Kyle Reuther, a two-sport athlete, was named the Free
Lance/Pinnacle’s Male Athlete of the Year
The story has been told before. Kyle Reuther was an
eighth-grader at Rancho San Justo when shop teacher and San Benito
High School junior varsity water polo coach John Agan, in a way,
recruited him for the pool.
Kyle Reuther, a two-sport athlete, was named the Free Lance/Pinnacle’s Male Athlete of the Year
The story has been told before. Kyle Reuther was an eighth-grader at Rancho San Justo when shop teacher and San Benito High School junior varsity water polo coach John Agan, in a way, recruited him for the pool.
The way everything turned out to near perfection, though, is what makes the story rather interesting.
“I had him earmarked as a goalie the first time I saw him,” Agan said. “But it’s hard to find kids that want to play water polo in the first place. It’s even more difficult to find goalies. You have to find kids who are willing to sit in front of a target.”
Reuther’s willingness, though, as well as his work ethic, not only had him coming out for water polo freshmen year – “I was more than happy to see him come out as a freshman,” John Agan said – but it turned him into arguably the top goalie in the Tri-County Athletic League and this year’s Free Lance/Pinnacle Male Athlete of the Year.
“A really deserving kid,” varsity water polo coach Tom Agan said. “A hard-working kid, great attitude, very talented – one of the most talented goalies we’ve ever had.”
As keeper, Reuther was a first team all-TCAL selection two years in a row, and racked up nearly 200 blocks in the cage this past season.
“With goalies, you look at the blocks and he had a huge number of blocks,” Tom Agan said. “But he was always good at getting the ball down the pool and starting our offense, and not all goalies do that.
“We’ve had some really good goalies over the years, and he’s certainly right there with some of the better ones we’ve had.”
His prowess in the pool wasn’t limited to just water polo, though. A senior who was named Male Athlete of the Year at SBHS as well, Reuther qualified for the Central Coast Section Swimming and Diving Championships in two events this season – the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.
“Just water sports,” said Reuther, who went from being a runner at Rancho, competing in track and field and cross country, to a swimmer at San Benito.
“I haven’t really got out of the water since then,” he said.
Although Reuther’s involvement in swimming initially began as a way to stay in shape during the water polo offseason, his interest blossomed as a four-year varsity member; Reuther was a second-team all-TCAL selection all four years.
“Kyle is a hard worker. He’s very determined to better himself,” varsity swimming coach Christine Schafer said. “He’s got the drive to succeed and he wants success.”
Along with the two CCS qualifying times in the relays, Reuther also took runner-up in the 200 free (1:52.45) and third place in the 500 free (5:19.69) at the TCAL Championships.
“Kyle is very goal-oriented and once he had that goal of CCS in front of him, that set him with a plan,” Schafer said. “That’s when he really started to find that success in swimming, rather than just stay in shape.”
Although he’s somewhat stationary while in the cage, Reuther said the transition from water polo to swimming is minimal.
“In water polo, we do swim,” he said.
Although he has plans of attending Occidental College in Los Angeles in the fall on an academic scholarship – he boasts a 4.15 GPA – Reuther said he will be competing on the boys’ water polo team as well, and could be starting in the cage for the Tigers as early as next season.
Standing 6-foot-3, it was Reuther’s 6-foot-7 wingspan that excited his coaches at SBHS – an impressive measurement that turned a kid who had never played water polo into a four-year varsity member and three-year starter, a kid who has plans of continuing his success at the next level.
“The hardest part is learning how to get yourself out of the water,” said Reuther, who is able to propel himself waist-high out of the water, arms extended. “After that, it’s not too bad.
“It’s very demanding because you’re in eight feet of water. But as a goalie, blocking the shot is probably as painful (as it gets).”
Using an egg-beater kick, Reuther basically has one chance to launch out of the water and stuff an opponents shot, placing an extreme importance on timing and instincts.
“You read the shoulders,” Reuther said. “As soon as the ball leaves his hands, you get up.”
And as Tom Agan pointed out, get the ball down the pool in transition. One memory of Reuther that Agan has is actually several memories – Reuther blocking multiple shots, only to corral the rebound and deliver a strike to an awaiting attacker on the opposite end.
“He really blossomed and developed into a great athlete,” John Agan said.
“He’s a rare breed. Fortunately, we found him, and the rest is history.”
