by Monica Ramirez

The JV Girls Water Polo team started off the season on the wrong foot but they are now well on their way to becoming future champions. After formerly being a part of one varsity team, the JV team is adjusting nicely to the change and they are also working toward becoming more unified.
The girls began a series of rigorous practices just one week before school started. During their practices, Coach Kyle Kikuta challenged the girls both physically and mentally, which in turn helped shape them into the superb athletes they are today. Because of an unexpected small number of applicants, the two teams were forced to become one large team. Luckily, just days before the league games started, more girls were added to the roster, enabling them to divide the team. Junior Katrina Ghadiri said, “we struggled in the beginning but we pulled together as a team to play our best.”

The first few games of the season proved to be a challenge for the team but they played their best. They tried to not let their losses kill their team spirit. Most recently, the girls played a nail-biting game against Presentation. The entire match was intense for both sides of the bleachers. The game was forced to go into overtime and Valley suffered a loss to Presentation. The following week, the girls geared up for yet another league game. This time they faced an away game against Notre Dame. They proved to be no match for the Warriors who came out on top with a score of 10 to 4. With their high spirits, they conquered the Monta Vista Tournament finishing in first place. During the tournament, they girls were able to challenge themselves by switching positions with other teammates. Captain Madison Dennis said, “we all work really hard but we still like to have fun. We push ourselves in every situation to reach our goals.”

Now that their season is over, the girls are on hiatus until their spring swimming season begins in February.

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