Water Polo Teams Prepare for Season
They knew the drill, and promptly they plunged into the new pool, one by one. The varsity boys’ and girls’ water polo teams trained diligently for the first couple weeks of practice, designated as “Hell Week,” a strenuous, two week conditioning routine that requires no handling of the game balls and individual commitment to physical toning and strengthening performance.
Sophomore and first-time varsity player, Paige San Felipe, describes the process as, “Not fun. It’s a lot of work but it will pay off.”
The Varsity Girls’ newest coach, Asuka Chiba lectures her team about dedication and punctuality. Coach Asuka believes learning how to balance classes and sports, “teaches students responsibility and accountability for not just in sports but life in general”.
Coach Nick Gonzales agrees, “Learning how to prioritize time, being a student athlete and achieving high in academics takes a lot of responsibility and accountability of the athlete to be successful in both areas. An athlete can’t be successful if he/she isn’t successful in both areas.”
Nearly the entire girls’ varsity team is composed of new players from last season’s Frosh-Soph team, which makes practicing considerably challenging because of the lack of experience and leadership. However with strong potential players, Coach Nick describes the team as having “a high ceiling, they have time to build and grow together. It’s a good opportunity to get better as players.”
According to the boys’ varsity team, who are working just as hard, the time is now. Coach Nick predicts that this year will be particularly challenging because the boys are “eager for success. There’s more urgency to be successful now.” Under the circumstances, it’s understandable because the varsity boys’ team is consisted of mainly seniors who have been training together since the beginning.
In retrospect, Senior Gabe Hargis mentions that “[Half Moon Bay] really gave it to us last year. This year we hope to return the favor.”
The opportunity to win PALs league in six years is certainly close. However with great goals come great struggles. According to Coach Nick, the boys’ team’s agility needs improving while the girls need to work on their team structure. With the first game coming up in the 2nd week of September, the team must prepare to become the best through their discipline and love for the sport.
And so the goals are set. The girls’ varsity works on rebuilding and becoming stronger as a team, and the boys’ varsity strive to dominate CCS by working on fine-tuning and enhancing speed.
With discipline, dedication, and hard work, the future of Aragon water polo looks bright for these young talents.
