The start of the girl’s water polo season brings reminders of bloody noses, bruised bodies, and sore muscles. Intimidating to many, the girls on the team don’t mind the injuries.
The team loves being together at practices and games, they’re close friends.
“We all know each other very well. We know how everyone else plays, we have strong shooting, and we move the ball around quickly,” senior Chelsea Scheeler said. “People see us as the underdog team this season but I think we will surprise everyone.”
The varsity water polo team has been playing together for a few years and the time they spent together fostered their close friendship.
With more time to focus on the team, the girls’ varsity water polo coach John Au appreciates the extra time he can devote to their pre-season.
“We are in good shape because we got a legitimate pre season,” Au said. “The girls never got me for preseason because I’m usually coaching the boys team but we returned with good players and I am assuming we will do better.”
In addition to the many traditions shared by the girls, this year, they instituted a new one. The team cooked and delivered food to Becky’s House, a home for survivors of domestic abuse. Senior Janessa Schmidbauer appreciated the team’s effort to cook a lot of food for Becky’s House.
“We have 18 girls on our team,” Schmidbauer said. “Each girl cooked enough food for five people and every girl was assigned one course.”
The team pulled together to complete the meals and Scheeler felt the team’s togetherness.
“It was great,” Scheeler said. “We had so much food. It was good for out team to come together and help those in need. It is important to give back during the holidays.”
The other traditions of the water polo team include team sleepovers, pasta dinners, and secret sisters and dress up days.
With the season underway, the girls’ goals include ranking top three in CIF and first in league. Junior Karalee Angus believes their less quantifiable goal is staying consistent in work and performance throughout the whole season.
“We have to work together more and get faster,” Angus said. “We also need to stay strong throughout the season.”
Two weeks into the season, the water polo team scrimmaged against Granite Hills and won 14-10. The team did not know what to expect but played well and kicked off the season with a positive mind-set.
The Bronco Tournament followed for the next three days. The team played a total of five games and won two of them. Junior Vanessa Evans does not look too closely at their loss.
“Although we lost the tournament, it gave us a perspective of what to work on,” Evans said. “And we can look forward to improving for the rest of the season.”
Popularity: 3% [?]
Have an opinion? Comment on this article!
You must be logged in to post a comment. Not a member of MCSUN.org yet? Join now!
or Login using your Facebook account by using the Facebook Connect tool on the right sidebar