Staff Writer
SPHS’ girls’ varsity water polo team is hard at work preparing for league opener on December 5.
The team is adjusting to working with new coach Meaghan Paschall, and is looking forward to forging a successful season. The squad is in the pool almost every day focusing on building a cohesive team chemistry and highlighting their advantages, namely speed and defensive play.
“I really believe that we are going to be a great defensive team,” Paschall said. “Offensively, we will have more of a counter-attack approach, and our speed is definitely going to be an asset.”
Seniors Clarque De Young, Glenda Chen, Morgan Carter, and Samantha Childers are working tirelessly to help less experienced girls develop their skills and promote unity as a team. The team has varying levels of experience, and younger players look forward to learning from their more experienced teammates. The seniors’ leadership is key for the Tigers if they hope to emulate the same level of play last years’ squad brought to the table.
“I’m excited to work with older girls throughout preseason and learn from their experiences,” sophomore Skyler Ramirez said.
Coach Paschall is choosing not to appoint captains, and instead is turning focus to developing a strong, unified team where each player’s individual skills can be highlighted. Since she is new to the team, developing as a whole has been an important part of the Tigers’ past few practices.
“We’re really focusing on building a team strategy and helping each other grow,” Paschall said. “That way we can find a way to feature all the individuals in the pool.”
With their first pre-season game approaching on December 1, the team looks forward to further improvement, and is hopeful for success in Rio Hondo play.
“We are working really hard,” De Young said. “Our goal is to be first in league, and if we stay on the track we’re on now, that should be completely attainable.”
The squad takes on El Rancho to open up the preseason at the South Pasadena pool on Monday, December 1.
