It’s hard to miss girls’ water polo. While most students may not enter Woodbridge High’s Aquatics Center during their residence at school, it’s hard to miss the laughs, cheers, shouts and occasional loud blares emitted from the pool. Although it’s the only team sport not on land, the girls’ water polo team harnesses the same energy, determination, and teamwork to succeed in and out of the pool.
The sport meshes the strength of wrestling, the stamina of swimming, and the structure of soccer and basketball into a fast-paced, competitive game.
“Waterpolo is definitely unique because it’s a combination of swimming, soccer or even basketball. It requires enough swimming strength before you can learn the game,” junior Addison Gramlich said.
Water polo requires a multitude of different skills, such as strong swimming ability, an understanding of the water and teamwork skills.
“You have to use your whole body and…swim up and down a pool while having to defend players and still be able to go play offense…it takes a lot of coordination and teamwork,” freshman Lena Deland said.
“It is a combination of so many different other sports but is something all on its own and no one ever expects it to be as hard as it is until they try it for themselves,” junior Leyla Hadhound said.
Six players and a goalie swim, pass and shoot with the aim to score goals on the opposing team. The “field” is typically a 25 yards long, 20 yards wide and seven feet deep pool area. Games are separated into four quarters, with playing time ranging from 5-8 minutes and games typically lasting 45 minutes to over an hour. Teams have 30 seconds of possession to score in the other team’s goal post. Fouls are common in water polo, and are an essential part to the flow of the game, usually used to the advantage of the defense.
“It’s a blend of strategy and teamwork, every single player must work hard and use their strengths to get the ball in the net,” Gramlich said.
Coming off of a strong previous season, the girls water polo team sets an optimistic mood coming into the new year as it welcomes its new members.
As a freshman and brand new varsity player, Deland shares her opinion on her impression of the team.
“I like the team dynamic because everyone gets along and even outside of the water we all have a pretty close bond,” Deland said.
“I definitely think that there are a lot of new faces on our varsity team, but from my experiences of playing over the summer, and during off-season, our team is going to play great,” Gramlich said.
“We all have our ups and downs, but we are always there for each other and I think what is most important [is that] we will always have each others backs inside and outside the pool” Hadhound said.
With their recent game against Aliso Niguel ending in victory for both varsity and junior varsity, with respective scores of 13-6 and 18-4, girls’ water polo anticipates a successful season.
