ESCONDIDO—On a chilly Tuesday afternoon in mid-November, about a dozen girls huddle with Water Polo Coach Lori Fletcher beside the pool at Washington Park. Before letting the girls into the water, she explains their warm-up routine and instructs them on certain moves to practice. The girls form a line at one end of the pool, placing their swim goggles over their eyes. Then, at Coach Fletcher’s call, they propel themselves towards the other side of the pool, their arms slicing into the water.    

It’s the beginning of tryouts for Classical Academy’s girls water polo team, which will be lasting all week. After several years, the group of eager students has grown so large that the number of teams has grown with it. They have not even had their first game and already things are going swimmingly. “I’m really excited,” junior Kailee Peter said. “It’s the first year that we’ve had tryouts, so it’s kind of scary, but I’m excited that we’re going to have two teams. [F]reshman year, we only had a co-ed team, and…last year [we had] our first girls team.”

Not every contender is a veteran. Some of the girls, like freshman Isabella Vansant, are trying out for the first time. “This is my first time playing water polo…I really like the coaches, so I think it’s going to be a really good year.”

Above all, the girls are hoping for a strong, unified team. “I hope…everyone ends up where they’re supposed to be,” senior Sierra Aston said. This sense of harmony is expected to lead to more victories for both water polo teams. “I’m hoping we can win some of our games,” said Kailee Peter. “We didn’t win a lot last year, but I think we have a good group this year.”

The girls’ high spirits and stamina help them tread water in the pool, and this year, they are planning on relying on each other to stay afloat. Here’s to hoping for a great season—just keep swimming, ladies!