Water polo is a strenuous sport that requires both physical strength and endurance. The athletes of this sport work hard in order to become efficient in scoring while becoming proficient in swimming as well. As entertaining as it can be, the sport usually isn’t broadcasted on mainstream networks, such as ESPN. To find out more about this popular sport, I spent a day with the AHS Water Polo teams, covering their Oct. 8 practice and giving them the spotlight they deserve.

As I walk towards the pool area, I can sense the hyped energy in the atmosphere before I see it. The environment is different here. The players, all maskless, are excitedly bustling as Coach Sam Norconk gives warm-up instructions. Practice had been on a play-it-by-ear basis due to the rain the day before. For the players, knowing they can end their week with a fun scrimmage puts life into the team.

At 2:45 p.m., the players split into two scrimmage teams. Today, it’s Girls’ JV and Varsity versus Boys’ JV. In the first ten minutes, there is a lot of nervous excitement. Both teams have garnered up several bright yellow balls, which they have proceeded to begin passing around. Goalies from each side make blocks to the best of their ability, but the practice session, as I am beginning to note, is mostly energetic chaos.

“We’ve had a couple of tough games this week,” Coach Janice Clark said, “So we’re having a little bit of a fun day.”

She’s definitely right about the fun part. While speaking to Coach Clark, I could see latecomers jumping into the pool, their teammates shrieking at the splashes that ensued. The team’s usual Friday practices involve doing swim relays.

After ten minutes of warming up, the girls’ team, in red and gray caps, and the boys’ team, in white caps, get into a formation of sorts. The practice match commences with the quick tweet of a whistle. As a person watching a mock water polo match for the first time, I can’t help but feel the adrenaline rush as they all sprint towards the middle. The atmosphere is friendly yet competitive, with the Varsity boys, who will practice later, yelling words of support and jokeful banter at the JV Boys while the girls cheer for players of their own.

With first possession, the boys make haste of their advantage, deftly paddling towards the goal. The ball changes hands several times before #9 grabs ahold of it and launches it into the opposite goal. The first point of the game comes from the boys. Whooping from the boys and slight groans and shouts of consolation from the girls.

As I watch this endless exchange back and forth between the scrimmage teams, I have grown a sense of appreciation for the difficult sport. Not only do they tread, but ball possession constantly switches between offense and defensive. The players must take heed of whistle cues from the coaches acting as referees. Additionally, in the struggle to get a hold of the ball, one’s head could get submerged amongst the grabbing arms.

“It’s called egg-beating,” freshman Sophie Choi later explained, referring to the act of keeping one afloat using only their legs. “Catching the ball is also challenging since it’s a big ball and you can only catch with one hand.”

It’s Choi’s first time playing for a team, and first year playing water polo for that matter. She has been swimming for half her life, but joining the JV team marks a new adventure in her life. For the most part, she’s still learning the ropes.

Still, the players make the act look so easy. The graceful arc of a ball leaving a hand landing precisely three strokes away from a teammate. Or the backstroke swim leaving a delicate, narrow stream of ripples. Distracted by it all, fifteen minutes goes by quickly.

Two full team switches later, it becomes clear that the pairing is slightly uneven. Coach Norconk blows his whistle and calls out for “JV girls [to] sub” a third time. The third girls’ team starts off a little slow to the bat. There seems to be some confusion as one of the girls hands the ball to one of the JV boys’ player, who chuckles at the misunderstanding and hands it back to her.

As the scrimmage carries on, the Varsity boys have been up to some goofing off of their own. After one of the JV scores, they jokingly congratulate him saying, “Welcome to Varsity!” In another instance, a Varsity player runs over to the lifeguard booth and grabs a life-saving floatation device. He tosses it at a teammate, mocking his teammate’s swimming skills.

Among all the teams, there is a commonality. A shared sense of kinsmanship. As they push each other into the water, scream words of encouragement, and run alongside the pool following the ball, I begin to understand what the sport has to offer. As all teams do, they’ve had their fair share of rough patches this week, with several losses against local schools. Scrimmages like these regain a sense of teamship and shared experience.