Thrilled to be back in the pool this winter, the Girls Varsity Water Polo Team is pushing past competition currents in the new season and are striving to compete in CIFs.
“Our biggest goal this season is to make it to CIFs and beat some of our rivals like Mission Bay and [Academy of Our Lady of Peace]. We’re pretty close in level with those teams so we usually get to play them every year,” said Junior Sophia Klapperich.
Klapperich said, “This season is going well. We’ve made some good plays but it has been a little challenging. I think if we start working as a team a little more we could overcome it.”
Substitute Teacher and Head Water Polo Coach Jackson Ziegler said, “We’re struggling a bit this year, with our overall record at 3-9. However, we’re getting better, and I have faith we’re going to end the season strong. We’re currently fighting for a playoff spot. We have just enough games left that if we play well and win enough, we can make it.”
The girls have been putting a lot of effort in, training two hours a day almost every day, according to Junior Jordan Einav. She said, “We’ve been working hard by making strategies like a new system defense, basically instead of a man on man defense where you cover one specific person, the weak side is staying back to help if the ball gets into center which is the other team’s player with the best position.” This means that they are working hard on their defense, according to Junior Maddie Yoo. “The team feels like a second family to me, which is what helps us work well together and persevere through tough games,” said Yoo.
The team’s strong bonds throughout previous seasons have allowed them to better connect in the pool. Einav said, “We excel at working together because we all started playing at the same time in our freshman year.” “Our connection is really strong, I feel like we have really good team chemistry. We’re all pretty close friends in and out of school so that really helps us as a team,” said Klapperich.
Although some players like Einav joined water polo because of friends on the team, others like Klapperich joined because of family. “I started playing because of my older sister (Alumna Olivia Klapperich). She used to play and she heavily encouraged me to play,” she commented.
This season, the team has Ziegler as their new coach. He said, I started coaching the boys team in Fall 2019 because I heard the school was looking for a coach. Without a coach there would not have been a season, and I couldn’t let that happen. I loved water polo in high school and college, and wanted to make sure UC had a team. I started coaching the girls team this year for similar reasons, and because I’m hoping to create a bigger culture of water polo at UCHS.”
“I started playing water polo in middle school. I played four years in high school and five years in college, both at the junior college level and the collegiate club level. Currently I play with a masters team that some friends and I started called South Swell Water Polo Club,” said Ziegler
The girls have many differing strengths, such as Einav, who said, “My greatest strength as an athlete is my speed in the pool.” Klapperich, on the other hand, is most proud of her defensive skills. She said, “I can read the opposing team pretty well, and I know what I have to do in order to stop them from scoring.”
Klapperich plays on the “4-5 side” and Einav plays on the “1-2 side,” which are both defense based. The players on the 1-2 side play in the left wing, and the 4-5 side plays in the right wing. According to a water polo website, “Left and right wings need to be able to handle and distribute the ball, as well as participate in swift attacking movements and track back on defense to try and prevent breakaway chances by the opponent” (rookieroad.com).
Many fast players tend to be great in these positions, because they have to act quickly when possession of the ball changes. When playing on offense, the wings can take shots at the cage, which is another reason why speed can be highly advantageous for these players.