SCHWEEEET !!!!

OK I'm hijacking this for High School Polo mom so I don't clog up the proud parent thread.

The Skyline water polo team are a little fluid in the season as to Varsity/JV. Polo Girl has played every game in both levels (except when both teams had tournaments at the same time) until this Tuesday. When she didn't play the JV game because she got named to the post-season team -the one that should go to States and will get letters, and it was JV night to honor those for whom the season just ended.

She's a freshman and has never played a game before, although she did train and learn the basics with most of another school's team for a few months prior to the season through our city's rec and ed program.

Tonight was the first game of district championships. As the top seed in the district, we played the bottom seed in the first game. After three minutes, if was 5-0, so the starters got out and the "B-team" got in. Including Polo Girl. After a few more minutes at was 10-0, with polo girl's name on the score sheet. Still in the first period. So then Skyline stopped scoring and started playing drills (no mercy rule, so the game had to play out, although the did run the clock after half time). So we got a skills demonstration.

SHE IS AMAZING. i'm sat in the bleachers with the other parents and I can see so much better than I can when I'm on deck at home games, just how accurate and long and hard her passes are. She reads the play spectacularly, is already taking charge of her line verbally, calling the plays, and has mastered a fair few tricks for relieving the opposition of the ball legally but sneakily (and a little illegal but undetectable stuff too). So i'm sat there and I can hear all the other parents pointing out her nice moves to each other and even applauding on some of them (we stopped cheering after goal three, still within the first minute of the game). We went out for dinner afterwards, and the mother of the girl who was named to the all-state team last year told us her son (just back from college where he plays and now helping coach) thinks she has amazing skill and potential.

I am gobsmacked by this girl. Swimming, yes, we knew she was good. We didn't know how good, but we knew. Polo was an unknown. She played soccer for 8 years and had a good boot and read of play, but wasn't spectacular. She certainly didn't have killer instinct. And polo players are usually tall or chunky and she's neither. Tonight I watched her push a much bigger opponent back 20 feet and then obstruct her pass. By "push" I mean swimming/bulldozing in the water with no hands -they were above water and clear of the player- an opponent who is actively trying to go in the other direction. that there is some power!

Oh and she won all three sprints she did. But to be fair, the opposition were SO bad, I could have won them.

I asked her on the way home what she will do when she has to choose and she said she can;t even think abbout it. I never thought she'd ever consider anything over swimming.

So proud, and yet kind of apprehensive that she may fallout of love with swimming. I'm hoping though, that she will get back into it and take the killer with her. She has already said she can't wait to race a short course 100free now to see how fast she can go. She never said anything like that before (and she used to hate racing freestyle)

Where the Hell is that Like button !!!!

Big congratulations to her! I **loved** water polo, it let me be in the water where I was quite at home physically, and it let me ... "play". Different kinds of swimming, interaction with my friends, lightly restrained aggression against my opponents, sometimes not so restrained. It is amazing fun, I'm tickled to hear how much she likes it, and how good she is at it. Of course, those two things do reinforce each other strongly.

The little quote above? That's the breaststroke talking. Go get'em tiger!

Team is now through to states, but must play the #1 seed in the state in the semi finals at regionals tomorrow. Team is =#3 seed in State.

Well they beat us, but only 3-1. They slaughter almost everyone else. Like 12-0. Polo Girl played at least half the game and had some great passes, defensive moves, an awesome steal and a really good drive. Coach put her in because one of the starter players had two kickouts (three is ejection from the game, so you save them for the important moments... and because she wanted a fast swimmer to replace her as trailer) but then said "well you didn't do anything wrong and did lots of things right so there was no reason to pull you back out".

So we went to the 3/4 place play-off game.

The River Rats -our local rivals and the othe =3 seed- who just beat us in the district finals last week (their only victory over us and a very slender one), were beaten in the semis too -by a team they should have walked over. So they joined us in the 3/4 game -our girls were happy, they wanted revenge.

I told Polo girl "coach kept you in for half of the hardest and best game of the season, maybe she'll start you". She was all "no, no-one but the A-line will be in in this game". She was right -but so was I. :D She started and played most of the game, and once we had it under lock and key, she was pulled out while the B-line got to play :D :D :D


So proud.

Just back from States.......

Three games.

Polo Girl started and played most of all 3. i.e. (for those not in the know) she is officially part of our best line-up. Couldn't believe it, when I saw it in the first game and then.....

...she scored two goals. (Also got two kick-outs)

They went through to the semis.

They ended up 3rd overall. There was some very weird/biased reffing in the semi game vs Okemos (a top seed and one of the hosts), and some very unsporting play from okemos, but I think even without that okemos did outplay them. But then they won the "consolation final" decisively

PG put in some great defence too -today she blocked an oppo from passing for a whole 20 seconds until the shot clock ran out without getting a foul called against her.

So Gobsmacked.

So a cup, and medals for all.

Including my little freshman who had never played a game of polo before March.

She's pissed that this means back to swim practice. Not so much fun, apparently......

Oh and watch this space (or one near it) for an update about cops being called for fighting parents, a drama unfolding as we speak........ apparently the unsportsmanlike fruit doesn't fall far from the tree......

....and today an email from the Olympic Development Program coach :eek: her swim coach will be apoplectic!

Bout damn time they are getting in touch !!! ;)

WTG SG !!!

....and Rookie Of The Year award at banquet.

And we're done.

Swim practice has already started......

Rookie of the Year?

DAMN girl! That's awesome.

Polo Girl==Superman
Swim Girl==Clark Kent

(sorry I couldn't come up with a suitable female pair like those, but you get the point)

Oi, swimmer girl.

The whole sport of water polo gets two gold medals per Olympics.

Swimming gets several dozen.

Oi ZenGum--

Every water polo match gives you four quarters of opportunity to kick, elbow, dunk, punch (oops, sowwy) and run over your opponent. Equal parts finesse and force, speed and stealth, collusion and collision.

Swimming offers no contact whatsoever. Beep, swim, turn, swim, repeat. One's way funner, that's what I'm sayin.

Furthermore, there's no reason she can't get a dozen medals across both events.