Katie Nguyen has been on the swim and water polo team since freshman year. She has been doing swim since she was five years old because her mom suggested it would help get her in shape. Out of both sports, she likes water polo best.
How did you start water polo? “I did water polo because volleyball tryouts happened in the summer. I was too late for that. I was like oh, let’s try water polo before swim conditioning.” What do you like about water polo? “It is an aggressive sport, if I’m mad I can throw someone across the water and it’s legal. Also, it’s a team effort. No matter what, no matter how good you are. It’s all about team communication.” |
Is Lincoln High school one of your rivals?
“They’re not really our rival. We want to get at their level but we’re not good enough yet. We are rivals with schools that we can go head to head in. Gunderson High School is a good rival because we are good friends and we understand each other. But Mount Pleasant High School is just pure hatred.”
Is there something you guys can improve on right now?
“Communication, setting up, and teamwork. Without communication, no one knows what anyone is doing. There can be someone open on one side, if you call your open they will pass to you and you can score easily.”
Something Katie wants to share
“You don’t have to be a big person to play water polo, anyone can get good at any time. Like this one person, she was so bad I thought she would quit, but by half a season she’s one of our best players. She is one of the tops in our league and her name is Jeannie Pham. She’s one of the captains and one of my best friends.”
Coach Situation
“The first coaches I had were coach Jerry and coach Justin. Justin had to go down to San Diego for his business which is a bakery. The district hated us at this point. They kind of messed things up with us so he quit. We have Sunseri right now who did it because her daughter played water polo and she wanted us to keep playing. We also have a boys coach named Vilon who helps us so much.”
How do you think your new coach is doing with the team?
“At the beginning, it was really rocky because she didn’t know what she was doing but its slowly improving. You can tell she is putting a lot of effort. Even though she has never played the sport, she’s doing her best.”
Do you think the team was affected by a new coach?
“Yes, but not really because we all had that core value, even though she is inexperienced, we still know what we are doing so we have to keep working with it.”
What are some of your accomplishments?
“This is the most wins I’ve ever had in a season. It’s going to be 8 tomorrow. My freshman year we beat Evergreen High School for the first time in ten years. Last year was our first ever home game in 30 years. This year is our first time making it to BVAL’s in a very long time.”
How do you think the captains are doing in leading the team this year?
“They’re doing amazing. Last year the captain role got to her head which made her really mean and bossy and no one liked it. But this year’s captains are taking initiative and everyone has respect for them. They trust us and we trust them.”
Who are some key players?
“Normally our starting set. Also, a new player Cassandra Nguyen. She's really fast which makes her do drives quickly and it helps her score a lot. Priscilla Espinoza who scores every game, it seems like there's no such thing as missing for her. She only breaks through those goalies arms. I’m goalie but I can score from half. I can still play the field. Also, Jeannie Pham, when me and her are on our field we dominate the pool.”
Attitude during the season
“Losing definitely puts us down but also brings us back up. Its what we need to work on and so we work together to fix it.”
“They’re not really our rival. We want to get at their level but we’re not good enough yet. We are rivals with schools that we can go head to head in. Gunderson High School is a good rival because we are good friends and we understand each other. But Mount Pleasant High School is just pure hatred.”
Is there something you guys can improve on right now?
“Communication, setting up, and teamwork. Without communication, no one knows what anyone is doing. There can be someone open on one side, if you call your open they will pass to you and you can score easily.”
Something Katie wants to share
“You don’t have to be a big person to play water polo, anyone can get good at any time. Like this one person, she was so bad I thought she would quit, but by half a season she’s one of our best players. She is one of the tops in our league and her name is Jeannie Pham. She’s one of the captains and one of my best friends.”
Coach Situation
“The first coaches I had were coach Jerry and coach Justin. Justin had to go down to San Diego for his business which is a bakery. The district hated us at this point. They kind of messed things up with us so he quit. We have Sunseri right now who did it because her daughter played water polo and she wanted us to keep playing. We also have a boys coach named Vilon who helps us so much.”
How do you think your new coach is doing with the team?
“At the beginning, it was really rocky because she didn’t know what she was doing but its slowly improving. You can tell she is putting a lot of effort. Even though she has never played the sport, she’s doing her best.”
Do you think the team was affected by a new coach?
“Yes, but not really because we all had that core value, even though she is inexperienced, we still know what we are doing so we have to keep working with it.”
What are some of your accomplishments?
“This is the most wins I’ve ever had in a season. It’s going to be 8 tomorrow. My freshman year we beat Evergreen High School for the first time in ten years. Last year was our first ever home game in 30 years. This year is our first time making it to BVAL’s in a very long time.”
How do you think the captains are doing in leading the team this year?
“They’re doing amazing. Last year the captain role got to her head which made her really mean and bossy and no one liked it. But this year’s captains are taking initiative and everyone has respect for them. They trust us and we trust them.”
Who are some key players?
“Normally our starting set. Also, a new player Cassandra Nguyen. She's really fast which makes her do drives quickly and it helps her score a lot. Priscilla Espinoza who scores every game, it seems like there's no such thing as missing for her. She only breaks through those goalies arms. I’m goalie but I can score from half. I can still play the field. Also, Jeannie Pham, when me and her are on our field we dominate the pool.”
Attitude during the season
“Losing definitely puts us down but also brings us back up. Its what we need to work on and so we work together to fix it.”