The water polo team and their experiences with the sport
As the AHS Water Polo team starts their new season, a wave of combined excitement and nerves come along. This year’s new team is no different, with practices in progress and a few matches under their belt. The JV and Varsity teams describe their journey and on what they hope to accomplish in the season ahead of them.
For many of the athletes on the JV team, this season marks their first time playing water polo. Despite the novelty of it, players describe their experience as positive, and feel supported.
One of the water polo players on the JV team, Emily Chinn (10) described her experience with her team. “It’s like tough love. We only yell and say you gotta do that harshly out of love because we know that we could do better.”
Despite the fact that some of the athletes are fairly new and don’t have fully developed water polo skills, they are improving throughout their season and building confidence in their skills. “My mindset is much better, you know? Like I know what I’m doing this season.” Soham Gokhale (11).
Varsity players also enter the season with high hopes for the season, focused on building their experience and improving from last season. Even with the physical exhaustion they face – as Aarshya Lakhani put it, “all the girls are like, grabbing and drowning you when you’re trying to swim,” they push through to improve and get better.
The girls water polo team after a very close loss after a competition at Vintage High School. Photo Credit: Emily Chinn (10).
Most of these players also swim in the spring season, and when asked to compare swimming and waterpolo, Lakhani said, “I actually love water polo so much more than swimming. No offense to swimmers, but swimming, it’s all individual based. Water polo is a team sport, so it’s more like you’re all together. It’s less scary, and also more fun.” On the other hand, another player, Alan Chan (11), said, “I feel like it’s easier to achieve in swimming since it’s all by yourself.”
Both teams are quick to show improvement and passion for the game even when they speak about what motivates them to play water polo, even when they struggle.“Just the idea of scoring more goals, doing better the next game. I’m just trying to get better so we can win more.” said Cohen Harris (10). Chinn also says “We’re going to have down times, but we shouldn’t let that impact our spirit, even if we know it’s going to be tough. It IS going to be tough, but we know we’re going to get better and improve.”
Eagle Era 
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