Through the year of very competitive sports at Dana Hills High School, one of the most entertaining this season has been the boys water polo. Recently the boys had a very successful victory at an away game against one of their long running rivals San Clemente High School last week with a final score of fourteen to thirteen. Likewise, soon after their match with San Clemente, the boy’s played an invigorating match against San Juan Hills here at Dana Hills with a final score result of ten to nine, Dana’s victory. This match also was our senior night where the team acknowledged the work the boy’s have put in for the past few years.
After talking with Senior Captain, Jonah Vanderveen describes how the effort in the practices have really paid off for the outcome and performance in the games. Vanderveen breaks down the training saying, “At our two to three hour long practices we are always working very hard and focused on what we are doing to prepare for the next game”. The boys have been preparing for the season throughout the summer committing to long hours of practice and conditioning in the pool and in the weight room. Not only is water polo a very tedious and rigorous sport, but it also requires full commitment for the best outcome of the team
Vanderveen also addressed the challenges faced during this season describing, “Our biggest enemy has always been ourselves, sometimes in games we don’t perform to the level that we would like to, but by learning from our mistakes we grow stronger to become better as a whole”. With the team's record this season being nine wins and ten` losses in the overall season and five wins and three losses in the Division 1 South Coast League, the team shows it is well prepared going into CIF’s next week.
Author: Josh Mann