On the surface, it looks as if this season might be a tough one for the Long Beach State men’s water polo team.
The 49ers top goal scorer and starting goalie, along with six other seniors, graduated last year. The coaches in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) have picked the 49ers to finish last in the conference. Lastly, the squad is under the tutelage of a new coach, Gavin Arroyo, after Rick Azevedo left the school to coach the national team.
Although, things don’t look great on paper, Arroyo has changed the way the team thinks. Now the question, is will it work?
“If the players are prepared, we should be able to compete with every team in the country,” Arroyo said. “We have no pressure and have nothing to lose.”
Arroyo has prepared his players by emphasizing fitness and building team unity.
“We haven’t practiced one offensive set yet,” Jay Gerardi said, who was an All-American in 2005. “There’s been a lot of swimming and running. We’re much fitter now than we were all of last season.”
In and out of the water, Arroyo is trying to make his team more cohesive. He said when he first took over the squad there was a lot of “me, me, me.” Now it seems Arroyo has convinced the team that it is all linked together.
“[Arroyo] has made us realize we have to play as a team,” Gerardi said. “We are like a machine. If one part doesn’t work it all falls apart.”
Even though Arroyo has worked his players hard this summer, he has gained the respect of his players.
“[Arroyo] is a good mentor and inspiration,” said senior Kevin Bradley. “He’s made it to the top level, so he knows what it takes to go ahead in this sport.”
Before coming to Long Beach in the spring, Arroyo was an assistant coach at his alma mater, the UC Berkley. He competed in the Olympics in 1996 and 2000 for the United States, and played professionally in Europe for seven years.
“I came to the Long Beach community because of the importance of water polo to the area,” Arroyo said. “With its history and the number of Olympians produced by the school, Long Beach is the hub of water polo.”
Arroyo doesn’t like talking about individuals on his team, but clearly Gerardi is very important, to the 49ers success in the pool this year.
Gerardi’s 61 goals last year were almost five times as many as the second-leading scorer on the 49er roster.
The 49ers will need an increase in contributions from sophomore Joe Sherrin, junior Clint Wilson and Bradley if they want to compete in the MPSF.
Underclassmen will also need to step up. There are nine true freshmen on the roster along with five redshirt freshmen, including 6-foot-8 center Jeff Greenwood.
After losing their starting goalie to graduation last year, there is now a three-player battle for the starting goalie position. Derek Weibe-Bailey, Tyler Anderson and Steve MacKenzie are all looking to become the No. 1 player between the posts.
With the amount of uncertainty on the roster, it is hard to blame the MPSF coaches for picking LBSU to place at the bottom of the nine-team conference. Although, neither the coach nor the players expect to be there.
“The goal is to win the national championship,” Gerardi said. “That never changes.”