So you are a freshman and it’s September. You are moving
into the dorms and living with strangers. You are eating new food
and sleeping in a new bed. You go to class and sit among 500 other
students.
Oh yes, and you are starting at center defender for the No. 2
UCLA men’s water polo team.
For most freshmen, everything but that last sentence is reality,
but for Michael March, his introduction to college featured another
important difference from high school, athletic competition.
“I remember being in the water before the first game
against UC Irvine,” March said. “It all kind of hit me
that day.”
What hit March that day has certainly impressed the coaches as
he has started in 14 of the team’s 16 games.
“Before we started recruiting, we knew we needed the
strong left-handed presence we hadn’t had in the last three
to four years,” assistant coach Matt Armato said. “So
when we were recruiting last year we had to find someone to play
right away. And with his play in the spring and summer tournaments,
Mike has shown his dedication from day one.”
In a perennial powerhouse program like UCLA, it generally takes
two years for a player to actually get his feet wet in a game. Even
for experienced Junior National and Junior Olympic participants,
redshirting the first year is a formality, and the freshman year of
eligibility might pass with action only in a mop-up role. That is
why March’s story is so unique. He has skipped the standard
two-year transition period and hit the pool running, so to
speak.
“The speed and endurance of the college game is the
biggest difference,” redshirt freshman Chris Pulido said.
“With high school endurance, you wouldn’t make it a
quarter in the college game. He’s definitely head and
shoulders above the rest of our class.”
“Usually a lot of the reason freshman don’t play is
because they are not physically prepared and not strong enough to
hold their own,” head coach Adam Krikorian said. “March
coming in was already a big kid and being left-handed, he has a big
advantage on the right side of the pool.”
Indeed, being left-handed gives an angular advantage to a
right-side player as far as setting up teammates with passes and
having more of the goal at which to shoot. However, a good lefty
shot is useless if a player cannot get the shot off, but at
6-feet-4-inches and 220 pounds the 18-year-old March is always one
of the bigger players in the pool.
“Mike plays older than his years in water polo,”
fellow center defender and senior Matt Flesher said. “Being a
true freshman, he is doing a phenomenal job.”
March did not wait long to make an impact. Even before his
academic career began, in the fifth game of his water polo career
he hinted at what he could bring to the team. On Sept. 15 against
USC, March scored three goals to lead the team to an overtime
victory ““ scoring a goal against the Trojans in the extra
period.
“Before the USC game everyone was getting me pumped up by
telling me, “˜Yeah we’re playing the Trojans!
There’s nothing like it physically,'” March said.
“Then when the game started, everything started clicking for
me, and it gave me a boost to see the large crowd and my whole
family there.”
When one is excelling in matches of that nature, it’s easy
to forget the non-water polo aspects of life, but March has also
had to deal with living on his own for the first time ““
another luxury of redshirting that he does not have.
“In a way, I wish I was redshirting because it’s
hard to spend time with the other freshmen, and being with the
older guys you get picked on,” March said. “I do like
the older guys though. They are a fun group.”
Two of the older “guys” that have helped him most
are sophomore goalkeeper Joseph Axelrod and senior goalkeeper
Brandon Brooks, whom March lived with during summer training.
“My biggest problem here has been with time
management,” March said. “I no longer have my parents
here to tell me what to do, when to eat, and when to do my homework
because sometimes I’ll get back from practice tired and just
sit in my dorm room.”
Luckily, March has help from someone who understands his
situation as his girlfriend, Morgan Smith, is a true freshman
playing on the women’s volleyball team.
Through the event-filled last few months, March’s life and
especially his game, has starting to settle down.
“Mike seemed overwhelmed in the first few games,”
said Coach Krikorian. “He’s a true freshman and
eighteen and at times he seems younger than that. It’s a lot
to ask of him to play center defender where everything is geared
around him. But in the last few weeks, I’ve started to see
him more comfortable and seeing things better.”
So while March is guarding players three and four years his
senior, he is not just in there to build for the future. His play
warrants his playing time and starting role.
Added Coach Krikorian, “We all know he can shoot the ball.
He also has enormous hands and can really grip the ball, so his
fake is like no other water polo player I’ve ever seen.
He’s going to be a great, great player.”