Balers look to rebound from last season’s up-and-down year that
saw them finish 11-13 overall
HOLLISTER
The ending to last season wasn’t exactly sweet for the San Benito High boys water polo team. In fact, it was reflective of just how the entire season played out as a whole.
Needing a victory to claim the No. 4 seed entering the Tri-County Athletic League Tournament, the Balers mounted a come-from-behind 10-9 victory against Palma in the regular-season finale when Nick Angulo deposited the go-ahead goal with three minutes remaining.
But one week later, in the second round of the TCAL Tournament, the Balers dropped a 15-10 decision to those same Chieftains, eliminating San Benito from title contention.
It was an up-and-down season for the Balers, to say the least, who finished in fifth place in the TCAL with an 11-13 overall record. But perhaps not surprising to anyone who followed last season, San Benito head coach Tom Agan this year is preaching team dynamics, consistency and a balanced attack — a trio of factors that could be the difference in the Balers not only competing with powers like Salinas and Carmel in the TCAL, but even advancing to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
“I think that’s a realistic goal for this team,” said Agan, whose Balers haven’t advanced to the CCS playoffs since 2007. “If they really get clicking, we may surprise some teams. I’ve already seen some stuff that I’m encouraged about.”
The season is still young, of course. San Benito had its official kickoff to the 2010 season last weekend in Hollister when it hosted the Monterey Bay Invitational. The Balers went 1-2 at the tourney, losing to Carmel 14-4 and Pioneer 21-10.
The host squad did earn a come-from-behind 19-15 win against Monterey to start its day, though, a victory that featured seven goals from Nick Angulo, four goals apiece from Carlos Huerta and Jake Garcia, and two goals each from Tyler Reuther and Joe Larson.
“They kind of stepped out on us but we managed to battle back,” said Agan, whose team trailed early before tying it at 10-all midway through the third quarter. “We went by them and just kind of kept going.”
The balanced attack is what Agan is seeking each and every game, though. Although the Balers return Angulo, a first team all-league selection last season who deposited 97 goals for San Benito, Agan is hoping to see an attack that is six-strong this year.
His simple theory: the more players who are involved on an attack, the more difficult it is for opposing teams to stop the attack.
“I’ve been preaching that I have six guys that are a threat,” Agan added. “All six guys have to be involved in the offense.
“We’re gonna concentrate this year on how to make all the guys a threat. If we can do that, I think we’ll be successful every time.”
Angulo is expected to be the team’s two-meter player this year — he scored 18 goals in three games last weekend — with senior Danny Jarrett doing the same on defense and senior Trevor Agan returning to his spot in the cage. Along with senior Pat Maguire and juniors Tyler Reuther and Eric Johnson, though, the remainder of San Benito is of sophomore status.
“Everybody is working hard and we’re doing a lot of learning,” Agan said. “But it’s not a team that has really played together a lot as a unit.”
Many of the team’s sophomores have been developing during the offseason through the Hollister Youth Water Polo club, though, which began in June 2009. Among others, San Benito’s Carlos Huerta and Jake Garcia were two of those sophomores who participated in the club’s practices during the offseason, and each scored multiple goals last weekend in the Monterey Bay Invitational.
“We have enormous potential,” Garcia said of this year’s team. “We might not win the (TCAL) championship, but we have the potential to knock some teams off the board.”
Reaching the postseason won’t happen overnight, of course. Like his coach, Garcia feels a trip to the CCS playoffs is a very real possibility, but one that perhaps won’t be realized until the TCAL Tournament in November.
Again, the season is young.
“Carmel and Pioneer were well beyond our level and it showed,” Agan said of the Monterey Bay Invitational. “Our offense was not moving and when you don’t move, you don’t generate a whole lot in water polo.
“But we’re working on it. We’re young and it’s gonna take some time.”
