A siren sounds, announcing Varsity Boys Water Polo’s win against San Marino Titans on Nov. 7, as well as the team’s entrance into C.I.F. The boys finished third in league, with a 4-4 season record and a 12-8 record overall. However, the team isn’t satisfied with just making it into C.I.F.
Last year, the Rams placed second in league, but were knocked out of C.I.F. by Tesoro High in the first round in a tough 16-8 loss. Now that the Rams have made it into C.I.F. once again, their aim is to get further than they previously had.
This will be the second year on the team for many of the boys, and as a result, they have gained more experience as well as refined and improved their skills. The Rams are now more aware of ball movement during games, quicker in the water and more careful, making fewer careless mistakes by playing smarter.
Despite the newfound experience among the team, they still feel the impact of losing two seniors, one of which was the goalie.
Freshman Chris Yoon is now the goalie, and the team sees potential in him. However, due to Yoon’s lack of experience, the Rams have focused on defense more during practices. Senior Nolan Chang has stood out as a strong defender on the team.
“Being the goalie is challenging but thankfully I have had prior experience in water polo,” Yoon said. “Also, I trust Nolan to play defense with me; he’s a really good defender.”
Coach David Ta has made changes to the team which had positive impact. The boys practiced just swimming throughout August, and then water polo factored into practices at the beginning of September. Coach Ta also has the team practicing drills which will prepare them for game situations. Now, the Rams are not only more prepared, but also feel closer as a team.
“We all have a stronger bond now, and we started hanging out outside of the sport,” Junior Vincent Sicat said. “I think we’re more in sync now and have good team chemistry.”
The Rams played an away game against the Martin Luther King High School Wolves, the defending C.I.F. Champions, on Nov. 13. Careless mistakes and the Wolves repeatedly scoring on counters caused the Rams to lose with a score of 20-6, unfortunately taking them out of C.I.F.
“We wanted to drive constantly to counter the Wolves’ size and strength,” Sicat said. “Only three of their players are below 6 feet tall.”