Marking the conclusion of a season full of challenges and victories with a California Interscholastic Federation Division I championship, the varsity boys water polo team (17-12) played its final game on Nov. 19.
This season, the team encountered opposition, and their game losses were most evident in the first four games of the season.
“One of the biggest challenges our team faced throughout the season was that many of our players were sick or injured,” varsity co-captain Julian Breeze (11) said. “This led us to play many games short-handed earlier in the season, which set us back from our potential. [Also], as a team, we were losing our early games, although we pushed through the losing record and started winning important games.
These losses were partially due to a series of injuries and illnesses, leaving the team lacking key players.
“I stacked our schedule to play really, really good teams,” varsity head coach Brandon Carman said. “I think that we were just a little bit overmatched at times. We were also pretty young this year, so we had some young guys playing really big minutes against really good teams.”
“Win or lose … it’s not the end of the season, and you have to keep going,” varsity co-captain Erik Greene (11) said. “There’s no reason to dwell on a loss. The best way to do it is just keep pushing.”
One of the team’s adversaries, Canyon Crest Academy Ravens (21-8), tested team’s skills and ability to persist despite loss. The Falcons first played against them in a league game, losing 12-18.
However, the Falcons went on to emerge as champions in the CIF Division 1 final.
The final game initially was not in the team’s favor, with the Falcons down 5-2 at halftime. Following a pep talk from the coaches, the players underwent a mindset shift that enabled them to emerge victorious, winning the game by a single point, 9-8.
“Throughout the first half of the game, our team was down,” Breeze said. “Coming out of a strong talk by our coach at half, we were energized and ready to play as hard as possible. This led us on a 5-goal streak to put us ahead for the first time that game and secured our high team morale.”
According to Arhan Gupta (9), junior varsity player who got moved up for varsity, their coach talked about how “[they] needed to start winning more games if [they] wanted to qualify for Open [Division].”
“[The pep talk] was the reason we started winning,” Gupta said.
Some players shifted their focus to their individual efforts to surmount team setbacks.
“For me, it’s just keeping my head down, working, and playing the best I can every game,” Greene said. “Keeping a fresh mindset was really what helped me, and I think what helped my team.”
The victory was a historical first for the team.
“Coming into this game, [we had] never won a CIF title, which made this win very special to the coaches and alumni,” Breeze said. “To me, it was very important because it proved that all our team’s hard work over the past 3 months truly paid off.”
Greene believed his team possessed the skills necessary to win.
“It’s not like it was unexpected,” Greene said. “I think it was a real possibility for us to win.”
Players were motivated by the possibility of their coaches jumping into the pool after their victory, a team tradition that held true at this game.
Breeze described the moments leading up to the game and how it allowed them to secure the win.
“In the practices leading up to the final, our coach made them very difficult,” Breeze said. “Although with our boosted team morale, we went above and beyond and had the best practices we have had all season. The leadership from our coaches provided everyone with a new mindset with victory in mind.”
Another significant victory was the Steve Pal tournament on Oct. 18. The Falcons played against Chino Hills in a final match that ended with a 13-7 win.
“We were playing a team that should have destroyed [us], but [we] played at a really high level and beat them by a couple of bulls,” Gupta said.
“Our team was just playing with a lot of confidence … in those moments,” Greene said. “I remember the first game we won this season was against a good team. They had [beaten] La Jolla, who were Open [Division] champions, but, when beating them, our team just played with a lot of calm.”
The preparation for these games consisted of practicing Monday through Friday nights.
“We do swim conditioning, some passing drills, and then we shoot to warm up,” Gupta said. “Depending on if we have a game the next day, we scrimmage.”
The Falcons managed to end the season stronger than they started.
“I’m proud of the way our team persevered through the injuries and the big losses,” Greene said. “I’m really proud of the way that we battled this season.”
A correction was made on Dec. 10, 2025: Breeze is the varsity team co-captain.
