California High School’s Water Polo Team Opens Arms to Fresh Talent with No Experience

Mountain View High School’s water polo team is ready to start the new season. With a lot of new talent joining the team, it seems they are focused on building themselves back up from scratch. What is shocking, however, is that most of the new players have no experience playing water polo.

The team will now have forty-five players, which will pose a challenge as the team will be operating with no cuts. However, the coach is confident that the young players who have been selected will have a good learning experience. 

The MVHS team welcomes players despite their lack of experience

In an attempt to provide a good learning experience to more people, the MVHS water polo team has taken on a huge challenge. A water polo team consists of only seven players with a maximum of five substitutions possible in the match. The role of the coach is to ensure that everyone gets game time. However, Coach Rafael Alapont is an expert in player management. He makes sure that the players get enough game time.

While the rotation of the players is part of sustaining the team in a long season, players lacking in experience make this tricky. But it seems like the team has a plan. Players with more experience in the game are going out of their way to help the players with less experience. Most of the senior players have taken the juniors under them and are helping them to learn the craft.

Moreover, the environment within the team is fantastic, which is a positive sign for the upcoming season. “It is an all positive environment where everybody is trying to better themselves, so there’s no negativity,” Yannis Mihopoulos, who is a junior, told Oracle, the school’s student-run publication. 

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The Head Coach, Rafael Alapont, who is also an algebra teacher, talked about how the relationship between players has contributed to making the team a family of sorts. MVHS’s water polo team is now in the upper league of the CCS after winning the championship last year. It definitely seems like they know what they’re doing.

The MVHS’s system focuses on the development of players

The system in MVHS is so good that it allows newcomers to join the team easily. Although the focus is to win tournaments and get promoted to the higher leagues, there is also a plan to involve young talent. Playing at a higher level will allow the players to get more exposure and get scouted to better teams later. It is also creating more interest in the sport.

“The sport is growing, which I love to hear, so that more kids can have the same passion for water polo as we all do,” said another junior, Jaeden Pietrofeso.

At the end of the day, creating opportunities for the younger players and developing them helps to create an atmosphere that also makes them good leaders and teammates. Winning tournaments is important, but these qualities will definitely help the players in the long run.

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