Varsity Boys Water Polo Set to Go 'All the Way!'
Boys varsity water polo shows promising results throughout their season.
By Jake Brodrick
Boys varsity water polo shows promising results throughout their season.
By Jake Brodrick
With the 2023-24 season in full swing, the Pioneer boys’ water polo team is showing promising results, and hoping to take home a CCS championship.
The team has started the season with a strong 16-2 record as of Oct. 19. Because the team did not graduate any players after last season, the returning varsity players have an already-established bond. To fourth-year varsity player Jackson Ryan, 12, team coordination is hugely important for playing to full potential.
“I think the team will do great, we have a very solid team who all work together to not only improve themselves, but also improve how we play as a team,” said Ryan.
Owen Zimbauer, 11, a returning varsity player, also felt that the team was very cohesive and had a tight bond.
“The team has great chemistry and we are by far the best team and we work together amazingly,” said Zimbauer.
The water polo department functions as one unit in practice as the pool is split between the JV and varsity teams, allowing both groups to build ideas off of one another.
Jackson Ryan feels that the JV team can look up to their varsity counterparts and learn from them.
“Varsity serves as role models to what JV should look like, similar to every other sport. It’s important for us to help out with any questions JV has because we can help them a lot,” said Jackson Ryan.
Dylan Spence, 10, has been on the varsity team since he was a freshman and has been dominating the scoreboards with his impressive stats.
“One thing that we are good at is working well together as a team, but we need to work on some of our individual skills, mainly defense,” said Spence.
The players have also shown their dedication to the sport through their training during the off season with strength training in the weight room and plenty of swimming.
“Yes, (we’ve improved), we have the same team as last season plus Jackson (Kusa, 12) so we have the same number of players and we have a similar team as last year but they’ve all grown a lot over the summer, they’ve all gotten faster which was necessary and they’ve all gotten smarter as well,” said coach Abbie McGarvey.
Spence found that there were difficulties when performing in water polo as being focused was sometimes a challenge.
“The communication in-game is okay. It’s hard to hear in the water but we make it work,” said Spence.
McGarvey has noticed that the team is a close group who works together, with the same goal in mind of winning CCS.
McGarvey and the players, who once shouted it in unison, said they all feel this team has what it takes to go “all the way.”
The team has started the season with a strong 16-2 record as of Oct. 19. Because the team did not graduate any players after last season, the returning varsity players have an already-established bond. To fourth-year varsity player Jackson Ryan, 12, team coordination is hugely important for playing to full potential.
“I think the team will do great, we have a very solid team who all work together to not only improve themselves, but also improve how we play as a team,” said Ryan.
Owen Zimbauer, 11, a returning varsity player, also felt that the team was very cohesive and had a tight bond.
“The team has great chemistry and we are by far the best team and we work together amazingly,” said Zimbauer.
The water polo department functions as one unit in practice as the pool is split between the JV and varsity teams, allowing both groups to build ideas off of one another.
Jackson Ryan feels that the JV team can look up to their varsity counterparts and learn from them.
“Varsity serves as role models to what JV should look like, similar to every other sport. It’s important for us to help out with any questions JV has because we can help them a lot,” said Jackson Ryan.
Dylan Spence, 10, has been on the varsity team since he was a freshman and has been dominating the scoreboards with his impressive stats.
“One thing that we are good at is working well together as a team, but we need to work on some of our individual skills, mainly defense,” said Spence.
The players have also shown their dedication to the sport through their training during the off season with strength training in the weight room and plenty of swimming.
“Yes, (we’ve improved), we have the same team as last season plus Jackson (Kusa, 12) so we have the same number of players and we have a similar team as last year but they’ve all grown a lot over the summer, they’ve all gotten faster which was necessary and they’ve all gotten smarter as well,” said coach Abbie McGarvey.
Spence found that there were difficulties when performing in water polo as being focused was sometimes a challenge.
“The communication in-game is okay. It’s hard to hear in the water but we make it work,” said Spence.
McGarvey has noticed that the team is a close group who works together, with the same goal in mind of winning CCS.
McGarvey and the players, who once shouted it in unison, said they all feel this team has what it takes to go “all the way.”