The Brave News

by Nick Hernandez

This season, the St. John Bosco High School Water Polo team has great expectations for a very competitive year in the Trinity League.

“We have hopes to make CIF and win it all, or at least go very far,” said Head Coach Jeff Powers.

Last season, the young and inexperienced Bosco water polo team held a record of 8-19. Aside from being extremely young, the team was plagued with constant injuries throughout the season.

“Last season could’ve gone better but injuries really hindered our chances of making a good playoff run,” said senior team captain Patrick Burke.

Through a year full of injuries and a roster full of young and inexperienced athletes, the team’s subpar and lackluster record last season didn’t come as a shock to many people. They were in many close matches last year that ultimately just did not go their way.

Though it may have been disappointing at the time, it will now serve as valuable experience that will be extremely crucial to the team this year. With the everyday squad looking almost identical to last years, wins and improvement is expected from this years team.

In efforts to improve on their mistakes from last year, the program plans to focus on cleaning up their act in the pool and having their unit work together as a whole. Last year prepared the team for what is to come and it has shed some light on the areas in which they need to improve and perfect. Their desire to dominate the Trinity League this year will prove to the team that they can make a name for themselves and that they will be a force to be reckoned with.

In spite of two star players having graduated last year, the team remains optimistic looking up and down its roster. This season, a number of starters will be returning now as seniors to the team with multiple years of experience and much gained knowledge through practice.

The team feels that this season has great promise, and has strong hopes for making and possibly even winning CIF. As the season gets underway, the Water Polo program will face tough competitors  as they have before. Some key match-ups to look forward to include games against rival powerhouses Mater Dei and Santa Margarita.

Throughout the years, the program has not had much luck facing very competitive and high-level teams. However, this season is looking much different than the years past.

“We have an easier schedule [which should grant] easy wins in the Trinity League and a couple easy tournaments as well,” says senior Jake Douglas.

With a tournament taking place recently, the varsity Water Polo team started off their season with a couple competitive matches.

Their official season starts with a home game on August 29th, and the team as a whole is looking to start off the year strong. They are all very optimistic about the near future due to playing solid opening matches in the beginning of their year.