Belen’s Aguilera and Ransom’s Lefebvre are Miami-Dade’s Water Polo Coaches of the Year
For one coach, it was about finishing the journey back to the top for a boys program that not long ago had looked unstoppable.
And while the other’s team did not achieve the ultimate goal, it wrested back the top place among girls teams in the county.
After each guided his respective team back to the state final four, Belen Jesuit’s Jimmy Aguilera and Ransom Everglades’ Eric Lefebvre are the Miami Herald’s Boys’ and Girls’ Water Polo Coaches of the Year.
Aguilera led Belen to an impressive undefeated season and its first state championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016.
Lefebvre’s senior-laden Raiders’ squad dropped a heartbreaker in the state semifinals to Winter Park 6-5, but climbed back into the title picture after not reaching the state tournament a year ago courtesy of rival Gulliver.
Ransom overcame its longtime nemesis in the regional final round in a 12-11 thriller to make it back to state for the first time since 2019 when it won it all.
Amanda Harris scored with 2:05 left in that match to provide the difference-making point as she and six other seniors led a group that was balanced in its scoring throughout the season.
“Our biggest thing is having everybody contribute,” Lefebvre said after that match. “If I look at the scoresheet after the game and it’s a bunch of little checkmarks on different players, I know we’re doing a good job. That’s our identity.”
Aguilera’s team could score prolifically as well.
But defense was the name of the game for the Wolverines, who often held even the most talented teams in the state to single-digits in goals or even five goals or fewer.
Led by Player of the Year Carlos Veccio, Belen didn’t allow a team to score more than nine goals during its 20-0 season until state when it had to make key stops to win shootouts against Oviedo 16-14 and Orlando Dr. Phillips 17-13.
“We played with a lot of defensive discipline,” Aguilera said.
Aguilera also credited something he and his players didn’t have during their back-to-back run six years ago - an on-campus aquatic center. Belen built such a facility (the Gian Zumpano Aquatic Center) in 2018 hoping to maintain its standard of success in a sport in which it has long been a perennial contender.
Aguilera and the Wolverines saw the fruits of that labor in 2022 when they jumped in their home pool to celebrate the school’s fourth state title.
“Prior to (having the aquatic center), we didn’t have an adequate training facility,” Aguilera said after winning the state title. “Now, we have 60 to 65 players in the program. From that group, we can choose the best players for varsity. The aquatic center helps us in every aspect of our preparation.”
