Have you ever been to a water polo game? Probably not. Water polo at Rocklin High is not, to put it delicately, a popular spectator sport. Most people don’t even know how the game works, other than the occasional rumor of drowning attempts and violence.

On Wednesday, October 2nd, Varsity Girls played their most important game of the entire season against rival Granite Bay. A new element was brought to the pool that day, when a crowd of students and cheerleaders flocked to the pool to watch some of their very first games ever.

Bree Lindsay, junior, said “As a varsity cheer team, we decided to go to the game to support the Varsity Water Polo girls.”

While she had never been to a game before, she said “It was actually really easy to follow and to understand what was happening. It was a really fun experience and I hope to go to another game someday.”

A water polo game has never been so well advertised before. Along with the promotion video created by junior Taylor Schoultz and senior captain Aelish Guinn, team members invited friends and family to come out and support.

The team went out to dinner at the Pizza Place after practice tuesday night, to talk about the game and to focus on their goals.  They started a new tradition of creating a poster for each important game, and writing down each member’s individual goals for the game.

Right after school, the girls went straight to the pool to prepare.

Taylor Schoultz says “We huddled in the varsity locker room before the game started to get away from everything and get focused. When we went out to play the game, we were even more prepared.”

The team arrived in uniform, wearing the matching outfit of the “We Are Rocklin” team shirts and leggings.

Shelby Boyagin, junior, adds “I thought that wearing matching outfits for the whole day brought our team together and united us. We took a cute group picture before the game.”

Other teams came out to support the girls, too. The Girls Tennis team ran laps around the pool, cheering as they went.

Nadine Walters, sophomore, said “We planned to run around campus cheering for all the teams playing on wednesday. We cheered for football, soccer, and water polo.”

“I’ve never personally been to a Rocklin polo game before,” Nadine adds, “but I wish I could have stayed to watch the game. It looked really exciting.”

The game is quick-moving, and there are rarely any breaks in action. There is actually only one set position, the goalie, and all other players are required to cover all positions. Each possession is no longer than thirty seconds, so players are constantly switching from offense to defense. There’s a lot happening under the water, but it’s still pretty easy to follow.

Tori Adame, a junior and a starter, said it was “really encouraging to hear so much enthusiasm from the stands, especially because it was such an important game. It was awesome that other teams stopped by to cheer us on.”

The girls beat Granite Bay in an extremely close game, scored at 8-7. October 16th promises the next biggest game of the season: the girl’s match against Del Oro high school. Their victory against Granite Bay promises a successful season to come.