OPHS girl water polo poses for a team photo. (Photo by OPHS Water Polo Parents)

A couple months ago, the Oak Park High School girls water polo team was in danger—they didn’t have enough girls to make an official team and the players were worried they would lose their chance at a season. At the last minute, the team gained just enough girls to have a team. They were able to have a season. Then came the real challenge: competing against teams with more experience and a deep bench.

“This season is a journey,” senior Ella Shouhed said. “Most of the girls did not know how to play water polo before joining the team, including myself.”

With the help of their coach, Casey Surber, and the experienced returning athletes, the girls began to learn and understand the sport. A major part of their season was getting into playing shape. 

“My toughest stretch was definitely how we swim for warmups,” sophomore Finley Goetze said. “It takes lots of work and struggle to get through it but we always push through no matter what as we know it will condition us for the games ahead.”

Water polo is an extremely exhausting sport and forces the athlete to use a large amount of their muscles. Not to mention the Oak Park team only has the minimum number of girls, meaning each girl has to play every minute of every game. 

Although facing adversity, the girls have pulled through and made many memories that could last them a lifetime. The team agreed that one of their most memorable moments was their first game.

“Our first game against Moorpark definitely made a statement about our work ethic as a team,” freshman Oona Albala said. “We did lose 9-12, but we were still so proud of how we played and the fact that we were able to score points.”

The girls have been working extremely hard at learning and teaching each other the complicated game. All the while facing extremely tough competition. But, they’ve made a goal for themselves.

“The biggest goal moving forward is to win a game,” Shouhed said. 

The girls have one more game this Thursday against Camarillo at 3:30 p.m. Without the home advantage and determined competitors, the team has a difficult time set ahead of them. However, Shouhed is confident in the skills they’ve built this season. 

“As a team we are determined to do well in this last game,” Shouhed said.