Eagle Era

The boys and girls water polo teams earned another win on October 8th

By Shaurya Chaudhary

The AHS water polo teams had entertaining wins against Irvington on October 8th. The teams displayed their coaching and athletic ability, showing comfort even when Irvington began scoring.

Though the boys’ team felt confident, they had to maintain focus regardless of their lead. A player on the team, Achyuth Chembu (11), said, “The most tense moment during the game was when they scored their first goal. The whole time we were up 6 points, so we got a little scared. We wanted our goalie to shut down, which is basically no goals the whole game.” The team communicated frequently which strengthened their defense for the rest of the game. 

Some players wanted to bring changes to their playstyle. Aidyn Dalling (12) who said, “I serve a more supportive role in the pool so I get assists, but I wanted more direct goals for myself.” 

Coach Vaishnav keeping morale up during halftime (Photo Credit: Shaurya Chaudhary (11)).

After the game had ended, Dalling felt positive. “We had a lot of players who don’t get to score that were able to so I was psyched for them. At the same time, I didn’t get the glory for myself with the goals, but overall, I was happy for the team.”

Other players also felt fulfilled with the results of the game. Daniel George (11) said, “The team did really good on defense and doing what they were supposed to be doing. The most tense moment was when one of my teammates finally scored his first goal of the season.” Though the game was an expected win, the team still worked to guarantee it with everyone participating.

A lot of effort goes into training the team for games. Coach Grass said, “I spend hundreds and hundreds of hours planning and running practice.” Coach Grass works hard and implements this in the team. “[Waterpolo] taught me to have a strong work ethic and mentality as my coach was really tough.”

The girls water polo team also earned a victory against Irvington with a 7-6 score. They had a decent start and ended with a close finish. Their coach, Coach Vaishnav said, “There were ups and downs. This is our first game of a long time that had a pretty good intensity throughout.” The team showed great determination and didn’t slow down defensively when Irvington began scoring.

Similarly the girls felt they performed better on defense than offense. Their strategy for defense was consistent throughout the game. Coach Vaishnav said, “My defense is stronger, coaching wise. I think a lot of the girls are understanding our defensive plays better.”

The game’s end was the most suspenseful. The goalie, Chloe Dang (12) said, “We almost went over time and if I didn’t block the last shot at 0.67 seconds, the score would be 7-7.” This meet with Irvington added another win to AHS’s water polo record this season and allowed for improvement.