Dan Matulis’ first time back in competition since his serious shoulder injury was in February when he played in the Volvo Cup in Sznolnok, Hungary on the 14-man USA Men’s Senior National Team.
Being so tall made his absence all the more noticeable when he acquired a torn labrum [shoulder injury] right after the Long Beach State men’s water polo 2012 season ended. He was forced to undergo surgery and sit out the entire 2013 season.
Despite jumping right back into competition with little time to train, the experience of playing overseas with some of the top players in the country raised Matulis’ confidence.
“It was eye-opening because it wasn’t just getting back in shape and playing water polo,” Matulis said. “But it was playing at a higher level than I was used to.”
Before he jumped back into the water, Matulis rehabilitated for nine months.
For Matulis, being sidelined last season had its pros and cons.
“I learned a lot watching the game from the pool deck,” Matulis said. “The hardest thing was not being able to help your team in close games. It was pretty nerve-wracking watching because all you can do is cheer your heart out.”
Matulis had a breakout 2012 season when he scored a team-high 69 goals. That same year, he was selected to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation second team, All-MPSF All-Academic team and earned second-team, All-American honors. He entered this season with 121 goals in his LBSU career.
Before Matulis committed to LBSU, he lettered all four years at Milford High School, in Milford, Ohio, where he was named to the first-team All-Ohio in 2007-08.
Matulis said he began swimming at a very young age in his parents’ backyard pool in the suburbs of Cincinnati.
“I [was on] swim teams since I was a little kid,” Matulis said. “I spent my summers driving to the pool and swimming with my friends.”
Coming back after his surgery was no cakewalk for Matulis, but he said his determination to play helped him reach some impressive goals.
“It was kind of a weird time,” Matulis said. “The day after I got cleared from surgery, I tried out for the senior national team.”
Zacchary Kappos, who is also Matulis’ best friend and roommate, says Matulis leads by example through his work ethic.
“He is very aware of everything around him,” Kappos said. “He holds me accountable; whenever I make a mistake he will tell us about it or if there’s something that I can fix. He’s eager to say ‘you should have done this, or [you] should have done that.’”
Matulis has scored 14 goals in the 10 games he played for LBSU this season. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports psychology last semester and is currently enrolled in graduate school.
With two months left in his 49er career, Matulis hopes to end this season on a winning note.
“We would love to make it to the NCAA Tournament,” Matulis said. “There are teams like [Southern California], UCLA and Stanford that we’ve never beaten since I’ve been here.”
Matulis plans to finish graduate school at LBSU and play professional water polo overseas.