Photos by Alex Furuya
As the sun rises over center court, the Aragon boys and girls water polo teams can be seen fiercely treading and practicing passes in the chilly pool. If the return of frequent 6 a.m. morning practices is any indication, Aragon water polo aims to take all four teams to new heights this year.
“It’s pretty brutal,” says senior Rick Miyagi. “Four morning practices a week, three afternoons, and then we usually have Saturday tournaments.”
Miyagi speaks for a small, 10-man boys varsity squad of mostly juniors that have transitioned this season to the leadership of new coach Randy Kalbus, who previously coached at Burlingame High School. Miyagi believes that the younger squad is better structured and that their new coach is the best yet.
The boys season opener against Burlingame High School was a 16-6 loss. He says, “Burlingame, they have a year-round water polo program, so they’re usually better than us, but actually, I think we have the confidence to maybe beat them for our next game.”
Girls water polo, coached last year by Ross Bridges,is now coached by Roxanne Tursi. Team captains for varsity are seniors Alison Clark and Paige Kotowitz.
The Lady Dons opened their season with an away match against Burlingame High School on Sept. 5. While Aragon was defeated by the Panthers last year, the Dons managed a closer game this year, but lost 12-11 in a sudden death shoot-out in overtime.
Kotowitz says, “It’s great to have a lot of new players on the team and to practice with them. We have a good new coach this year, so I see a bright future.”
