What do an egg beater and Iron Man have in common? Ask the players on the water polo team — or as they like to call themselves, The Aqua Lions. Participating in what many consider one of the most challenging sports and being coached by physics teacher Anthony Thomas often leaves athletes tumbling into the “depths of psychosis,” where these terms seem to carry some significance.

“Water polo is a really challenging sport, it’s like a combination of drowning and soccer with your hands,” said co-captain Isaac Clark, junior. “On top of that, not many people know what it is.”
The difficulty and anonymity of the sport, however, hasn’t kept students from joining this year. An influx of five new participants has created a dynamic new to the once miniscule team as well as boosted the spirits of returning players.

“The new people are fresh and exciting,” said returning player Walter Deitzler, junior. “They’re fun to be around so it helps us work together and raise the overall morale of the team.”

Ericah Brown is the only freshman on the team and didn’t know what to expect when she started water polo on February 24. After excelling on the girl’s swim team, Brown found that water polo was “much harder” than swimming and “takes a lot more energy”.

“I was a bit scared when I started since everyone said it was so challenging, but so far I really like it,” said Brown. “The most demanding part is learning the ‘eggbeater kick.’ It’s when you move your legs in a circular motion and you have to do it the whole game. It’s way harder than it looks to keep afloat.”

Last year, the team struggled with only 10 members. With a required six field players and one goalie in the pool at any time during a game, the athletes often had to play entire 28-minute games with only a few subs– something dubbed “playing Ironman.”

“An Ironman triathlon is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile marathon,” said Coach Thomas. “So a game with no subs is called “playing Ironman” because it lasts really long (like a triathlon) and it’s difficult. It tests your endurance.”

Derek Mills, sophomore, learned how to swim during the 2013 water polo season and, therefore, didn’t play in any games his freshman year. Now he awaits his opportunity to play and bring home a win.
“There are more people this year so we’ll actually have substitutions when we play– which is a big plus,” said Mills. “Hopefully we’ll win at least one game this year. Obviously returning players are more experienced now and the substitutions will keep people from getting tired and fatigued. There’s always a possibility [that we’ll win].”