Marcell Varhalmi, South Florida GOALKEEPER, EARNS National Player of the Year Votes

We want to wish a massive congratulations to our amazing 18u goalkeeper, Marcell Varhalmi, class of 2027, a congratulations for his fifth-place finish in the Youth Athlete of the Year competition hosted by Colossal Management and is sponsored 3BRAND, a clothing line founded by star NFL quarterback for the New York Giants, Russell Wilson. The long competition that included many rounds is used to help support two massive charities; the V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Why Not You Foundation that help to continue shape the future for young children and athletes across the United States.

The V Foundation for Cancer Research is a foundation founded by the legendary collegiate basketball coach, Jim Valvano, a legendary figure in the basketball world as an incredible coach and beloved broadcaster, his crowning moment was a historic and improbable win with his beloved North Carolina State University as they would triumph over the University of Houston in 1983 in the NCAA Division I finals, his lone national championship, over a team that was led by two future NBA Hall of Famers, Hakeen Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. In 1992, in his mid-40’s the beloved basketball coach would be diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma, a form of glandular cancer that can spread to the bones, his battle was tough but nothing could deter the legendary coach from continuing to impact young lives, on March 4th, 1993, Jim Valvano would speak at the ESPY Awards, where upon being awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award in his acceptance speech, Valvano would announce the founding of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, his speech would become legendary as he was, a charismatic character who touched the lives of so many, his essence entrapped in his closing statement of the speech, “Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever. I thank you and God bless you all.”, he would exist the stage to a standing ovation.

Jim Valvano would pass away nearly two months later on April 28, 1993, in Duke University Medical Center, however, his legacy would resound across sports as well as cancer research, with the V Foundation for Cancer Research helping to lead in the field to combat the horrible disease for thousands if not millions of lives every single day. Coach Valvano would be posthumously induced into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 where he is enshrined and remembered for his impact on both the sport he loved and regular lives of those who struggle daily against cancer.

Coach Jim Valvano at his ESPY Awards Speech in 1993, nearly two months before his untimely passing. (Photo Credit: The V Foundation for Cancer Research)

Founded by Russell Wilson in 2014, the Why Not You Foundation is an institution with a goal aimed at helping young kids nowadays to embrace the attitude of “Why Not You”, the foundation has taken several key areas of improvement for children growing up in America, including supporting initiatives that provide equal access to educational opportunities for all children, promoting of health and wellness to the youth through various partnerships with healthcare organizations as well as facilitating programs that address food supply and security to impovered areas across the country. Wilson’s foundation has reportedly been successful in providing over $13 million in a multitude of causes such as education, pediatric cancer research and hunger crisis, with the crowning achievement being in 2020 the opening of the Why Not You Academy, a tuition-free public school based in Des Moines, Washington and institute with the goal to provide quality education for underserved communities with the proud motto of, “dedicated to empowering students through mentorships and innovation to succeed in college, career and life.”

And it was our pleasure to watch our own Marcell Varhalmi make waves nationally with his selection and eventual fifth-place finish, our young star arrived at our Pompano Beach based home pool on September of 2022, a young athlete with experience in handball and soccer, while first he impressed with his swimming ability it was his immediate learning of eggbeater kick that quickly caught the attention of the coaches, what makes Marcell very special is his team-first attitude and incredible work ethic, while usually most athletes who standout in water polo start very young because of how technically and physically demanding water polo is, Marcell’s athleticism and hard work drove him forward quickly while he was already in eighth grade. Working under our own incredible goalkeeper coach, Dmitry Krylov, the young goalkeeper would quickly draw the eyes of the whole Florida water polo community and by the time he would make his first appearance in the high school ranks just over a year later for Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, he would very quickly make a case for himself as the best goalkeeper in Florida as a freshman where he would finish the season being named the team’s Rookie of the Year and a driving force behind the Raiders’ FHSAA State Championships semifinal appearance as he would have an astounding 272 saves, 50 steals, 29 assists and even 3 goals that he scored, the monster first season in high school in Florida water polo would be the catalyst for Marcell to try his talents on the national stage. During the year, Marcell would gain the scouting eyes of the 18u national team coaches while competing for the Southeast Zone in the Olympic Development Program, his astounding work had him selected onto the United States Regional Futures Cadet Team, a team consisting of U15 age group athletes who would travel to Serbia for two weeks’ worth of training against some of the best youth water polo academies in the world, however, before Marcell would go global, he would man the cage for us when our 16u team would travel to California for the 2024 Session 1 Junior Olympics held in North California. Marcell was incredible in the goal, providing a secure wall for our team as they would battle for an incredible first place finish in the Gold Division of the competition with Marcell starring in the final match, holding the opposition team to just four goals.

Marcell competing at the 2024 South Florida Water Polo Club’s 21st Annual International Tournament.

Marcell’s meteoric rise would continue on the local stage as well; after returning from Serbia with even more experience, Marcell would earn multiple MVP honors while being a stalwart for our 18u and 16u teams as they would continue their dominance across various club level tournaments including a tremendous series of games at the South Florida Water Polo Club’s 22nd Annual International Tournament where he held multiple teams, some led by athletes who have competed in international competitions for various national teams, Marcell would dominate, helping spearhead our U19 team to the silver medal. Going into his sophomore year of high school, Marcell’s incredible rise had turned the Saint Thomas Aquinas Raiders into a favorite with a strong supporting class of Samuel Eastaugh, Lev Konnikov, Holden Harkins and Andreas Lajko, however, it was Marcell’s dominance in the cage that would be the catalyst behind Saint Thomas Aquinas once again arriving at another state championship semifinal match. Marcell’s dominance between the pipes translated to 228 saves, 40 steals, 23 assists and 2 goals scored, this also included a game where Marcell had an otherworldly 22 saves in a single game, for his incredible work, Marcell would be recognized as the Team MVP and by far the best goalkeeper in the state, however, if that was in contention, Marcell would completely erase it when he would enter the Olympic Development Program again, this time his development impressed so much that Marcell was selected as one of the four goalkeepers onto the United States Youth National Team, recognizing him as one of the best four 18u goalkeepers in America. Marcell’s selection was historic as he was the first Florida based player to be selected onto the main 18u team in nearly two decades and his first chance to show his star potential was at the U.S. Senior Nationals, the championship tournament of the U.S. National League, where Marcell would face shooters of an incredible caliber including Olympians and current professional players from overseas, in his five games Marcell would amass over 35 saves and help his young team to some impressive moments against elite opposition. Marcell’s summer would only become busier, following the appearance at the U.S. Senior Nationals, Marcell would travel with the Youth National team to Italy where he would spend the time training and competing with the team that is looking to build towards the 2026 Youth World Championships. His return to Florida would be a quick turnaround as he would depart with our 18u team to back to California to Junior Olympics once again in the 18u division, however, first he would spearhead our squad at the KAP7 Antiwave Summer Championships to take the 18u Platinum Division gold medal that included an unbelievable penalty shootout in the gold medal match, where Marcell stoned every shot the opposing team took and leading us to the win. Several preparation scrimmages against national powerhouse LA Premier would prepare the team again for an incredible run, with a young 18u team, only one athlete being actually 18 years old, Marcell would lead us once again to the Gold Division final, however, this time would end in a two-goal loss and we would settle for silver with heads held high at the job well done.

Marcell blocking a penalty shot.

With Marcell heading into his junior year of high school, he would be nominated for the Athlete of the Year competition where through a great push of voting with a huge support of his Florida water polo community, Marcell would bow out in the quarterfinals of the competition and eventually earn an incredibly respectable fifth-place finish.

Congratulations Marcell! You make the club proud and the whole of Florida proud!