Experienced Coach Starts Mustang Girls Water Polo
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usAs a player/coach at California’s Live Oaks High School in the mid-1990s, Holly Church saw interest multiply in girls water polo.
She’s hoping for much the same reception as the coach at Kalaheo. Church and the school begin their first season fielding the sport this week, and Monday marked the first official date that water polo teams can practice.
“It’s exciting, it’s new, and it’s an excellent opportunity for everyone involved, including myself,” said Church, whose girls practice daily at Kailua District Park.“I’m going to have fun with it. We have about 20 girls who have been attending meetings and who will start practice with us, which is a good turnout.”
Church is ideally suited to begin Kalaheo’s program, having founded Live Oaks’program in 1996 while still a student. She had played on Live Oaks’ boys water polo team as a sophomore and junior because the school didn’t yet offer the sport to girls.
“I was the one who knew how to play,” she said, noting that most of her teammates came by way of competitive swimming. “They’ve been doing well ever since. Most of the schools in the Bay Area have girls teams now.”
After graduating, Church went on to play four years at UC-Santa Barbara. Her coaching resume also includes a stint at Morgan Hill Water Polo Club. For their part, the Mustangs find themselves entering varsity play in one of the state’s more competitive areas for prep water polo. To the North is Kahuku, which has won all five OIA titles since the league began recognizing water polo as a sanctioned sport in 2003, and has made the state title game three times. Nearby Castle, where Church coached last year as an assistant under Stan Wada, has been improving steadily with each year.
“To get a solid base, it may take two or three years,” she admitted. “None of these girls has ever played before. This is completely new to them, so it will definitely be a building year. Since most of them are sophomores, this is a great starting point. By the third year, we hope to be fairly strong.
“The goal is obviously to link swimming and water polo here, so our programs are feeding into one another,” she added, noting that head swim coach Josh Owens is also a water polo assistant.
Now in her second year as a biology instructor at Kalaheo, Church had wanted to begin a program at Kalaheo last season, but “it takes about a year,” she said. She approached Kalaheo athletic director Louis Fuddy last year about beginning the program.
“The first time I talked to him he was really receptive and eager to begin a program here.We have really strong support (at Kalaheo).”
Kalaheo’s preseason schedule had yet to be finalized at press time. The Mustangs open their regular season March 15 against Kahuku.
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