SAN DIEGO
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Austin Green did not care much for football when he tried out for the Patrick Henry High freshman team four years ago.
Instead he dived into water polo. A novice when he began paddling for the Patriots as a ninth-grader, Green eventually guided Patrick Henry to back-to-back undefeated Eastern League championships. He was the league's Player of the Year as a senior, scoring 94 goals.
“I loved water polo right from the start,” Green said.
More than that, success in the pool helped Green develop his main game – baseball.
At the plate and in the field.
“Playing polo kept me in real good shape for baseball,” said Green, the Patriots' center fielder. “I could tell even in batting practice because I was able to hit the ball way farther.”
“I should require all of my players to participate in water polo,” Patrick Henry baseball coach Jack Lococo said. “What it has done for Austin is amazing. It has made him so much stronger.”
Green, a member of the Union-Tribune All-Academic Team, has compiled blue-chip batting statistics for the Patriots, who finished the regular season tied with Mira Mesa and St. Augustine for the Eastern League championship.
Heading into this week's start of the playoffs, Green was batting .442 with 18 of his 38 hits going for extra bases. His contributions do not end with his bat.
“Austin is such a good hitter – with gap-to-gap power – I think his defense definitely gets overlooked,” said second baseman Josh Schroeder, a senior. “I've never seen an outfielder get a better jump on the ball and be able to track it down like he can.”
Green has logged five assists, including throwing out three runners at the plate this season.
“I'd like to think I should have more, but people just aren't attempting to run on me like they did a year or two ago,” he said.
Lococo is convinced that Green has the arm strength to branch out. College recruiters agree, even though Green has spent most of his high school career in the outfield.
Oregon and Long Beach State wanted Green as a catcher, but the University of San Diego signed him to play the outfield.
Lococo believes Green could become a pitcher.
“His velocity as a pitcher is between the high 80s and low 90s,” Lococo said. “Right now, he just can't harness it. Personally, I think if someone works with him, he could make it someday at the pro level as a pitcher.”
Observers say Green is the spearhead of the Patrick Henry baseball team, but he hasn't allowed that role to go to his head.
“Austin carries himself so well,” Schroeder said. “He knows he's good and is cocky enough to succeed. But you'd never know it if you saw him on campus. No way is he a showoff. He is secure and at the same time very humble.”
