The Yorba Linda High School womens water polo team has been working hard to get into shape for the water polo season with summer camps, weight training, practice, and lots of hard work. The women’s’ water polo season has officially started and the varsity team played their first tournament on Friday, December 2nd.

The team has been training in the pool Mondays through Thursdays and every other Saturday and in the weight room every Tuesday and Thursday during preseason. The same training will continue throughout the season.

In addition to the intense conditioning and training, the team has done social events and fundraising events for the program. At the beginning of the school year there was a team hike and the girls met at Denny’s for brunch afterwards and a few weeks later they did a fundraiser with the whole Yorba Linda High School aquatics program by collecting and packing donations of used and unwanted items for goodwill. Ally Garcia (12) , a player on the varsity team stated, “Water polo has allowed me to make some of my best friends. I started playing as a freshman and had never had been part of a team before but i’ve gained a lot of life skills from being a part of a team and working with others for a common goal.”

The game of water polo is played with six field players and a goalie in the water on each team. Throwing the ball into the other team’s goal is the main objective of the game. Water polo was the first team sport to be played in the Olympics and the first Olympic game was in 1900 according to The Collegiate Water Polo Association.

Coaches Jessica Ernst and Burdie Forsch have been pushing the girls to swim an extra lap or score an extra goal. The team has prepared for the season by scrimmaging, passing, practicing goals, and completing swim sets. The long practice hours and extensive training will soon pay off.

The girls on the Yorba Linda High School water polo team have worked hard all throughout the summer and preseason and are ready for whatever this year’s season will throw at them. “I’m excited for the season in general. This is my last year so I can’t wait to work hard and leave it all in the pool each game. Our team is strong this year so hopefully we can get some big wins,” Garcia stated.