For the 2023-2024 school year, Bonita Vista High (BVH) boys’ water polo team was relocated from Southwestern College to Parkway Aquatic Center. Pool sites like Las Palmas and Loma Verde were shut down, so the team began practicing elsewhere.
Originally, four schools were practicing at Southwestern College, creating tight and compacted practices. With the overflow of teams, scheduling practices became difficult and some teams were pushed to practice late at night. This was the case for the BVH boys’ water polo team. However, when they were given the opportunity for a convenient practice schedule at the Parkway Aquatic Center, they took up that offer.
“Southwestern College issues started coming up regarding storage. Then, they closed the locker rooms. They were making everybody change in two bathroom stalls. Sometimes, they would end up closing it before we were out of the pool. So it was not a good situation,” Aquatics coach Betty Alexander said.
Alexander adds how there had been continuous issues with hosting the practices at Southwestern College. The shut down of pool sites had then impacted the usage of their pool and left the BVH team with no other option but to change locations.
“As far as adjustments in practice, we are about 15 minutes short of two hours. We do less conditioning than we would if we had the full two hours. Luckily, a lot of the boys do year round water polo, and they are also on the swim team. The varsity team is able to keep up and have their own conditioning,” Alexander said.
Although the team having to do more conditioning was not deemed a problem, the space at Parkway Aquatic Center is limited. The team has had to make adjustments to their practices and how they play due to the smaller pool sizes.
“Practices became more skill focused, rather than conditioning. [This is] because Parkway’ pool is much smaller than Southwestern college [pools]. Our play style has been forced to adapt to a more outside shooting approach [because of this]. [However], the team was ready for a change since Southwestern College refused to allow us in the locker rooms,” boys’ Water Polo point and junior Elijah Hutchins said.
Hutchins also adds on that this change is a positive one in the long run for their team. Although the use of the locker rooms is beneficial to the team as a whole, the problem of transportation arised. At Southwestern College, it was more convenient for the athletes to attend practices, because the location was close to BVH. However, now it is harder for the players to find transportation to the Parkway Aquatic Center.
“An advantage from switching [locations] is being able to practice right after school instead of having night practices. Some disadvantages are rides and it is annoying having to drive 15 minutes away to practice when there is a pool right next to BVH,” boys’ Water Polo captain and junior Trevor Manaligod said.
If the team were to stay at Southwestern College, their practices would be from seven p.m. to nine p.m. This left Alexander with the decision on if she should change locations to accommodate for the team. Fortunately, these changes did not create any negative consequences as Alexander was hoping.
“We did not lose any players. So it is not that big of an impact as far as getting to practice. I know they do not want to go at night. It was a toxic atmosphere at Southwestern,” Alexander said.
Alexander emphasizes how the athletes have other obligations, such as school work, where they may not be able to achieve or finish these tasks if they practice late. She wants to look out for her players and find the best solution for them. Manaligod adds how the team does not find the location change much of a challenge, but acknowledges the difficulty of transporting to the Parkway Aquatic Center.
“I do not mind the switch because Southwestern had too many rules even though it is a little inconvenient to drive to Chula Vista everyday. It is a big inconvenience because most people cannot drive and need rides all the time. Some can not make it to practice sometimes because of it,” Manaligod said.
Since the decision to switch locations was at the last minute, Alexander was uncertain where the team would be practicing, before confirming the location changes. This made it difficult for her to accommodate the players and their needs if she is not aware of what is going to be done.
“It is the frustration of the lack of communication between the district and the college and just [knowing] what the final outcome will be. It is taking a really long time to get that final confirmation. So I think the biggest challenge that I have had is the frustration [that] I can not do my home schedules [if] I do not know where I am going to work,” Alexander said.
However, on the bright side, when the girls’ water polo season comes around, the student athletes will be practicing at the Las Palmas pool site, since it will be opened again. Alexander expresses her hopes for the future and a permanent pool site for the teams to practice at.
“I am hoping that this is the final move over to Las Palmas, and we can get our routine going and start moving our equipment over there. [We want to] make it feel like a home pool because Southwestern has not felt inviting in a very long time,” Alexander said.
