Things are looking up for the SJHHS girls’ water polo team as they placed 15th out of 24 teams at the Valley Hills tournament in Irvine on December 7th.

This is a vast improvement for the girls team from last year where they ended 23rd out of 24 teams throughout the whole league.

Starting out the year as 15th place, Alexis Schanderl Richardson says, “I actually feel like we will be able to win more games this year and actually get a better placing in our league.”

The girls team consists of only a varsity team with 16 girls. Taylor Haumea says, “With it being such a small team, we are very close like a family.” Haumea also says, “We are doing a lot better this year and are getting hang of the game more.”

Richardson’s first year on water polo at SJHHS, three years ago, consisted of a very small team of only 6 girls. Throughout the next couple of years the team built up membership, but still lacked the skill level to be a competitive team. “But this year our team is becoming more strong and confident and we have the skill level to win,” says Richardson.

The girls use all their strength and courage during their off-season and preseason to prepare for the great season ahead of them. Coach Dan Newberry trains them with difficult drills and exercises to enhance their physical abilities for the games.

The girls water polo team has really improved over the years. They did not give up and were motivated to change. Their next match will take place at home next Tuesday, December 17th.