had a little tougher go of it.”
The Sept. 1 event is a tournament that is hosted by San Benito High and will include four teams from the Tri County Athletic League as well as four teams from the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Three days later on Sept. 4 is the day that marks the official start of league play. That day the Balers will travel to Salinas for a showdown with the Cowboys – the team that finished second to the Balers last season in league play.
“As long as Gary Figueroa (head coach) is down there coaching them, they will be good,” Agan said. “Carmel should be decent, and Palma could be a long shot. Gilroy always has a pretty decent program but I haven’t heard anything about them yet – and usually I hear about all the teams because the kids see each other over the summer at tournaments.”
