Oliver Garcia conducts himself with a certain swagger that conjures up memories of his two older brothers, both of whom starred for the San Benito High boys water polo team. Jacob Garcia was a league MVP during his junior year, and Charlie Garcia, a 2015 graduate, was a standout who was never afraid to voice his opinion.
Oliver has made a smooth transition following in his brothers’ footsteps, and the Haybalers are a better team for it. The junior left wing has exploded onto the scene this season as a prolific goal scorer. Garcia has 25 goals and 16 assists in nine league contests, including a six-goal performance in a 16-14 overtime loss to Christopher on Sept. 13.
“I didn’t play much last year as a sophomore, but I always knew I could shoot,” he said. “This year coach (Brendan Sigourney) is always telling me to shoot, and as a player you love hearing that. He gives me a lot of confidence whenever he tells me that.”
Garcia, Zander Bonnet and Josh Corrigan are quite a trio when they’re in rhythm and communicating well in the pool. All three players can flat-out score, and Garcia has had to take a leadership role when Bonnet—one of his best friends—has been absent.
“Whenever Zander goes out, I need to take over,” Garcia said. “With us three, I’m kind of like the calm in the storm.”
When Bonnet got ejected in the first half from the Christopher match, Garcia knew he had to pick up the pace. Garcia doesn’t mind stepping up into a leadership role; however, he knows the team needs Bonnet to stay in the game to be at its best.
“Zander is kind of a hot head, so I always tell him, ‘Dude, don’t do dumb mistakes—we need you,’” Garcia said. “He’s a monster player for us. He came on as a sophomore last year, and it was pretty cool to see because he can dominate.”
Garcia scored five goals in a match against York earlier in the season, sealing the outcome with a nifty blind backhanded shot into the corner of the cage with 1:12 remaining.
“It was one of the best shots of my life,” he said. “It was the dagger and sealed the deal.”
Garcia credited his brothers for toughening him up mentally and physically. The three did what any trio of brothers would do growing up: They wrestled and competed for anything and everything.
“They toughened me up for sure,” Oliver said. “We’d always wrestle and fight like brothers would do, especially when we played against each other in the pool.”
More important, Jacob and Charlie provided Oliver with motivation to achieve at a high level outside the pool. Jacob is in medical school, and Charlie is a sophomore at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
“Jacob is kind of a genius,” Oliver said. “He’s super smart—I wish I had his brains.”
In the pool, Oliver learned what it was like to play at such a high level in an intense manner.
“Charlie was mean, man,” Oliver said. “He went out there and competed. He could be dirty sometimes (laughs), and he’s a guy you didn’t want to play against.”
Garcia possesses strong ball-control skills and is adept at firing off potent one-timers, a skill wing players need to possess because they’re the ones who are in position to shoot in rapid-fire fashion.
Even though Garcia has been a difference maker in the pool, his favorite sport is basketball. Garcia played on the junior varsity basketball team in his first two years, but is looking to make an impact on the varsity this season. Even during the water polo season, Garcia practices jumpers or plays a pickup game.
