In the Shadows : They’ve Got the Skills, They’ve Got the Stats, but These Players Don’t Get the Attention the Stars Do
They aren’t on the preseason recruiting lists and are rarely the subjects of feature stories or profiles.
Yet, they can be stars on poor teams or secondary players in the shadows of greatness. The general public may not know their names, but their coaches do.
They are underrated players, the ones who are appreciated by their teammates if not by anyone else.
Who are Orange County’s best unknowns, the ones deserving of a few moments in the spotlight?
Shahab Moustafa San Clemente Wrestling
Many wrestling coaches seem uncomfortable with the term underrated. Instead they prefer “dark horse.â€
“Every year there seems to be a kid who comes out of nowhere,†Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb said. “You’ll get a kid coming up from the JV ranks who spends all of his free time working on his wrestling and going to freestyle tournaments. And then when the season starts, it’s like he appears out of nowhere.â€
One such wrestler is Shahab Moustafa of San Clemente, whose name seemed to be on everyone’s list of dark horses.
“I think Shahab is going to surprise some people,†San Clemente Coach Mark Calentino said. “He transferred here last fall from University and he’s catching the eye of some coaches now because he really didn’t do that much when he was at University.â€
Moustafa, a 112-pounder, started wrestling as a freshman. At that time, the University program was run by Steve Stewart, who had one of the county’s top-ranked teams.
At the start of Moustafa’s sophomore year, Stewart left University. But before he left, he gave some advice to Moustafa.
“He told me he thought I had a future in the sport and that if I went to freestyle tournaments during the off-season, it could make a difference in my wrestling,†Moustafa said.
However, Moustafa did not heed Stewart’s advice, saying he had forgettable sophomore and junior seasons. But after moving to San Juan Capistrano last year, he started to go to every freestyle tournament he could.
“I would wrestle these tournaments and get 10 or so matches. And there would be all these coaches there, advising me and giving me tips. There were also the wrestlers themselves, who would give me tips,†Moustafa said. “That’s really made all the difference in the world for me as far as my wrestling is concerned.â€
Moustafa’s record is 23-5, with his two defeats coming against state-ranked wrestlers.
“It was those freestyle wrestling matches that got my confidence up,†Moustafa said. “I remember wrestling [Matthew] Deene of Marina, who was ranked first in the preseason poll, and I beat him. I’ll never forget that because that told me I could beat some of the best.â€
While Moustafa said he was a ranking fanatic early in the season, he says he no longer concerns himself with the polls.
“I used to be really into that,†He said. “The rankings would come out and I’d look at them and start moaning. One day, I saw the rankings in my coach’s office and I was really upset that I wasn’t ranked. But Coach Calentino told me not to worry and said it was no big deal. He told me to go as far as you can. And that’s what I’m doing. I just want to go as far as I can.â€
