The scoreboard never tells the entire story, especially with the San Benito High boys’ water polo team.
True, the Haybalers haven’t tasted much success this season from a wins-loss standpoint — they’re 0-5 in Monterey Bay Gabilan Division play, having been outscored 83-21 in the process — but first-year coach Brendan Sigourney, 29, loves the fact that his players have remained committed and haven’t lost their zeal for the game.
“They’re always here, even for our 6 a.m. Wednesday practices,” Sigourney said. “I can’t get enough of these kids. They’re great to be around because they’re like sponges, and they take in everything you say.
“They’re really thriving off the lessons we’re giving them, and they can’t get enough of it. They just need more repetitions, practice and game action. We’ve taken our lumps and we’ll continue to take some more, but we’ll get better, too.”
Especially with the team’s top three players — Charlie Garcia, Gus Spurzen and Colton Owczarzak — leading the way. Spurzen, a junior hole set, plays the sport’s most demanding position with a work ethic to match.
One of the fastest players on the team, Spurzen has been a reliable offensive scorer as well. Garcia, a junior two-meter defender, plays great defense and has a howitzer for an arm, allowing him to unleash strong, penetrating shots from beyond six meters.
Owczarzak, a senior driver, is perhaps the team’s best overall talent.
“Colton can drive, set and pass, and he’s the veteran we look for on offense when we need a play to be made,” Sigourney said. “That’s why he’s our leading scorer.”
Traditionally a strong program, San Benito went 2-12 last season and has struggled the last couple of years due to a lack of a solid club presence, Sigourney said. A successful club program is essential for high school athletes and teams because it gives them a structured program to train year-round, or at least a couple of months in the summer.
“The summer club team here died off from what I understand,” Sigourney said. “When you don’t play in the summer for a fall sport, it’s going to be really hard to compete with teams that play all year. Ideally, we’ll get a summer program up and running here again.”
Sigourney, who played at Robert Louis Stevenson and UC Davis, was an assistant coach the last three years at RLS before taking the position at San Benito. Even though the Balers will be hard-pressed to earn a victory, Sigourney knows there’s tremendous value in teamwork, development and attitude.
“I tell the kids it’s not just about winning, but showing improvement,” he said. “As long as we learn from our mistakes and improve, that’s a mark of success.”
The team’s No. 1 goal is to earn a win, of course, and beyond that the Balers want to be more competitive once the league playoffs roll around a little over a month from now.
Instead of being walkovers to a top-tier opponent, they want to give the competition some headaches.
“If we do that, it shows we’ve made some dramatic improvements,” Sigourney said. “I wish our guys took losses harder sometimes, but I love the fact that they don’t get down on themselves too much. They love the game, they compete and they’re determined to get better.”
