Arroyo Forced to Battle Illness, Not Opponents

SANTA ANA —  Robby Arroyo of Foothill High knows better than anyone that he needs to take the Southern Section Division I water polo playoffs one game at a time.

Arroyo, 17, is an All-American at the two-meter position, and he has played a big part in Foothill’s playoff success since his sophomore year.

But his senior season, which was supposed to feature one outstanding game performance after another, has instead left him wondering which game will zap him of his energy and make him almost helpless in the water.

In August, when Arroyo was competing at the swimming Junior Nationals in Clovis, he was stricken with mononucleosis. Since then, he has battled the illness that has caused him to miss the first two weeks of the prep water polo season.

Foothill, seeded second to Long Beach Wilson in the Division I playoffs, hosts Long Beach Poly at 6:15 p.m. today at Tustin in a first-round game. While Foothill has dominated county play the last five years, the Knights have struggled this season. Arroyo’s health has been a concern.

“I was swimming really well and I was just back from playing in a water polo tournament in Canada,” Arroyo said. “But when I got to the meet [in Clovis], I noticed I was feeling really tired and my times were off.

“When I got home from Clovis, all I did was lay on the couch for a week and do nothing. You know, there are those times when you have a day where you feel tired and it’s the worst day of your life, but the feeling goes away the next day. With this, I felt like that for three weeks straight.”

Jim Brumm has coached Arroyo since he transferred from Villa Park to Foothill in his sophomore year. Arroyo’s brother, Gavin, is on the U.S. Olympic team. He graduated from California, where he played on three NCAA championship teams. He also helped Villa Park win two section titles.

“I first heard about Robby’s illness when I got back from a trip,” Brumm said. “He telephoned me and told me he had mono. I didn’t see much of him during the summer, but I had heard that he was having a sensational summer. He was playing water polo well and his swim times were great.”

Brumm knew it was crucial at the beginning of the season that Arroyo not rush into water polo. But Brumm also knew that it would be tough for Arroyo, who is one of the team’s hardest workers during practice.

“My first instinct was that I had to get back into the water,” Arroyo said. “I had to start working out again.”

After following his doctor’s orders, Arroyo finally got permission to participate in games two weeks into the season.

“We pushed him too far against El Toro,” Brumm said. “That Friday, when we played Corona del Mar, he [Arroyo] didn’t show up for the bus. Apparently he had a high fever and he had to be taken to the hospital. That’s when we made the decision . . . he was out of the water.”

Brumm said he used Arroyo sparingly, occasionally in tournament games. As the weeks went on, Arroyo’s health and stamina improved, but he still suffered from relapses.

“Robby had maybe his best game of the season in the Northern California tournament,” Brumm said. It was two weeks ago at this tournament that Foothill upset Wilson.

The next week, Foothill defeated Century League rival Villa Park by one goal in a hard-fought game to win its sixth consecutive league title.

However hard it is on Brumm and his team, Arroyo’s fluctuation in health is obviously harder on him.

“He’s an awesome kid,” Brumm said. “He’s got a good attitude and he hardly ever shows frustration. He wants to play so bad. But with this mono, it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen.”