Destinie Schroff, Staff Reporter
destinie_schroff@csumb.edu
Feb. 14, 2008
Gary Figueroa stands up from his desk with a warm smile and a firm handshake.
His smile immediately warms you and the handshake hints at his tough interior. Figueroa is the women’s water polo coach at CSU Monterey Bay and he has quite a water polo history of his own.
Figueroa said he was “thrown in the water before he could walk” and took to it ever since. He said that his water polo career began when he was 11 years old and moved from Arizona to California. In 1984, Gary became a silver medalist in the Summer Olympics and has a place as a member of the U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame.
He started coaching “club water polo” at Salinas High School 10 years ago and has coached at CSUMB since the women’s team was formed four years ago.
Coach Figueroa is very popular among the players. “[It is] always a challenge with a coach to not befriend players, but to try and keep the team unified and moving in the same direction,” said Figueroa.
All-American Senior Chelsea Laning says that Figueroa “has so much higher experience and knowledge to bring to this team and anybody else that he coaches. He is probably one of, if not the, best coach that I have ever had.”
Kat Ashley, Human Communications Junior, states that Figueroa is able to understand the women. “He’s really easy to talk too, and he knows when to kid around with us but knows also when to be serious!”
Both girls rave about the personal help Figueroa has given them that how he has furthered their water polo careers for the future.
Through his leadership and understanding of the players, Figueroa has proven to be a talented man who will coach this much focused team towards a winning season.
