Though Moreau Catholic doesn’t own a pool, it’s no problem for our Moreau men’s and women’s waterpolo teams. Sports editor Tyler Senner had the opportunity to interview alumni and head coach of boy’s water polo, Aaron Ly.
Before coaching, Coach Aaron’s involvement with Moreau’s aquatic sports was outstanding, being on the swim team from freshman to senior year, and playing water polo from sophomore to senior year.
Ly decided to come back to start coaching. “I started off as a swim coach, so it will be my fourth year coaching, but my third year coaching polo. I started as an assistant for my first two years, and moved up to head coach these last two years.”
Surprisingly, Ly was expecting to only coach swimming, until water polo needed help, in which he joined.
After being the boys water polo head coach for the last two years, Ly has seen “considerable improvements from last year,” but we can always be stronger. Ly mentions, “It would start with the basic things, like setting goals, and visualizing where they want to be in the water”.
Water polo is still a developing sport at Moreau Catholic, as it has not been around for much time. Ly doesn’t just acknowledge newcomers, he also even encourages newcomers to try out the sport:
“Not as many people are experienced in the sport, and that is ok.” Ly adds, “these new players are willing to learn, and it is a lot better for the team composition because we all start to learn together, and it creates a pretty fun and healthy environment for them.”
Though the sport is still in its somewhat “development” stage, and doesn’t have a huge roster, Ly expects to see the program grow over time.
“I do see a lot of new freshmen coming in and helping out the program, really helping us grow. Another thing is the upperclassmen bringing in their friends and making it into a real community environment”.
The sport doesn’t just bring the players together during MVAL games, but also at tournaments, where the team has a blast and strengthens their team chemistry even more.
“The most fun I’ve had for water polo coaching is always the Rocklin tournament (Just outside Sacramento). It’s the overnight tournament where I bring the boys out to Rocklin and we, but it’s not just about the plating but about spending time together and really team bonding”.
Though the team is still in it’s development stages, and encourages new players to join, it is a fun experience for students at all levels and skill of the sport.
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