Greg Valenzuela could have a break-out year after competing in
Hungary
San Benito High’s Greg Valenzuela is hungry to take his water
polo skills to the next level. So much so that he recently traveled
halfway around the planet to compete in his favorite sport.
Just last week, the senior driver and two-meter defender for the
Balers returned from a 12-day trip to Hungary, where he and his
teammates from West Valley College’s club squad practiced and
played games against some of the top European water polo teams in
the region.
Greg Valenzuela could have a break-out year after competing in Hungary
San Benito High’s Greg Valenzuela is hungry to take his water polo skills to the next level. So much so that he recently traveled halfway around the planet to compete in his favorite sport.
Just last week, the senior driver and two-meter defender for the Balers returned from a 12-day trip to Hungary, where he and his teammates from West Valley College’s club squad practiced and played games against some of the top European water polo teams in the region.
For Valenzuela, it was an experience he won’t soon forget.
“I learned a lot, especially about their style of play, which is much more aggressive,” Valenzuela said. “It was also very beautiful there. The weather was great. We had a lot of time to play polo and sightsee too.”
This year, Valenzuela hopes to utilize the additional nuances of the game that he learned while playing in Hungary to help his high school team win the Tri County Athletic League title. And with perennial powerhouse Live Oak no longer competing in the league, it’s a goal that will be much easier to attain.
“I haven’t had a chance to see him play in a game since he’s been back,” Baler coach Tom Agan said. “But he has definitely improved and will be a factor for us this season. We’ve got a talented lineup; he’ll be right in the mix.”
Valenzuela’s opportunity to play in the Eastern European nation came about as a result of his strong play during the off-season last winter for West Valley’s club team and the school’s B-level team.
During that time those squads would often scrimmage against the school’s elite team, which seems to vie for the state junior college title most years.
It was during those club games that West Valley Assistant Coach, Raphael Alapont, who also is the head varsity water polo coach at Mountain View High, singled out the top players from the winter team to form a club team that would compete over the summer months in preparation for the trip to Hungary.
Valenzuela was one of the kids chosen to make the trip. While in Hungary the West Valley team played in 24 games and also scrimmaged a lot with Cegled, a local team from the city that they were staying in.
All of the players from the West Valley squad were mostly from cities on the Peninsula. Valenzuela was the only local high school player that made the trip.
The team ended the trip by competing in an international water polo tournament that took place in Szntes, Hungary.
“We played a team from Budapest. We played Italy, Israel, Hungary, South Africa and Germany,” said Valenzuela, who was named team captain for two of the games. “We wound up finishing fourth in that tournament and probably won half of our scrimmages and regular games. We did okay.”
Since most of the six teams in the tournament had been practicing together for upwards of eight years, Valenzuela had no problem finishing fourth.
“Our team was playing together for only two months,” he said.
Water polo in Hungary is as popular as the NFL is in America. As a result, the Hungarian national team usually wins Olympic gold. For those reasons, Valenzuela paid extra close attain to their style of play.
“I learned how to keep my hips up and to keep and hold my position,” he said. “There style of play is to not be afraid, and to play aggressive and physical in the water. The game is a lot faster there too.”
This year, the game will be a lot faster for the local high school teams as well since the Central Coast Section has now adopted international rules.
“That means that if you get a contact foul outside of the five-meter area, you get a free shot, which can either be taken or passed,” Valenzuela said.
Another change this year is that the shot clock will go from 35 seconds down to 30, which will force plays to develop much quicker.
When not in the pool, Valenzuela enjoyed seeing the country’s old-style architecture and sites of historical interest. He also met some new friends.
“The people over there were all very nice,” he said. “They treated us well.”
About the only thing he didn’t like was the language barrier.
“It was tough to find people that could speak English so that made it a little hard. The language they speak doesn’t sound even close to English. A few spoke it a little, but not really. That is one of the reasons why we hung out a lot with the Israeli team because they could all speak English.”
During the brief time that the two teams spent with each other, they became close.
“It was really awesome. We were the West Valley team but everyone called us the Americans. I remember we played Germany the night before we left and the Israeli team was in the stands cheering for us. It was really nice.”
Valenzuela also found the food in Hungary interesting and quite different. He remembers ordering spaghetti one night. But instead of getting it with regular tomato sauce it was covered with ketchup and corn.
A three-year varsity player at San Benito High, Valenzuela has yet to make the All-League team but hopes to get enough playing time this year to change that.
His dad, Rudy, believes that his son is on the brink of a breakout season at San Benito High.
“The trip to Hungary was a good experience for him,” he said. “It built up his confidence level. It allowed him to not just play for one coach and his style but it allowed him to learn from all kinds of coaches.”
After high school, he plans on attending West Valley College where he will rejoin some of his teammates from this summer’s experience. His long-term goal is to polish his skills enough to make the Vikings top team.
But for now, it’s all about finishing off his high school career.
“We are looking really good. This year we have a chance to win TCALS and go to CCS. Without Live Oak, it’s going to make things a lot easier. They had won our league 18 of the last 20 years.”
