The entire Baler boys water polo team named to the All-League
team
When a team goes undefeated, wins a league title and advances in
the playoffs further than any other team from that school ever had,
it draws a lot of attention and gains instant respect, particularly
from other coaches in the league.
The entire Baler boys water polo team named to the All-League team
When a team goes undefeated, wins a league title and advances in the playoffs further than any other team from that school ever had, it draws a lot of attention and gains instant respect, particularly from other coaches in the league.
Proof of that came at the announcement of the year’s Tri County Athletic League awards for boys water polo when it was discovered that every player in the San Benito High starting lineup had been named to the prestigious All-League team. Six of the Balers starting seven were selected to the First Team squad, one made the Second Team and two-meter offensive standout Dave Smith was named MVP of the league, making it a clean sweep for the Balers.
“This has never happened,” San Benito Coach Tom Agan said. “I want to give a lot of credit to the other coaches in our league. They were able to step back and analyze what had happened this year, and said ‘yes’ San Benito High deserved those seven spots. My hats off to all of them.”
During the regular season the Balers went 16-7 overall and 7-0 in league. The Balers then proceeded to advance past the opening round of the Central Coast Section playoffs for the first time ever in school history via their 17-4 win over Lynbrook. San Benito’s season would eventually come to a close just days later after the No. 7 seed Balers lost a 13-7 contest to No. 2 seed Menlo-Atherton High School.
Although the season ended with a loss, San Benito would have not gone that far had it not been for the Balers starting lineup, which consisted off all senior players.
Leading the way in the Balers most-storied season was Smith, who captured the MVP award for his tremendous play in the high-profile two-meter position.
“Dave can do it all,” Agan said. “He did a good job at two-meter and was an excellent driver. He put a lot of goals in the cage for us this year. I stopped counting at 130.”
Although Agan didn’t have that stat handy it is estimated that Smith put upwards of 150 goals into the opposition’s net, a stat that easily was tops in the league.
While Smith was making waves with his goal scoring, Matt Thorpe was turning some heads at the other end of the pool courtesy of his goal-tending abilities that not only helped shut down opposing teams but helped jump-start the Baler offense via his quick outlet passes.
“He’s an outstanding goalie, towards the top of all the goalies I’ve ever had here,” Agan said. “He had a great arm, outstanding accuracy and he stopped a lot of balls for us.”
During the season Thorpe got his hands on 200 shots, which is considered a phenomenal save total.
When it came to getting the opposing team’s top player out of the pool for a while, no one was better than James Shafer, who had an uncanny ability to draw ejections during games.
“He also scored a lot of goals for us,” Agan said. “He generated a lot of man outs, had a strong outside shot, and had a good shot off the foul. He just knew how to put the ball in goal.”
When it came to breaking up plays, stealing the ball or shutting down the opposition, Greg Valenzuela was the team’s strong point at the two-meter defender spot. His job was to guard the opposing team’s top scorer, and guard him he did, according to Agan.
“He was really solid for us,” he said. “A lot of times the goal scorers are the ones who get all the credit. But Greg really played well. Many times, with him in there, the other teams would have no offense whatsoever, because he was so effective at shutting them down.”
Another player to make the prestigious All-League First Team list was Jason Andrade. Agan believes that Andrade won the award for his ability to shoot and pass the ball effectively and for his unselfish play as one of the team’s top assist getters.
Senior Rory Bloch was the last Baler to make the First Team list. In addition to his strong shots that he could fire on goal from just about anywhere, Bloch also had an effective lob shot that would often catch other teams off guard.
Like Andrade, Bloch was also know for his unselfish play in the pool as he would often look for a player to pass too first before taking the shot himself.
“He led the team in assists. He was also a very smart player. He really knows the game inside and out,” Agan said.
The only Baler player in the starting lineup that didn’t earn First Team honors was senior Blaine Curtis, but it wasn’t because of a lack of skills, according to Agan.
“He made the Second Team but he was a good player. He was our sprinter,” Agan said. “Not many people beat him to the ball this season. He’s a great driver who knows how to get the offense started.”
Agan went on to say that Curtis’ speed was instrumental in helping set up the team’s scoring situations.
“All in all we had an amazing group of guys this year – a lot of talent. They were real quality kids,” Agan said. “We made some history this year, and they helped move the bar up for San Benito water polo a little higher.”
Unfortunately for Agan, next year his team of all stars will all be lost to graduation.
“It’s definitely going to be a rebuilding year,” Agan said. “But we get a lot of parental support and we have good support from the school. We’ll be back. Whether or not we win the championship again, I don’t know, but we’ll be back and ready to go.”
