Athlete of the Week: Poway High grad Paur excited for opportunity with Pepperdine University
By Michael Bower
There is a lot of value in a 6-foot, 6-inch left-handed pitcher in baseball. There is just as much in a 6-6 lefty driver in water polo.
Pepperdine University coach Terry Schroeder knows that as well as anyone, which is why the longtime leader of the Waves’ program offered a preferred walk-on spot to 2014 Poway High graduate Sam Paur.
“I never thought I would be playing college water polo and now I am going to be going up against some of the top talent in the nation in the sport,” said Paur, who led the Titans in goals his junior and senior season and owns the school record for field blocks in a season with 17. “I didn’t think I would continue playing after high school.”
The Waves are consistently ranked near the top of the country in men’s water polo. Behind 22-year coach Schroeder, a two-time USA Olympic coach and former standout player, the Division I program has been thriving over the last two decades with a record of 349-233.
Paur was offered the walk-on spot in October after impressing the coaching staff at a June camp. The three-year varsity player on the lacrosse and water polo teams at Poway did not commit right away.
“I held out a little bit because I wasn’t sure right away,” Paur said. “Pepperdine is a really small school and I always pictured myself at a big school and I was applying to bigger schools so I wanted to wait until January or February.”
Paur, who plans to major in business, was also considering just being a student at the University of Denver. He mulled over his options for a few months before an official visit to Pepperdine in January clinched his destination.
“I just really liked the atmosphere,” he said. “It was like one huge family. The seniors were friends with the freshmen and just it being like one giant family really drew me in a whole lot.”
That certainly was the major reason, but also the thought of not playing sports anymore was something Paur could not grasp yet.
“Sports have been a big part of my life forever,” he said. “It would have been tough to go to school and just go to class. I have always been playing a sport and to just go to school and not play would have been hard.”
Paur, who leaves for Pepperdine on Aug. 18 and will start working out with the team right away, is finishing up the summer club season with the Junior Olympics in San Jose this weekend. There is only one other lefty on Pepperdine so Paur is hoping to earn a roster spot his first year.
“They said as long as I am in shape and ready to play then they are happy to have me playing in my first year,” Paur said. “It is a pretty awesome opportunity.”
Paur said he has two goals for his time at Pepperdine:
“To form a lot of friendships; I am really excited to have all these life-long friends after college ... and I am hoping by my senior year to become one of the top scorers or players on the team.”