Ben Hallock won in high school in Southern California. He won in college at Stanford. He won as a professional at Pro Recco, one of the top water polo clubs in the world.
Hallock has won everywhere he has played except for the Olympics. And the 6-foot-6 center desperately wants to check that box this summer.
“I'd throw every single medal away that I have now for a medal in Paris,” Hallock said. “Without a doubt.”
Paris has just about arrived for Hallock and a U.S. men's team looking for the program's first medal since it won silver in 2008. The U.S. faces Italy on the first day of men's group play on Sunday.
To get back on the podium, to somehow stay in contention into the final days of the grueling tournament, the U.S. is going to need more from the talented Hallock than it has ever seen before. And perhaps more importantly, more from Hallock's teammates.
“I mean I think it just always goes back to details,” said Hallock, 26. “I've played the sport for a long time, and the small details, especially when the Games are only every four years, they'll keep you up longer at night. They'll haunt you a little bit more. So just thinking about the little details and what we can do differently, how we can make up that difference.”
Hallock was just 18 when he made his Olympic debut in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. He played sparingly as the U.S. finished a disappointing 10th.
After taking a redshirt year to train with the national team, Hallock started playing for Stanford when he got back from Brazil. He won two consecutive Cutino Awards — water polo's version of the Heisman Trophy — and helped lead the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA title.
When COVID-19 disrupted the U.S. training schedule in California and pushed back the start of the Tokyo Olympics, Hallock was part of a sizeable contingent of American players who joined professional teams in Europe. He has won three Champions League titles with Pro Recco in Northern Italy.
By the time Hallock got to his second Olympics in Tokyo, he was a different player than he was in Rio. He scored 12 times while repeatedly drawing exclusions and causing all sorts of matchup issues.
“He's definitely one of the best centers in the world. ... You see it every day in the water,” U.S. attacker Max Irving said. “I mean you talk to the guys on our team, even talk to some Italian guys who he's playing with at Pro Recco, and they all say it: The guy's the real deal.”
Johnny Hooper, an American attacker who played with Hallock in high school at Harvard-Westlake, said the U.S. captain has been working on every aspect of his game for years. Hallock, he said, “never took a shortcut in every fundamental thing that you could be good at in water polo.”
“In terms of center play, he has every single ability on a nine or 10 level,” Hooper said. “He can play left-handed. He can play right-handed. He has the best legs in the game. He can turn. He can step out. He can pass. He can shoot.”
The U.S. finished sixth in Tokyo for its best result at the Olympics since it lost to Hungary in the 2008 final. Hallock was left wanting more — for himself and his team.
Namely, he wants to finish more of his opportunities in front and play better defense.
“I think when I watch video of myself now, there's still so many things I can pick apart every single play,” he said.
As he closes in on Paris, Hallock has been helped by the perspective of his fiancee, Kara Bajema, a professional volleyball player. Hallock and Bajema talk sometimes about practice and the dynamics of being on a team.
Hallock said she didn't know anything about water polo before she watched an Italy-U.S. game after they first started dating.
“She was just like, 'It's the most physical thing I've ever seen. You guys just look like you're drowning each other,'” Hallock recalled. “You know, all the whistles, like what's going on? But I mean she's a smart girl. She's learned a lot since then.”
