Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Garrett Gentry: A burning desire.

Barry Faulkner

Though his athletic passion requires near-complete submersion, the

flame Corona del Mar High’s Garrett Gentry carries for water polo

flickers tangibly beneath the surface.

He is, despite the obvious lack of combustible conditions, fired up about

the sport.

“That’s why he’s one of the better players,” said CdM Coach John Vargas,

who as the men’s U.S. national team coach and a former Olympian himself,

knows talent when he sees it.

“I was exposed to a lot of sports growing up, but around the seventh or

eighth grade, I picked water polo as my favorite,” Gentry, the Sea Kings’

leading scorer and co-captain, said.

It wasn’t until his sophomore year at CdM, however, that the 6-foot-1,

185-pounder began turning up the heat.

“Before then, I’d never really been serious, never played year-round,”

Gentry said. “It was more a recreational thing for me, but I realized I

really loved the sport and I really wanted to play in college. All the

other guys who had the same goals were playing year-round, so by the time

I was a junior, I was really hot and heavy.”

Though somewhat behind his peer group in terms of playing experience,

Gentry said closing the gap has motivated him all the more.

“It’s like everyone else got a head start, so I want it twice as bad and

I want to work twice as hard to catch up,” he said. “I want to catch and

pass these guys. I want to be at their level and above.”

So far, so good.

After being named first-team All-Sea View League last fall as a junior,

Gentry helped the Sea Kings (16-9) earn the Pacific Coast League

championship and a berth in today’s CIF Southern Section Division II

semifinals against Los Alamitos.

He is also a member of the national youth team (one level below the

junior national team) and a virtual lock to collect All-CIF honors this

season.

Gentry’s team-high four goals in a 13-6 first-round playoff win over

Edison Nov. 12, allowed him to add Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week honors

to his resume.

Unlike most elite players, Gentry doesn’t confine his talents to the

high-profile area two-meters from either goal. Mind you, he does set for

the Sea Kings, and guard the opposing two-meter man. But his speed and

quickness (he was third in the 100-yard freestyle at Sea View League

Finals last spring) also prompt Vargas to utilize him on counterattacks

and as a driver and perimeter shooter.

“Wherever we need him,” Vargas said of his versatile standout.

“I love being utility,” Gentry said. “I’ll play whatever role my team

needs me to win. I’m one of the bigger guys for high school, so I can set

and guard two meters. But, I don’t think I’ll end up setting in college

and setting isn’t my favorite thing. I have more fun on the perimeter.”

Gentry said Vargas’ tutelage has inspired him to pursue his potential to

the fullest.

“The discipline (Vargas) teaches has made me want to play,” Gentry said.

“I love this game because of him.”

Gentry, who maintains a 3.6 GPA, hopes to get an opportunity to compete

at the collegiate level for programs like UCLA, UCI and Pepperdine. He

also wants to continue in the national program and, perhaps one day,

represent his country in the Olympics.

But of more immediate concern is the Sea Kings’ quest for their 10th

section championship, their first since 1989.

“We’re capable of winning CIF and our team wants it bad,” Gentry said.

One might say the Sea Kings share Gentry’s burning desire.