With the fall season coming up, the Palo Alto Boys water polo team has been grinding in the pool in preparation for the upcoming season. The team only lost three players from last year, bringing back a large portion of the players this season. The Vikings are coming off of a below average season as the team finished 10-17, resulting in a 5th place finish in league.

However, the team is looking forward to a upperclassman-filled group that can make it to the top of SCVAL, a feat almost achieved two years ago when the team lost in triple overtime to Gunn. The boys water polo team has set their sights on bringing home a title this season which would be quite the turnaround year.

“I’m excited to take on the other teams in our league and hopefully bring home a league or even CCS title,” said Ryan Wisowaty (‘20).
Offseason preparations, including the infamous Hell Week, have been helping towards a successful season.

“Hell Week was tough, but it really helped the team get ready for the season,” said senior captain Javid Alasti. “Most people were out of shape coming from the summer so Hell Week was just to get everyone back into shape to be able to play.”

During the offseason Paly acquired new head coach Ethan Look, a former Paly student and Vanderbilt water polo player. When asked about the coaching change, Alasti had a positive response.

“Having a coaching change was a good change for the team. Our new coaches are much more dedicated so we have more practice time and team events that I really think will benefit the team,” said Alasti.

Coach Look’s plan is “…to start with the basics: communication, respect for teammates, coaches, opponents, refs, and day-to-day dedication to a program,” said Look.

According to Look, if the team has success in those areas, they will be able to develop early in the season. He also believes that with his newly implemented schemes, they will be able to catch the league opponents off guard.

One major change that Look made as a coach was creating morning practices dedicated to conditioning the players.

“Morning practice is something that I think is really necessary for developing our swimming ability,” said Wisowaty. “Ball skills can only take you so far, and having a dedicated practice for just conditioning will hopefully allow us to out-swim the other teams.”

After a long summer of practices the boys water polo team will finally be starting their season on August 25th. The Vikings are hosting the Saratoga Falcons to begin a season in which they are hoping to make a splash.