Boys come back with difficulties
Grappling with inexperienced players and lack of motivation, the Diamond Bar High School boys water polo team has struggled, finishing with a .500 record.
This year’s league games have been reduced to scrimmages, and practice routines have remained inconsistent due to the constant changes made in COVID regulations. Across the four non-league games, the Brahmas held an overall record of 2-2.
With only two weeks to train, the team’s practices were riddled with difficulties going into the short season.
“The COVID regulations were extremely tough when we first started,” junior Nicholas Murray said. “We weren’t allowed to touch the equipment and had to stay socially distanced from each other.”
Retorting to mostly conditioning during this time, the Brahmas also encountered challenges with an inexperienced team.
“Another problem was that all our seniors quit and we had to train brand new varsity players,” Murray said.
The lack of time and unpredictable circumstances were simply inadequate to prepare these new athletes, compounding their problems.
This year’s competition pool only included four other participating teams, where the Brahmas won two out of the four scrimmages that took place. Due to both the strict regulations placed on the sport initially as well as scarce competitors, the league has been suspended for the school year.
Though kicking off the season with a 17-14 loss at their first game against Walnut High School, they quickly rebounded with wins at Los Altos and Ayala. In both games, the Brahmas won by a margin of five points, with juniors Nicholas Murray and Jude Solis leading the scoreboard in points as well as assists.
However, the final scrimmage against Don Lugo resulted in a 19-17 loss; to the disappointment of many players, the Brahmas and Conquistadors had been neck-and-neck up until the last quarter, when the other team pulled through with a slim victory.
“Overall, it was a very difficult season,” Murray said. “Even though we only had two weeks of preparation and all our seniors quit, we did good for having the majority of our team be new players and all the adjustments made because of COVID.”
Looking forward to resume practice once the swim season ends, Murray and the rest of the team anticipate a strong comeback next season.
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