Even though her team has only one win so far this season, girls’ water polo coach Courtney Crase working to keep her players moving in a positive direction.
“We try to play every game with 150 percent effort, composure and heart; our motto is balls out until the end,” said Crase. “If we can execute that formula, the numbers on the scoreboard do not matter.”
The girls have had a tough season so far, but their win against Mountain View (9-8) on Sept. 24, gave them renewed vigor to come out hard in all games.
Crase’s positive attitude was tested but not dampened when the girls lost to Homestead Sept. 29 (5-9), despite the fact that they played hard from start to finish.
“It’s really frustrating since I know we can do better than this,” said senior co-captain Stephanie Borsum. “It’s just a matter of how much we want it.”
The team’s luck seemed to hit rock bottom again when Los Altos dominated the Falcons Oct. 1 (1-16) and again when they were shot down by Gunn Oct. 6 (3-17).
The team played Palo Alto for the second time this season on Oct. 7. Despite another loss (5-11), Saratoga played better than in their first match-up against Paly.
“We came out hard and we ended up keeping the score really close [during the parts of the game], which is really good at this point,” said co-senior captain Sara Knysh.
It may not seem like much, but there is a definite improvement since the beginning of the season. The team is finally working together towards a common goal: victory.
“We are playing better as a team since we are starting to focus more in practice and do what we need to do to improve; now we just have to apply it to games,” said Knysh.
In addition to their daily practices the team is focusing on team building outside of the pool. The team has dinner together and they get slurpees every Friday after practice.
“It’s different playing with the new group of girls,” said Knysh. “We are just starting to step up and get to know each other a little better.”
The team played Los Gatos on Oct. 15 and lost.
“I think we came out harder than we did the first time since we’ve played them before, we know what we need to work on now,” said Knysh.
