In 2021, teams were so small that sometimes they had to forfeit. Now water polo has progressed and has been made into a well-known sport. It’s been three years now since water polo came to life on Ridgeview’s campus. The season so far for water polo has a record of boy’s going 3-3 and the girl’s going 2-2.
“Despite not being super successful in the win category, although a lot of growth because we have a very young team.” states Coach Colby Webb. Despite losing many players last year, there are many new players. Webb states that water polo has some of the best sportsmanship in the entire district, “Although water polo being an intense and rough sport, it’s amazing how the sportsmanship still stands and is strong no matter what.”
Webb describes an excellent water polo player as someone who’s gritty, tough, and someone who doesn’t get rattled easily. Although there are losses along the way, sometimes you just gotta accept that and move on. There were challenges along the way with starting up the water polo team because there weren’t many people who knew water polo existed. “It’s hard for people to want to pick up a brand-new sport,” said Webb. Picking up water polo isn’t easy compared to people who have played other sports.
At the beginning of the year water polo players do a lot of swimming which is to get the players more conditioned. Over time water polo practices change, depending on what time of year. “The sport is grueling,” said Webb. In water polo you’re constantly moving, especially if you’re with six other players including yourself. Water polo is an extremely exhausting sport and is definitely a sport that you would need to be in shape for. Considering that water polo may seem like an easy sport from a fan’s point of view, players aren’t allowed to touch the bottom of the pool, which makes it a bit harder than it seems. When you’re playing water polo it is essentially based on individual decisions. Also, at the same time just because there are individual decisions that have to be made, water polo is still a team sport.
