Three-sport scholars: Scott Martin in football, soccer,
volleyball; Dow in water polo, hoops, swimming
GILROY – Hopping from one sport to another throughout the school term – while maintaining good grades in the classroom – takes tons of hard work and dedication for even the most talented scholar-athlete.
At Gilroy High School, there were two particular seniors who personified the highest level of versatility and devotion – changing uniforms from the fall to winter to spring sessions like it was second nature and all the while excelling in their studies.
Three-sport phenoms – Scott Martin and Danell Dow – were not always the stars of their respective teams, but they were always ready to give it their all when their numbers were called. That’s why the two scholar-athletes were named Gilroy High’s Athletes of the Year.
While Martin, 17, played football, soccer and volleyball – Dow, 18, competed in water polo, basketball and swimming. And both Mustangs were scholars as well as athletes – each persevering grade-point-averages well above the required scores for eligibility.
Along with being tagged Gilroy High’s top athletes of the year and receiving a flood of academic as well as athletic scholarships, Martin is now headed to San Jose State University to pursue a degree in criminal justice and Dow is off to Cal Poly-San Louis Obispo to seek out a degree in animal science.
But before they graduated from high school, both left their marks in each sport they played in.
FALL SEASON
Dow began her senior campaign on the Lady Mustang water polo team – where she was recognized as a first-team All-League selection her last two years. Playing the all-important hole set position, Dow – who moved up to varsity at the end of her freshman year – led the Lady Mustangs in every offensive category.
But it did not come easy.
“I was in junior high and went to a water polo camp at Live Oak sports camp. That was the first time I ever played and I really liked it,” Dow said. “It was hard to keep up with everybody else. I was the slowest swimmer out there.”
Dow kept at it – pushing herself each day to become a stronger swimmer. Last season, she was the focal point of the Lady Mustang attack. Each offensive possession, the ball went into Dow – who was usually draped by double-coverage.
“You’re in the middle of everything. You’re kinda like the quarterback is in football. You’re in the center of the action. It’s a tough position to play,” said Dow, who persevered from a bad scrape to the eye during one league match this season. “The hole set is the one who runs the team. I get the ball a lot and shoot a lot. It’s a fun position, but you have to be in shape.”
Dow also took on a leadership role – molding her young teammates into water polo players.
“I just helped them out as much as I could. A team is only as good as its worst player,” Dow said. “I wanted every single girl to score a goal and be involved. It was a lot of fun. It was hard, but it was a lot of fun.”
Dow hopes to further her water polo career on the Cal Poly club team.
“I saw them play. They are not as big as the NCAA teams. I think I will be able to compete somewhat with them,” Dow said. “I’m really looking forward to playing with them. They’re really good.”
Martin opened his final year at GHS on the gridiron – switching from being the punter his junior year to place-kicker his senior year.
“I planned on playing freshman football from the beginning. I figured I’d give kicker a try because of soccer,” said Martin, who can boot 40-yard field goals with consistency. “There’s a lot more pressure (than in soccer).”
But Martin thrived off the pressure.
“It was real fun,” Martin said. “It’s always fun to be part of a team. You make friends with people you never would have otherwise.”
WINTER SEASON
Football was just a prelude to Martin’s soccer season. As the starting center-fullback, Martin – a two-time first-team All-League choice – was the stalwart of the Gilroy High defense. It was not hard for him to make the quick transition since he’d been playing soccer for 13 years.
“Only thing I had to worry about was getting in shape. In football, it’s sprint and then rest. In soccer, it’s sprint, jog – sprint, job,” said Martin, who also played on the San Jose Vikings U17 select team and participated in an elite tournament in Hawaii. “I always saw soccer as the sport we had the best chance to win a league title.”
The Mustangs fell just short of that league championship – losing twice to T-CAL champ and neighboring rival Live Oak. But after a second-place finish, the Mustang kickers qualified for CCS for a second straight season.
“There’s always a team pride and kinda a pride exclusively to the defense,” said Martin, who took pride in shutting out opposing teams. “I knew from the start of the season it was going to be us and Live Oak. It was great to be able to go out there and go through really, really toughs games against Live Oak. It was fun playing them for the league title.”
For Dow, the winter months meant stepping out of the pool and drying off for her fourth consecutive basketball season. Unlike water polo, Dow was still trying to prove herself on the basketball court going into the senior year.
“When I was little, I thought basketball was my sport. I wanted to play in the Olympics,” Dow said. “My sophomore and junior years on varsity were not the best. I had a coach who didn’t play me. It brought me down. I didn’t think I was very good. I was afraid to get the ball. It was not fun.”
But Dow showed her resilience and devotion by returning to basketball and working harder than she ever did before under new head coach Kari Williams. While Dow received All-League honorable mention and was named to the sportsmanship team, the Lady Mustangs had their most successful season in her four years.
“This year Coach (Kari) Williams was really helpful. She told me this was a new team and she really wanted me to come out and play. I had doubts, but I stuck it out and ended up having a lot of fun,” Dow said. “We went to the Final 4 in CCS. That’s the furthest we’ve ever gone in my four years – which was great.”
Dow cracked the starting line-up in her final season – and was a integral part of the Lady Mustangs’ playoff run. Always known for her defense, Dow also added a shooting touch to her game.
“I really tried to push myself and prove to my old coach that I can play. That was my motivation. I wanted him to know he made a mistake by sitting me on the bench,” Dow said. “It was a real special season, playing with Jenn (Olvera) and Laura (Hennessee) who I played with since my freshman year.”
SPRING SEASON
There was no break for Dow in the spring as she entered her fourth season of swimming – competing in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter breaststroke and some relay events.
“I liked all the short events,” said Dow, who used swimming as training for water polo. “I had to swim. If I wanted to be good in water polo, I had to learn to swim and improve my speed.”
Dow thought about taking a break – but she could not keep herself away from competition.
“I thought about it a bunch of times,” Dow said. “(But) I have to keep busy because I don’t want to get out of shape. I’d get home and there would be nothing to do.”
For Martin, the spring time meant volleyball – which the two-time first-team All-League selection played for four seasons. He too contemplated taking a season off – but he was one of the spikers’ top kill-leaders.
“I was hoping for a break, but I wasn’t disappointed. I knew volleyball would be fun. I knew we had a good team,” Martin said. “This was my senior year so I was hoping everything would fall into play and come together.”
The Mustang spikers had a memorable season – finishing in second place behind only league champ Live Oak. However, the team was snubbed of a CCS spot despite a 20-win season.
“It was really, really fun playing with the people I played with,” Martin said. “It was disappointing we couldn’t come out with a league championship, but the experience was awesome.”
When the Mustangs fell to Live Oak in their season-finale for the league title, Martin knew it was his final game at Gilroy High.
“I tried not to think about it much,” Martin said. “I knew in the back of my mind that little bell was going off saying that was it.”
ACADEMICS AND AWARDS
Martin finished school with an above 3.9 grade-point-average. He was also a member of the Pacific Islander Club and the American Classics Car Club. He had successes in all three sports he played.
His high school career and all his hard work culminated when he received the school’s highest honor as well as several scholarships. Martin was a CCS Scholar-Athlete – earning $500 towards college. He won the Chamber of Commerce Scholarship for vocational education; Mervyn’s Educational Scholarship; and the President’s Scholar Award – giving him $5,000 per year for four years of schooling.
“That’s great. That’s really a good amount of my education already paid for,” Martin said. “It was hard (balancing athletics and academics) but I look back and pride myself on being able to do it.”
Dow concluded her high school career with an above 4.0 weighted grade-point-average. She also found success in all three sports she played in. Dow received the Italian Catholic Federation Scholarship, the Rudy Malone Garlic Festival Scholarship for her five years of volunteer work, the Jan Kelley Scholar Award, and the Army-Navy Award.
A chip off the old block, Dow followed in her father Norm Dow’s footsteps when she was named her high school’s top athlete.
“It meant a lot to me and meant a lot to my dad,” Dow said. “He was athlete of year at his high school. He’s real proud of me.”
