By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
In the hunt for a fifth straight District 32-6A title, the Los Fresnos Falcons paid close attention to detail when it came to the defensive end, especially when it came to senior Sebastian Szpak.
Szpak drew tough assignments in big games and played a major role in bringing home another gold ball to the Los Fresnos locker room, as he took pride in locking down opponents and was not afraid to step in and take charges that could turn the momentum of a game in an instant.
For that reason, Szpak has been selected as The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Defensive Player of the year.
“It means a lot (to be selected), but the team helps out a lot,” Szpak said. “It’s not just me. I do the little things that end up big in the game, but the team is a big part (of my success). But this is a big deal for me, knowing that me being active on the court and willing to take the hits will feel good when it pays off in the end.”
Szpak had a solid senior campaign, averaging 10 points, 2.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 4.0 steal/charges per game. As a team, the Falcons held opponents to 49 points per game for the season and 46 in district.
By season’s end, the Los Fresnos senior racked up 11 games with at least four steals and was named the District 32-6A co-defensive player of the year.
When game-planning, Szpak was often looked to follow around the top opposing players in some of the biggest games of the season.
While a tall order, Szpak never blinked as the team already put an emphasis on playing defense.
The Falcons’ defenseman was simply doing his job.
“As a team, our main goal was defense — offense would work itself out,” Szpak said. “I always knew if we played the bigger schools and top programs, I covered their main guys wherever they went, try to get under their skin. That was usually the game plan for me.”
Coach Marco Hinojosa said Szpak has earned that trust after not only paying his dues in practice, but by doing his homework as he made it up the ranks of the program.
“He played freshman ball his freshman year, JV his sophomore year and in his junior year he was on varsity,” Hinojosa said. “He didn’t get to play much, but he was a student of the game. I saw he looked up to a lot of our kids and how he handled himself on and off the field. Szpak took on the role of Jordan Urbina this year as a defensive player. He lived up to it, but he did a lot of learning last year and this year, it was his goal to be the best defensive player in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Szpak’s mental toughness to take on the role also was a big reason why he was successful, often setting goals against notoriously high scorers.
“You’re not going to stop everyone every single time, but if someone is putting up 26, my goal is to hold them to 12 or less than 10,” Szpak said. “It forces them to make other players play better. Players come out and have their nights and are making their shots even with good defense. You just have to keep your head up and keep pushing them, make it hard for them and make them earn it. If it doesn’t go my way, that’s fine. Just look forward to the next game and keep your head up.”