Justin Short is not splashy about his success about his on the
Live Oak boys water polo team, but his impact has sent waves
through the Tri-County Athletic League.
Justin Short is not splashy about his success about his on the Live Oak boys water polo team, but his impact has sent waves through the Tri-County Athletic League.
Short has been a member of the varsity squad for four years and has quietly risen through the ranks to become a vital member of the team.
He has earned All-American status, been named to three all-league teams, to the all-section team and is the Morgan Hill Times’ male athlete of the year.
“I’m honored,” said the humble Short, who was also named by the school as its male athlete of the year.
When Short began playing at Live Oak as a freshman, while still attending Britton Middle School, head coach Mack Haines knew he was a good player, but thought he would best defensively.
But each year that Short played, Haines said he put more responsibility on him.
“Justin has surpassed all my expectations as an athlete,” Haines said. “When I first saw him as a freshman, I thought he would be a solid player but was not a naturally gifted athlete, although he was a good athlete.”
Short said his main goal by the time he graduated high school was to be named to the All-American team.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it,” Short said. “It felt good.”
Short began playing water polo in sixth grade after his father, who played at Chico State, helped him become interested. He added that he decided to try water polo because he wasn’t particularly good at other sports.
His choice has paid off.
This year, Short was a sixth-team All-American, a first-team All-TCAL selection and a first-team All-Central Coast Section pick to complement his TCAL MVP honors.
During his time on the team, the Acorns have gone undefeated in league three years in a row. This year, Live Oak was the runner-up in CCS – just one year after losing two-time TCAL MVP Ryan Gautschi.
Short said the team had to learn new roles to fill to void left by Gautschi.
“We had to step it up and play big,” Short said. “Everyone had to help on offense and play good defense.”
Haines said because Short was such a quiet player who was not as flashy as Gautschi, he flew under the radar of the other teams in the league.
“I heard through the grape vine that coaches thought that we were ripe for picking,” Haines said. “Last year I think we were a much more solid team.”
Haines said that Short is one of the hardest workers on the team, never missing a practice in both water polo and swimming.
“One of the things that makes Justin such a good athlete is that he tries to learn every aspect of the game and that is probably why done he has done so well,” Haines said. “He never let his ego in any way get in the way of learning, which is hard for high school kids.”
Short has also played for several club teams, some of which took him to the Junior Olympics.
“It helped out a lot,” Short said about playing for clubs. “I met so many people.”
To stay in shape over the off-season, Short competed on the Live Oak swim team.
His staying in shape regimen earned him nine first-place titles in league events, three trips to CCS championships, where he took fifth place his sophomore year in a relay event.
But Short said he wants to concentrate more on water polo when he enters college at West Valley.
“I’ll probably swim just to get in shape before playing for the water polo team,” Short said.
Cheeto Barrera is an intern for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach him at cb******@*************es.com.
