The Varsity Boys Water Polo is in control as they begin with an overall preseason record of 8-2-1. The Rams finished second in Rio Hondo last year; however this season they are gunning to be champions and advance far in C.I.F.
The team this year has a few advantages compared to their previous run.
Not only are the players more experienced with nine returning varsity members, but Alumni David Ta has taken over as head coach. Ta coached JV water polo last year, and played varsity water polo for three years during high school.
A few changes Ta will bring is that he plans to build the team’s stamina and make the players more versatile.
“Ta makes us swim a lot more compared to last year to help us improve our endurance and speed,” Senior Ramsess Quezada said. “Also he has introduced a lot of new, more effective plays to help us become more competitive especially in league.”
In their season opening game, the boys tied with Pasadena Poly 11-11.
However, their training and new plays proved effective in their next game as they crushed the Arcadia Apaches 23-8.
The Varsity Boys Water Polo teams continued their winning streak as they defeated La Salle holding them to only one goal.
“Our little mistakes against Pasadena Poly cost us the win,” Senior Kevin Wang said. “In the next games we played, our mentality changed. We worked together and passed better in order to be more of a threat on offense and score more goals.”
The Rams went on to win their next two games against El Dorado and Burroughs by margins of 9 and 16 goals. They also played in the Los Altos Tournament, where they placed 10th out of 32 teams as they won three games and suffered two losses.
The boys bounced back, as they defeated Pasadena last Wednesday 16-12.
“We take our preseason games seriously because these games give us experience and practice for league,” Wang said. “We want to go undefeated and be champions in Rio Hondo this year, which will give us a better seed in C.I.F.”
Boys Water Polo will play their league opener on Oct. 10 against the Monrovia Wildcats as they hope to become league champions.
TCHS School Newspaper