New Serra water polo coach Andrew Silva set to debut

Now, Wednesday stands to mark the start of a new era with Silva at the helm, as Sacred Heart Prep — in lieu of its typical season-opening tournament schedule — hosts its first-ever head-to-head season opener, and with a limited number of fans allowed to attend.

“The coaching staff and the athletes are thrilled we get to compete in an environment which is as close to what an opening game would look like,” Silva said. “We’re extremely grateful to Sacred Heart Prep for the work they’ve done to make this all possible … and while it’s going to be a condensed season … we’re getting to start our season in a competitive environment with fans in the stands and parents able to watch, and that’s a fantastic way for us to start the season.”

Serra will be limited to West Catholic Athletic League games, but that’s just fine by the 16 players on the varsity roster, especially the program’s four seniors — attacker Drew Buan; goalie Gavin Costa; utility Finn Gilmartin; and left-handed attacker Brian Kelley — who Silva calls the heart and soul of the program for the past three years.

“Everybody in all industries and career paths have had to plan and make adjustments the past few months,” Silva said. “So as the weeks have gone by and different regulations have come out from the county, we’ve had to make adjustments. So, we’re just excited to get the season started … and get some competition and get some games going over the next few weeks.”

Silva is taking over the water polo program for Justin Ferdinand, who also serves as Serra’s athletic director. Ferdinand cited time constraints as his reason for stepping down as coach after just one season. It wasn’t for lack of wanting to coach for Ferdinand, who ran the varsity program at Half Moon Bay for five years before taking over as AD at Serra in 2018.

Ferdinand said he will certainly miss coaching.

“Oh yeah, of course,” Ferdinand said. “With a great group of kids, great parents, great support from the school, of course I’m going to miss it. I have a tremendous amount of passion when it comes to coaching. It just wasn’t in the cards.”

ADs, by and large, have been working tirelessly to keep pace with all the changes of protocol and schedules in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Since stepping down as coach, Ferdinand as AD has overseen the implementation of weekly COVID testing among his football and water polo athletes, as per the guidelines of the WCAL.

Silva said there have also been demands on the arranging of transportation. Serra has relied on a hybrid model with this issue as well, using both school buses and parent drivers, as social distancing demands fewer students per bus. Another key issue has been athletes’ and parents’ willingness to keep flexible schedules to get the season started when the March 10 starting date wasn’t confirmed until earlier this month.

“A tremendous amount of thanks goes to the student athletes and families for being so flexible to allow this to happen,” Silva said.

More unknowns lie ahead for Serra aquatics as the schedule for the swimming season is yet to be confirmed. WCAL swimming can start practicing as early as March 15, with competition tentatively scheduled to begin March 22. But there is an effort to avoid as much overlap as possible between swimming and water polo, as Serra has athletes competing in both.

“We’re trying to get the water polo season off the ground first until we move it into swimming,” Ferdinand said. “So, there haven’t been a tremendous amount of conversations about how to move into swimming.”

Serra has reason to focus on water polo as the program has plenty of depth. In addition to the Padres’ senior foursome, Silva is touting junior utility Travis Murphy, junior center Luka Paganucci and sophomore attacker Alessandro Salemo as potential difference makers.

“Across the board, with all members of the program, we’re really, really happy with the depth, and the balance and experience,” Silva said.

In addition to his years as a coach with USA Water Polo, Silva has also coached at Citrus College, Marist College in New York and, most recently, Morro Bay High School.

“It was a combination of his coaching experience, his knowledge, and just his overall demeanor and who he is as a person,” Ferdinand said. “He’s just as perfect fit for the kind of coach we want to have representing Serra High School in all facets of who he is as an individual.”