The underdogs—you gotta love ‘em. We know we certainly do.
Here at the Matador Monthly, we can’t get enough of Bolsa Grande’s little guys, the Varsity Boy’s Water Polo team. Now, don’t misunderstand us. We certainly don’t mean to say that the ragtag group of sun-kissed, strapping young men who make up the team are little themselves. In fact, as we sat down with three of the varsity players on a sunny afternoon a few weeks ago, we couldn’t help but notice how small we felt compared to the boys’ considerable physiques.
This small observation led us to wonder why it is that our Boy’s Water Polo team struggles to win games even though it clearly employs athletes whom are at the peak of their physical performance.
MM: Let’s get started. So, who’s the captain here? Who are the captains?
*The first to speak is Joseph, a tall fellow with a mass of thick, golden curls bleached blond by the sun and big hazel eyes.
Joseph: I’m Captain. Josh is Co-Captain.
*Joseph points to Joshua, a freckled guy with white blond hair and piercing blue eyes that twinkle merrily as he grins and waves.
Phillip: I’m the guy that takes all the responsibility.
*Handsome, tan, and devilishly charming Phillip smiles warmly and brightly.
Joseph: Yeah, we put all the work on Phillip.
*The three giggle maniacally at some unspoken joke.
MM: Alright guys, tell us, how has your season been going so far?
Joshua: It sucks.
MM: Oh God.
Philip: I honestly feel dead.
MM: Okay, that’s not good.
Joseph: What with all the schoolwork and homework and time spent practicing--
MM: Does it have anything to do with you guys or more to do with the other schools?
Joseph: It’s a combination of both.
Phillip: It’s a lot of things, a lot of contributing factors.
MM: What are these contributing factors?
Phillip: It’s very difficult to get used to working with a new coach.
MM: Tell us about this new coach. How’s he been?
Joshua: Its just very hard, he kind of feels like he has to have an I’m-the-boss attitude. It’s just very hard.
MM: Do you think that his I’m-the-boss attitude may be attributed to the team’s own attitude. Do you guys feel as if you provide him with the respect that as a coach he deserves, or did that go out the window early on in the season?”
Joshua: No, I’ve always been nice, I’ve always tried to be respectful to Mark. I don’t see how, well, I’ve really never seen any open resentment against him.
MM: How did your coach influence your enjoying water polo?
*There’s a moment of hesitation in which the boys carefully ponder our question.
Phillip: Well, to put it in swimmer’s terms, we’re drowning.
Joshua: We try.
*The boys seem incredibly uncomfortable. The easy-going banter with which we started our conversation in now lost in the wind.
MM: Alright, let’s move away from your coach and instead talk about how your season has been going so far. Have you guys started your league games?
Joshua, Phillip, and Joseph: Yes!
Joshua: We had our first league game yesterday.
MM: Cool, how did that go?
Phillip: They were extremely rude and I say that not because we lost, but the fact that they were openly laughing at us during the game was enough to anger us profoundly.
MM: I can see why. Give us some examples of that rudeness.
Joshua: Water Polo is a very--
Joseph: —rough--
Joshua: —yes, rough, contact sport, and to some degree you just have to tolerate when that sort of thing happens.
MM: And it was La Quinta you guys played against, right?
Joshua: Yeah.
Joseph: Yes.
Joshua: So, generally its just good sportsmanship in the game to, when you have a team that’s obviously not good, and we’re also, we’re half freshmen this year ‘cause no one joined. So most of the time, people didn’t know what was going on, I mean, my freshman year I didn’t know what was going on.
Phillip: My freshman year, I was thrown into the game and I still didn’t know how to play.
Joseph: That happened to all of us.
Joshua: Water polo is a hard game to uh, to get at first.
Joseph: Baptism by fire, I guess!
*The group erupts into laughter.
MM: You know how some folks will throw their kids into the pool and just hope for the best?
Phillip: I think that pretty much sums it up.
*This revelation is followed by a moment of silence in which we all wonder what to say next.
Joshua: To be completely honest, I chose to come back to this team out of a sense of duty I felt to the players and not much more.
*Again, we’re all silent.
MM: We think the problem with many of the teams here at Bolsa is that you’ll have all of these freshmen and sophomores who come into the team and play for an entire season and gain some pretty valuable experience. But just as they’re getting really, really good, they’ll quit, and what you have left over is this team that is incomplete and is really struggling to stay afloat.
Joshua: Yeah, I think that’s what happens. And I think it really is a big problem that people quit. I mean, I’ve experienced that my sophomore year when a lot of the seniors didn’t come back. But, on the other hand, it’s on the players when they quit. But, I also recognize that’s its really hard to have, I mean, in my career here at Bolsa, as an athlete, I’ve had a new coach every single season, and it’s really, really hard.
Joseph: Every semester they switch. It’s hard to stay on a team and be committed when it’s the coaches that haven’t shown any commitment at all.
Joshua: And I also find it ironic how every time it looks likes we have a coach who’s going to stay on, there’s some sort of miscommunication and then they leave.
MM: So what are you guys doing to rally your teammates, to get them to stay?
Joseph: We try and keep it to ourselves.
MM: Ah! So you try and avoid infecting the freshmen with your negativity?
Joshua: Yeah, and in the games, like if they do something well, I try and tell them, you know, good job and stuff.
MM: You encourage them. You recognize their accomplishments.
Joseph: Yes, of course. It’s important to know when you’re doing a good job. Also, joking around, screwing around a little bit helps too.
MM: You’d say that messing around a little bit is an important part of your team’s--
Joshua, Joseph, and Phillip: YES!
Phillip: Fun is always important.
Joshua: In any team activity it’s always important to joke around a little bit. As long as it doesn’t get out of hand, of course.
MM: Alright, let’s talk about one last thing that’s very important. Why are you guys in water polo?
Joseph: ‘Cuase the pool.
MM: You’re a fish?!
Joseph: Yes actually.
Phillip: I like being in the water. To some people, it’s the birthplace of life. What better way to spend your time than just lying there with the sound drowned out and staring at the sky?
Joshua: Its one of the happiest places you could find yourself in.