The water polo teams have risen from being just a name on the walls to a name heard in the halls. Varsity is undefeated in league play and JV has five wins, three losses and one tie.
“I think having a winning record in any sport, especially when some of the other sports are not competing in the same way we are, draws attention to the sport. There are a lot of state banners for water polo and the games are really fun to go to for fans,” JV coach Brian Welch said.
The team’s goal is to go be top four in the area and go to state. JV is striving to make it in the top eight at districts to be allowed in the top pool.
“We have a lot of good communication going on in our team and we all really understand the game and what’s going on when we are in the water and that has really helped,” sophomore Caroline Casey said. “We have morning practices Tuesdays and Thursdays and we swim a lot. I think that it puts us above everybody else.”
Most JV players began the season without ever playing water polo. The progress they have made throughout the season has impressed Welch.
“The thing with water polo is many people haven’t ever touched a water polo ball before their freshmen year of high school. This year we had three or four kids who have actually played, whether it was at a summer camp or an actual program, so I was able to progress a bit faster than we usually do,” Welch said. “For the first couple of weeks we are usually just learning the basics and then by our first game we are still struggling to get along the concepts. This year they’ve actually gone a lot faster and it was nice.”
On April 12 varsity lost their first game of the season at the Desmet Invite tournament in Chicago, Illinois, finishing third.
“There were 25 teams at the Desmet Invite. We played a team named Fenwick, from Illinois, who was the best. We lost by three points, and then they played SLU. SLU lost by six points, so that was nice because SLU is our rivals,” Bozue said.
The team’s next game is against Ladue on Friday, April 18 at Ladue Horton Watkins High School. JV plays at 4:30 p.m. and varsity plays at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s like a very compact soccer game; there is a lot of scoring. It is nice to have people cheering you on when you are playing rather than just parents, and a lot of other people are coming to watch now which brings energy to the game,” Welch said.
![Holding the disc, senior Nathan Thompson waits for an opportunity to pass to senior Timmy Fry. Parkway United’s ultimate frisbee team is made up of students from each of the four Parkway schools. “The one thing I really like about ultimate [frisbee] is the community because it’s so different from any other sport I've been a part of. [My] national teammates are people who we play against in the regular season, so we see each other all the time. It's always fun hanging out with [them],” Thompson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/C96A6823-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Josie Grunzinger watches the football game intently from the sidelines on Oct. 18. Grunzinger stood out to the crowd as the only girl on the football team, encouraging other girls who want to play football to take a chance and go for a sport outside of their comfort zone. “If you think you could [play football] and you want to do it, just try it, because all it takes is to actually try it out,” Grunzinger said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Untitled-design-1200x675.png)
![With her arms held high, junior Jenna Rickelman throws the ball across the pool during a girls water polo practice. With hours of practice after school and over the summer, Rickelman saw many improvements in her water polo skills. “When I look at [my] stats, I'm so much better than I was last year,” Rickelman said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Untitled-design-2-.png)
![Putting on his helmet, catcher and senior Tommy Eschbach prepares to get in his primary stance. Despite losing 6-1 against Eureka on April 16, Eschbach didn’t let the tough loss affect his playing or mental health. “It's [so] easy to get caught up in the sport and what you're doing that [after] one bad game or a stretch of games it is hard to remind yourself that your worth as a person isn't directly related to your performance on the field,” Eschbach said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0415-1-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Sports organizations have changed lives on and off the field, improving athletes’ muscle strength, reducing their risk of diseases and building energetic work capacity worldwide. However, many student-athletes struggle to balance schoolwork and athletic commitments, hoping to seek more understanding and support from their teachers and coaches. “To lessen mental strain student-athletes [face] and create a healthier, more comfortable lifestyle, there shouldn’t be any homework. I'm already [at school] for eight hours and [homework] creates a bigger load for student-athletes in AP or honors classes,” track and field sprinter and sophomore Lucy Penton said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0095-1-e1713883278514-1200x847.jpg)
![At the Spring Pep Rally on March 8, boys varsity water poloist and junior Jack Brau stands with the boys water polo team. The group, hoping to include everyone — whether boy or girl, varsity or JV — cheered on the girls water polo team during the sports team runouts. “Even though we all play separate games and have different practices, we like to see ourselves as one big group who represent one water polo [team],” Brau said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_8810-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Looking for an open teammate, freshman Patrick May passes the ball across the court at the Nov. 28 game against Parkway Central. May started in the game against the Colts. ”Growing up, [my parents] always gave me a basketball, [and] we had a basketball hoop outside. I grew up playing [all the time], playing on the [driveway] and shooting hoops with my dad.” May said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image2-1-1200x801.jpg)
