As the fall season of athletics wraps up, winter sports start to play their preseason games. These will be used as preparation for when the actual season starts. Winter sports include Women’s Water Polo, Wrestling, Women’s and Men’s Soccer, and Women’s and Men’s Basketball.

Starting off with Women’s Water Polo with Coach Rod Forsch, these girls have been harnessing their skill and teamwork since September. From building their swimming abilities to catching and throwing the ball with accuracy, water polo is known to be one of the most difficult sports in the world. Despite this, our Mustangs are able to pull off this sport with grace. The aquatics program as a whole work toward its athletes gaining self-confidence and discipline.

Upcoming games in December for Women’s Water Polo are against Villa Park, La Mirada (Home Game), and JSerra (Home). 

The wrestling program is next., One of wrestling’s core values is to respect opponents, teammates, and themselves. Wrestling is led by Head Coach Brian Fortenbaugh as well as the other coaches that instruct the Varsity, Girls, and Frosh-Soph teams. When you join the wrestling program, you learn discipline, toughness, as well as confidence, and self-reliance. This sport is not all about taking down your opponent but also deals with self-discipline, humility that everyone faces at some point, and trust in oneself.

Starting from December 17, wrestling matches that are approaching are the Centennial Frosh/Soph, Esperanza Dual (Home), and Asics SoCal Invitational.

Playing at the Nathan Shapell Memorial Stadium, both Women’s and Men’s Soccer programs have been training daily to better their skills as well as their bonds as a team. 

Coach Alex Flor directs women’s Soccer. This soccer program shows that these girls are competitive, hard-workers, and focused. Whether scoring a goal or making a good pass to a teammate, the Mustangs could do it all.

Mission Viejo, Garden Grove, and La Miranda are the games Women’s Soccer have starting December 13.

Coach Kino Oaxaca. Coach Jose Aldama, Coach David Lewis, and Coach Troy Duncan run the Men’s Soccer program. All teams have recently gone to the annual Big Bear Trip, where they bonded closer as a team and made lasting memories. 

Preseason games for Men’s Soccer starting from December 12 include South Hills High School (Home), Loara High School (Home), and Santa Fe High School.

Finally, Men’s and Women’s Basketball are up, with all teams working on supporting and bonding as those are important aspects to show on and off the court. 

The Men’s Basketball program has many coaches, some being Coach Jason Pietsch, Coach Hobson, and incoming coach, Coach Clement. Their goals for the program are to find the balance between sports and school, build positive relationships within the Yorba Linda Community, and become “confident, responsible, and content young men who prosper in their families, careers, and personal lives” (Yorba Linda Men’s Basketball).

Upcoming games from December 13 are against Santa Fe, Huntington Beach, and Chino Hills.

Women’s Basketball is coached by Coach Teiko Ikemoto and Coach Tim Mann. This program is focused on making friendships and team bonding while still being engaged in basketball. They have pride in everyone supporting each other and always cheering each other on. Zahnel Perkins (9), a player on the JV team states, “To be successful you need effort, to win you need a team.”

With winter sports starting their preseason, there are many ways to support them and cheer the teams on. It is highly recommended to come out and watch a game to see how your schoolmates are doing. Though we might not always win, as Zahnel Perkins says, “Making mistakes is just an opportunity to learn.”