Boys’ Water Polo preps for CIF
Boys’ Water Polo made the playoffs last year after a long drought. This year, the team has their sights set on another playoff run and even a splash at the championship.
Being almost two-thirds of the way through the season, the team is in full swing, currently holding a 14-3 record, but are still at the beginning of their League games.
“There’s definitely areas we can improve but our team this year is for sure the best team we’ve had in my 4 years,” Jarrod Norton, senior, said. “Team strengths are definitely our individual talent and our effectiveness on the offensive end. We have a lot of dudes who play club at a high level in our program which is really cool.”
Dave Gleisberg, head coach, further believes that team is very strong, especially with regard to their game sense and understanding.
“They all have a very high knowledge of the game in game situations. They’re all students of the game that understand what it takes to get to a higher level. They understand their own strengths and weakness and how to help their teammates. They understand the positions and where they excel at,” Gleisberg said.
Despite their strengths, the team is still focused on improvement, trying to get even further in the playoffs after last year’s accomplishments. Gleisberg has been working with the team, helping them improve their skills and patch their weaknesses.
“We are working on a little bit of everything. Team defense, awareness on offense, working on our counterattack into offense, and also speed and strength,” Gleisberg said. “Our weaknesses include playing our best for four quarters.We’re going to make mistakes and we have to minimize that.”
These improvements are all aimed towards a strong CIF performance. With this competition in mind, Alexander Sanderson, junior, has high hopes for a long run.
“I expect us to make a strong showing in CIF this year, since we have a deep roster with plenty of talent and skill throughout. We most likely will have a rigorous CIF bracket this year but I think that we can make it far and really show how strong of a program Newbury Park is,” Sanderson said.
