Under the Surface: Gabor Sarusi By: Alex Paulsen
“S
HOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT!” A 6’ 5’’ Hungarian man stands tall on the pool deck, charged with frustration. It was only 6:30am but he and the Mtn. View High School water polo team were far from sleep. Gabor Sarusi, the new head coach, holds the team to high expectations and is irritated with their lack of execution. In a syrup-thick Hungarian accent he booms, “SHOOT THE BALL MAN!” He was furiously animated, explaining over and over again what we are doing wrong. Ten heated minutes passed and two cops in uniform suddenly appeared on deck. They approached Gabor and pull him aside. We were told to continue practicing and we did so half-heartedly. After a short conversation the policemen left and coach told us to bring it in. Apparently, the police had
received a call from a neighbor saying they heard someone yelling “SHOOT” at the high school and they got worried. With a smirk, he jokingly blamed our mistakes for his loud yelling. This was the first time I really experienced the persona of Gabor. A coach can be a role model. They have an opportunity to profoundly impact their athletes’ minds, to go beyond teaching them how to play a sport. The key word is opportunity. All coaches have this opportunity but few seize it . Maybe they are just too focused on the sport, don’t make a connection with their players, or sometimes even have a negative impact. The way sports are evolving today only enlarge this opportunity; competitive high school sports are demanding, often practicing 6 days a week and sometimes
multiple practices a day. This means coaches are with their players more than any teacher or counselor, creating a chance of great influence. According to Caitlin Erwin, a writer for Live Strong “Coaches can be a positive influence in their students’ lives… They instill the values of fitness, team effort and fair play” (Erwin, “Role Models). Especially in high school when teenagers are growing and changing, a positive role model on the court, field, or pool can refine a young athlete’s character. My father, Greg Paulsen, watched both his sons play for the Mtn. View Spartans. When questioned about the role of coaches, he said “As a coach you have the responsibility to hopefully have them leave the sport being a better player (and) person… Gabors coaching style is rigorous, he’s very disciplined and he tries to impart that on
the kids” ( Paulsen, Interview). No girlfriends.” A short chuckAlthough he may seem imle sizzles throughout the team patient and quick-tempered, as he names off a few specific Gabor seizes this coaching players. New players get to see opportunity. He goes beyond what he is all about: success in teaching us how to be successwater polo, success in life. ful at the game of water polo Former Spartan, Michael and teaches us how to be sucMcGee echoes Gabor’s phicessful in the game of life. losophy, “It’s not just do go the It was the first practice of my drill right, go home. It’s do this senior year when Gabor gave drill right, do everything you us “the talk”. After four years do right. Go to bed on time, on the team, I felt like I could wake up, eat right. He has his recite it by heart. On the Satgood stuff when he’ll catch urday before the first week of you at in n out and he’ll get school, Gabor pulls a chair up, really pissed off… Be the best and faces his team. His blue you can be in your sport, it’s eyes strike us with seriousintegral to be the best you can ness and the mood has already be in life” (McGee, Interview). been set without him saying And the players receive this one word. And “I want my players to as I could have have good experience.You guessed it, he adknow, 10 years from now hangdresses our team, “Gentlemen.” ing out with the same guys hopefully… He explains the and say remember that game, remember length of the seathat season. Remember how hard we son—our practice worked. What we accomplished. and game schedGood memories.” ule—and points out tough spots and significant games. He speaks of the new as well as the parents. When rules and league structure. I questioned on how he first can tell he’d done his research. saw Gabor, Greg notes, “It was He advises us to eat properly more about helping the young and get enough sleep.. He conboys develop. To become men tinues to tell us to eat, drink, and to be disciplined and to be and sleep well as he transitions respectful, and he talked about into the overriding topic. “Get homework and studying, being your priorities straight. Family more important than playing number 1. Academics number water polo...You really look 2. Water Polo number 3. All forward to the experience your that other stuff, forget about it. son is going to have with that
particular coach” (Paulsen, Interview). Clearly, Gabor stresses discipline outside the water and this is visible from a parent’s and player’s point of view. He understands that he isn’t coaching a college or professional team and is aware of the limitations. Author Frank Reynolds talks to this point, “A good understanding of the age, gender and training level of the athletes you coach. How much time you and your athletes have available to train and compete? What is your development program based upon and how far can you take it by enhancing and incorporating other aspects such as sport psychology, nutrition, education or sophisticated technique analysis?” (Reynolds, “Coaching Philosophy). Gabor pushes his player to the limits but within the limits. Coach Gabor has played water polo all his life starting at a young age when he was living in Hungary. Gabor periodically tells the team, “I have been playing water polo longer than you all have been on this earth” which is true. He and his brother were raised by their mom and lived in a home right by the public pool. In his first year of college, Gabor’s mother passed away and he looked for a new start. He knew his childhood friend Joey had gone to a community college
in California to play water polo. Gabor decided to follow his friend’s steps and moved to California and attend West Valley College. The Hungarian reflects on his move “I just had a great experience over here, the first time I started West Valley, everyone was super nice. I fell in love with California, the weather, the lifestyle, that’s pretty much why I decided to stay here for a long time” (Sarusi, Interview). He also met the head coach, Bruce Watson who Gabor has great respect for as a coach and a person “I would say he’s my idol... He’s been with the sport for 50+ years. He finds way to enjoy it. He’s always positive” (Sarusi, Interview). After a great year of polo with West Valley, he was recruited to play at the University of Southern California, the num-
ber one collegiate water polo program in the nation. The trojans went undefeated in the two years Gabor played there. Gabor reminisced. “It was a
great experience, it definitely made you grow up. To learn how to manage your time, with
coaching at a nearby high school during his last year in college. After a couple years
academics and sports. It made me realize what you need to do if you want to accomplish your goals, whatever you want to do in life. Accomplish your goals and beat everyone else” (Sarusi, Interview). He holds this time at SC close and often refers to his experience from time to time during practices. Coach reminds us to follow through on our shots with our point and middle finger telling us to remember “fight on,” the sign all Trojans share. Gabor got a headstart on his coaching career: he started
of coaching down south Gabor moved to the Bay Area and joined his former coach, Bruce Watson, at West Valley Water Polo Club. These many years of experience playing and coaching water polo have accumulated to an extremely high water polo IQ. Knowing the strategies to the game is one part, and knowing how to manage your players is another part, and Gabor has both. This has always been evident to me throughout my fours years playing for him. In my Junior year we played in the Saint Francis/Acalanes tournament and had just suffered two hard losses the day before. At 7am the team stands on the curb, our faces evident with the defeat of yesterday’s games. We were strapped down with backpacks, swim bags, and coolers; our posture tired. There was sparse conversation,
most of us think silently about our lost hours of sleep. Then the big white van rattled into the parking lot and stopped abruptly parallel to us. With the window down, one hand on the wheel, outfitted in a hat and sunglasses, Gabor said, “Good morning gentlemen.” After a fury of sorting players and loading equipment we set off to our next game. He stopped hard and the first intersection making us jolt in our seats. “Wake up boys!” Coach turns up the radio, blasting some mainstream pop music and hummed along as best as he could. We lighten up a bit, defrosting from our zombie-like state of mind. He then switches stations to some classic hip-hop
deep voice he addresses the team, “Gentlemen, be respectful, remember you are representing your high school. Find a corner to put your stuff down and start stretching. This is a big game.” And our team exited the van in game-mode. In a time-span of 20 minutes, Gabor mentally managed his players from feeling halfawake, to energized, to focused and determined. This player management is only one side of his coaching and when in action, his water polo IQ is displayed for everyone to see. Mountain View senior Thomas Aronson has caught onto this in his four years with Gabor, “At any minute he can change up his
his team needs to do in order to adjust. Even the parents on sidelines can see this high level of understanding. When asked what first impression Gabor makes on the opposing fans, Greg points out, “I think they would walk away and think wow that coach really knows the game... (During the game) he sits down with his little whiteboard and sketches out a play for the team. You just don’t see that very often with the other coaches” (Paulsen, Interview). Gabor is heavily involved with coaching water polo. He coaches 12 and unders all the way up to the Masters Program. When he isn’t coaching for the West Valley Club team, he spends his time coaching
and head bops to the beat. With his hat to the back, I wasn’t quite sure if it’s my water polo coach or my friend driving the van. As we pull into our opponent’s school parking lot he promptly cut off the radio. With a stern,
plan. In any given adversity he knows exactly what to do and I don’t think a lot of coaches can do that” (Aronson, Interview). The former SC water polo star sees everything before it happens in the pool and knows exactly what
the Varsity Mountain View High Boys team. He coaches all different ages, all year round. Long term, he plans to live out his life in California coaching the sport in some fashion.