At 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, San Benito High senior Gabe Ventura went through the usual growing pains that come with being taller than everyone else.
“I was very awkward in the eighth grade, being 6-3, 6-4,” said Ventura, who is one of the Monterey Bay League’s top outside hitters. “I’m still trying to get used to the height.”
Translation: Being coordinated isn’t a given when you’re growing like a beanstalk in a short amount of time. However, the payoff can be great, because as the adage goes, you can’t teach height.
Ventura fits the bill as an athlete who is growing into his body, as any of the Balers’ opponents will attest. When set properly—not too tight or far from the net—Ventura can terminate the ball with such authority that not even the best defenses have an answer.
In a March 17 loss to Palma, Balers coach Javier Castaneda said Ventura was a potent offensive force.
“Palma was a pretty emotional game, and he gave his best performance of the season,” said Castaneda, whose team entered the week with a 2-3 record in Monterey Bay League play. “He was pretty much unstoppable on the outside. He’s been serving aggressively and has really stepped up as far as the leadership aspect is concerned. On game days, he’ll send out messages to the team to pump them up, and he makes sure to help the kids who are struggling to keep their heads up.”
Several Balers have played pivotal roles this season, including freshman outside hitter Mikey Cortez, who started off the season as a reserve only to come on strong in a starting role the last several weeks.
“Mikey had a dominant performance vs. Seaside (a three-game win on March 12), and his jump serve gave Palma trouble,” Castaneda said. “Mikey took over the tone of the game, and his teammates followed. He definitely keeps practice light, and the kids feed off his energy.”
Castaneda has been pleased with how the team has developed since the beginning of the season.
“They’re progressing above the standard I set out,” he said. “The Seaside match was phenomenal in that it was the first time I think I’ve seen the guys really play together with energy, and their main purpose was fighting for each other.”
Castaneda was pointing to last week’s match against Watsonville as a potential barometer for how the rest of the season would turn out. After dropping Game 1 28-26, the Balers won the next three games to take the match.
Saul Robles set the tone with several kills beyond the 10-foot line, and Sergio Sanchez proved to be an immovable force up front, recording several blocks.
Ventura, of course, had another solid performance, producing several kills. Ventura has made a nice adjustment after playing middle blocker for most of his career. A varsity starter since his sophomore year, Ventura plans on playing volleyball at Santa Barbara City College before earning a scholarship to a top-notch Division I program.
When Ventura first started playing the game in the eighth grade, he wasn’t exactly a polished product. That’s why he still played basketball until his junior season, when he realized volleyball was his ticket to play at the next level.
“I just started feeling comfortable playing volleyball, and started figuring out it was my future passion,” said Ventura, who has a 29-inch vertical leap. “I think I’m developing more into an all-around player, and hopefully I continue to improve so one day I can be a player who makes a difference at the college level.”
Ventura and Castaneda had an important conversation earlier in the season. That’s when the first-year San Benito coach told his star player that if he leads well, the rest of the team will follow.
“I pulled him aside after a match because I knew we had to get someone to jump start our team and get more energy out there,” Castaneda said. “We talked about what I expected of him and what we wanted to get out of the season. His dedication to the team has definitely turned the program in a positive direction.”
