The athlete of the week for the week Feb. 12-18 is senior Osmani Alegre. Alegre is recognized for his defensive skills on the water polo team. Alegre a student in the International Baccalaureate program and was a key player in the Manga Santos Tournament by blocking over 30 shots in just three games.

Q&A

Why did you start playing water polo?

I started playing water polo because, it is actually a pretty funny story, I was an eighth grader and my sister showed me a yearbook and she showed me the water polo pages and I am like, what is this? I didn’t even do swimming that year I just went straight into water polo and it killed me physically, but yeah I just stuck through and I keep going.

What position do you play?

I am a goalie.

What is your favorite part about being on the Coral Gables water polo team?

My favorite part would be definitely the family aspect of it, we are very close and we really like supporting each other and what not.

Do you do any other activities or clubs?

I like to build and create websites, program, make robots and stuff.

How do you balance school with sports?

It is pretty…I wouldn’t say it is easy but you just try to limit yourself to what you can do, pretty much don’t overdo certain things in your day that you have to pay for later. Like don’t put things off too much, just balance pretty much.

What kind of training do you go through to get to this point?

Pretty intense training, I tread a lot. I do a lot of jugs which is when you have like a, I don’t know how many gallons it is, but you have those really big blue jugs and then you fill them up with water and then you put them over your head and you try to stay over the water and that is pretty hard on its own. I run often, it is a very leg-oriented workout.

What are your hopes for the season?

My hopes for this season is to at least make it to second place in districts and win the GMAC tournament.

What is your favorite water polo memory?

So far my favorite water polo memory is when we, a couple weeks ago, won one of our first games of the season against Cooper City in the Manga Santos Tournament and I blocked at least 25 goals that game and we won nine to five. It was ridiculous and we got really emotional and it was great.

Keep an eye out for Alegre in the goal because he is sure to block all the shots coming his way.