Backpack

Yesterday, I had a JV game. I didn't even know that I was going to play until the day before. My coach just came up to me and told me that I was now aloud to play, because I was young enough. The pool was outside, and outside it was 40 degrees and raining. It sucked. It was freezing. Everything was cold and wet. I don't know who thought that it was a good idea to play when it was that cold, but who ever did should get fired. The game started and we went down early. They scored 3 goals in the first 3 minutes and our first goal came near the end of the first. At the end of the first quarter we were down 1 to 5. It didn't look good for us. The second quarter started and I scored a beast backhand. Then I scored another goal near the end of the second. They scored one more to make it 3 to 6 at the half. We were coming back, slowly, but it was happening. 

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The second half started off very slow no one scored for the first 3 minutes. They scored two goals, then they subbed out their bigger guys and put in a bunch of guys that were our size. This made life so much easier. They got subbed in with about a minute and a half left in the third and in that time I scored 3 goals to end the quarter. We got the momentum back and the comeback was real. We were within 2 points now. The score was 6 to 8. Things were starting to look good for us and we thought that we had a real chance to win. The fourth quarter started and they scored a quick goal. Then I answered with a goal of my own. It was 7 to 9. Then they scored one more. Things started looking worse and worse, but I made some plays and scored 2 more to make it a one point game with a minute left in the fourth. We were so close, but then they scored and that was it. We lost. I almost made the comeback, but we lost.

Tough Game

We went to a tournament that lasted 3 days. It was far enough away that we had to stay in a hotel. We had one game on Thursday, two games on Friday, and another two games on Saturday. The first 4 games were really easy. We won every game by 4 or more points. This got us into the finals. The finals were in the afternoon on Saturday. We had played really well leading up to this game, but we were playing a good team. The game started and they scored the first goal. Then they scored again, and again. We were down 3 to 0 halfway through the first quarter. Things weren't looking good for us. Then I scored a goal to make 1 to 3 and the very next possession I scored again. We were within 1 point. At the end of the first, they scored one more goal to make it 2 to 4. The second quarter went really well for us, we scored 3 unanswered goals. We took the lead at 5 to 4. I don't know what happened, but we just started playing really well. We were all on the same page and knew what to do. At the half we were up by one.

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The third quarter was back and forth no one could really do much. Our defenses took over they managed to score one goal, but we were able to come back with a goal of our own to keep the lead. We were playing really well, but so was the other team. No one had a clear advantage; the game could go either way. The fourth quarter started and we came our hard. We scored a goal within the first 30 seconds to go up 7 to 5, but then, they started to make a comeback. They scored one goal and then a few minutes later another one to tie it up at 7. There were about 2 minutes left in the game when we scored again to go up 8 to 7. Then they answered to make it 8 to 8 with a minute left. It was their ball. We stopped them and got the ball back with 28 seconds left in the game. We had one more possession to win. We called a timeout and talked over what we were going to do. We set up and 10 seconds into our possession, we get an exclusion. We were up a man with 15 seconds left. It doesn't get better than what just happened. We pass the ball around for a bit and someone took a shot and missed. We got the rebound and missed the shot again. The game was over. We went into sudden death over time. We won the opening sprint and set up our offense. We missed a shot and then they missed one too. On our next possession I got an open shot from around 9 meters and I barely missed it. On their next play we were caught out of possition and they scored. That was it. We lost.

Tied Game

Last weekend there was a tournament that last 3 days. It was from Thursday to Saturday. Our first game was Thursday night. We had never played the team before and we really didn't know what to expect. We had played their JV team last year, and they were really bad, but they could have had some really good kids on their varsity team. They didn't have anyone good, and the first quarter went really well for us. We were up 3 to 0 and we thought that we had the game in the bag. The second quarter went pretty well. We kept our 3 point lead, but they had also scored 3. The score going into the half was 6 to 3. We were still fairly confident that we could hold on to our lead.

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The third quarter did not go well. We didn't score any goals and they had caught up to us. The score was 6 to 6 and now we started to get worried. Our defense had fallen apart and our offense had come to a stand still. I don't really know what happen, but we just couldn't play. The fourth quarter started and we were all really nervous. We didn't want to end up losing this game. About a minute into the quarter, we scored and we were up 7 to 6. But they came back and scored and it was all tied up again. With just over a minute left in the game we were able to score and take the lead. We stopped their next  possession, but were not able to score on our next one. They called a time out with around 30 seconds left in the game. All we had to do was stop them and we would win the game. We failed and they scored with 10 seconds to go. We tried to get a quick shot off, but missed and that was the end of the game. There was no over time, so the game ended in a tie.

3rd Best Team in the State

We played what a team that many people considered to the third best team in the state. They had some really big kids on their team. At least 2 of them were 6'4 and they had a few others that were almost as tall. We knew it was going to be a hard game. The first quarter didn't go so well. We were down 5 to 1 at the end of it. Their counter attacks were just too good for our defense. That was the only way the scored goals. When they set up their offense, they couldn't score on us. The second quarter went a lot better. We started to play better and stop their counters. At the half the score was 6 to 3. The come back was real.

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At half time we really thought that we could come back and win the game. In the middle of the third quarter we were only down by 2. The score was 9 to 7. But then, things started to go downhill and by the end of the third they pulled ahead to make it 12 to 8. It just kept getting worse from their. They scored a quick goal at the start of the fourth and then coach took out half of the starters and left me in with most of the second team. I had no idea what he was doing and by the end of the game the score was 16 to 8. We let them score 4 more goals in the fourth. It was a really close game at one point, but we just let it go. It was a game we could have one, and I think that if we play them again, we have an actual chance at winning.

Visitors from Texas

Last weekend visitors from Dallas, Texas came to play us. They were really good and had robes. They were really cool. My whole team wanted them. It made them look so good. Just having robes makes you look 10 times better than you actually are. They were still really good and we got beat really badly. The final score was 23 to 3. It was not a good game for us. We couldn't do anything. Our offense was nonexistant and our defense was even worse. They countered on us a lot. Half of my team doesn't get back on defense and its really hard to cover 3 people at once.

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They had one really good guy. After the game I found out that he go a scholarship to go play water polo at Cal. He was lefty and was unstopable. He was also really fast at swimming. Whenever he got the ball he would score. There was nothing we could do about it. Towards the end of the game they put in thier JV team. We could handle them and in at the very end of the game we figured out how to score and started playing a bit better. It was too little too late and, in the end, it was a good learning experince and we found out how far we actually have to go to be able to beat them. Its gonna take a lot of hard work and effort and isn't as easy as we thought it would be.

Another Game

So last weekend we had 2 games against kearns. We hadn't practiced in over 2 months so no one expected to do very well, but it was more just for fun. The first game we played was the JV game. It went a lot better than I thought it would. There was some kid that played with us who was visiting Park City, and he helped out a lot. He was pretty good. I had a good game, especially for not playing the past 2 months. I scored 3 goals and one of them was the 2nd best goal I have ever scored. I swam down the middle of the pool and my defender was on my feet. There was also one to my left and one more behind the person chasing me. I got the ball, turned around doged the person behind me. Then the two other people came at me and I went right between them and shot it. It looked a lot more epic then it sounds. Trust me, you had to be there. In the end we won the game by one point. It was a really close game and really fun to play in.

Image courtesy of  water polo world

The second game didn't go as well. It was a varsity game and we were playing the team that one state 16-2. Some of their starters weren't there, but still. They are a really good team. The first quarter wasn't too bad, we were only down by 3. The second quarter however was a total slaughter. They just destroyed us. They were up by 6 at the end of the half. Our excuse was that we haven't played in 2 months, but it was a really bad quarter. The second half went better. We both scored 6 points in the second half, but I think it was more because they stopped trying than us actually playing better. They had some really big guys on that team. Some were definatly double my body wieght. It wasn't that good of a game, but it was just fun to be playing water polo agian. The seasons starts up agian in February and I am so excited for that.

Championships

So we had water polo finals a while back and it went pretty well. For the varsity game however, we lost by 1 point. We played against porkchops team, but he didn't play. I have no idea where he was, but everyone else from that team was there. We started off with the lead and I thought that we could actually win the game, but our third quarter was one of the worst quarters we have ever played. All of us just sucked. We couldn't play defence or offence. I had a really bad game. I couldn't make a single shot. Something was really off with my shot. I should've scored 2 to 3 more goals. There were six on fives where I had a wide open shot from around 4 meters and I just missed the shot. I don't know what was happening. It was probably one of the worst shooting performances I have ever had. In the end it was a pretty good game for the whole team, but the third quarter just killed us. They came back and took the lead from us, and we just couldn't get it back. Our first half was amazing and probably was the best water polo that we had ever played, but the third quarter was just really bad. We almost won, but almost winning isn't winning.

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The JV game went better than the varsity game. We won and got third place in the entire tornement. My shooting was a little bit better than the varsity game, but that was probably because the goalie was a lot worse in the JV game. I scored 4 goals in that game and we ended up winning by 1 point. We had the lead with 40 seconds left in the game, but I thought that there was less time and that I could just hold the ball for the rest of the game. I was wrong. The shot clock was gonna run out before the game ended. I was just swimming around with the ball trying to waste time, when I looked up at the clock and realized that I wouldn't make it to the end, I thought, "O crap, what am I gonna do". The shot clock ran out and there was 5 seconds left in the game. The other team got the ball and started swimming down the pool. Luckily I was all the way down on the otherside so they would have to go the enitre length of the pool to score. At about half way the person with the ball shot it and luckily our goalie blocked it. If that went in, everyone would've gotten pissed at me and I wouldn't have heard the end of it. It was an ok game for us and we got third which was really good. It was a fun season and now I really don't know what to do with my life. Water polo doesn't start again until February and I don't know how I am going to make it through all that time. It's gonna be a struggle.

PorkChop

Last weekend I had a water polo game. It was a varsity game, so there were a lot of people that were a lot bigger than me. I was one of the smallest ones there. When we started I was guarding this super fat kid that couldn't swim. Everyone on my team nick named him Pork Chop. He was really annoying. I couldn't move him. I would try to push him out of the way, but he was so big that I would move. 

Throughout the game I started to hate him more and more. He was really bad at swimming though, and it was really funny. 

Image 

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One time, he got kicked out and had to go to the corner. It took him so long to swim there and then when he was allowed to get back in we were all on the other side of the pool and he just didn't want to swim. His coach started yelling at him to swim, but it took him at least a minute to get down to the other side. He looked like he was dying. Towrds the end of the game he started to stay on one side of the pool and didn't even bother swimming back. He just sat there. When I was gaurding him I could hear him breathing really heavily and then he would try to grab onto me when we had to swim to the other side. He missed every time, but it got really annoying. 

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Sadly, my team lost to the hands of Pork Chop and his team. It was a really close game and we were winning at the start of the second quarter. It was a really low scoring game and there wasn't much off offense. We couldn't really get much going. The end score was 7-9. I'm still mad that we lost and especially mad that we lost to Pork Chop. He was really annoying. I wish we beat them