Every sport has its hours of dedication, practice, and effort that no one ever sees, but for Shorewood water polo, their strength is beneath the surface, quite literally.
The game of water polo is a fight from start to finish. The game is played in a 25-meter pool, with the two opposing teams’ players treading water while attempting to throw the ball into the other team’s net to score points. The immense energy and endurance required by the sport contributes to highly competitive and exciting matches throughout the high school season.
However, boys’ water polo is not just playing for excitement; they’re playing to dominate.
The boys started the season strong and climbed their way up the leaderboard to become the top Division II team in the district. Finishing the regular season with a 12-0 record, the team remained undefeated heading into the postseason.
For third-year member Colin Bell, this has been the team’s best season yet.
Bell began playing water polo through the inspiration of his older sister, and quickly developed his skills through his competitive swimming experience and participation in select club teams, eventually joining the Innis Arden Water Polo Club.
“Swimming is a very individual sport; you’re kind of racing against yourself, but water polo… It’s more of a team. You’re playing as one,” said Bell.
There, Bell began playing with boys who competed for Shorewood as well, forging a community with his teammates inside and outside of the pool.
Though competition can be fierce in the water, the boys have an understanding of the importance of their dynamic.
“When we work, the team kind of works as one because we know we won’t get far if we don’t. If we’re just individual players, playing with each other, it just won’t work,” said Bell.
“It honestly surprised me, because we have a couple of kids who are star players…yet we still work together, there’s not really a competition within the team,”
A turning point in the season was Shorewood’s first win over its Division I opponents, Kennedy-Catholic High School.
Though initially losing their first non-conference scrimmage game with this team, the boys fought tooth and nail in the water, and with a positive mindset of ‘whatever happens, happens,’ their hard work paid off. It was a realization of “Oh my God. We can go far this year,” said Bell.
Senior captain Cael Cunningham knows the team’s potential and is unafraid to push for success during their tournaments.
“Our goal for the team is to be really competitive in the postseason. Right now we’re in DII and we have pretty much annihilated every single team, so we’re feeling super confident,” said Cunningham, “We just want to go as far as possible.”
The boys aim to rise in the ranks in the upcoming state tournament, following their impressive district performance, where they earned the title of Division II District Champions.
As fall sports come to a close and the competition stakes are raised, keep your eyes peeled for the stats on Shorewood water polo, because they aren’t headed anywhere but up.
