Once a group of fledgling rookies adrift far from home, the U. High water polo team has at last returned as a squadron of battle hardened warriors ready to reclaim the throne back in their native land. The simultaneous changes of reacquiring Forest Park Community College as a home pool, a regular game schedule this season, and going from a team with no prior varsity experience to having just three newcomers reveals that this year’s outcome should be entirely different from the last.

“(Being back at Forest Park) means the team dynamic completely changes,” said junior captain Joe Zarilli. “Being able to practice six days a week in the same pool together, being able to hang out after practice, before practice, on Saturdays; the team camaraderie is way better than it was last year.”

With the return to FoPo comes a new practice regimen as well. Gone are the days of 8:15-10:00 practices at Chaminade, or 3:45 training at the miniature pool of Villa Duchesne. The squad now has practices that start at either 3:45 or 4:15 and end at 6:45. Not only is this situation better for the players, allowing them to get more rest and unbroken time for homework, but it also means the team will simply get to put more hours into practicing this year, leading to more development overall.

“(For the first few practices) I have been developing team unity, getting everybody back into what it means to be a part of SLUH water polo,” said head coach John Penilla. “It’s  a lot of fundamentals early on, working on conditioning, and really basic stuff that we’ll build on throughout the year.”

As Covid eases up this spring, this year’s team will also face over twice the number of games as the previous season. Their first match will be against Chaminade on March 22, which is the same first opponent as last year, meaning it will be a prime opportunity to gauge the team’s comparative progress. After Chaminade comes the York Invite, a tournament in Chicago that has been a staple of SLUH seasons for many years, but was canceled last year due to Covid. 

The Chicago tournament will be a tough test of the squad’s skill, as the general level of play there is much higher than most teams in the St. Louis area. 

“We definitely have a lot of talent (this year),” said senior captain Connor Buehring. “We’ve got a deep roster, so I think playing more aggressively this year will go a long way.”

A renewed game plan, a bolstered practice schedule, and an experienced and skilled roster all point to the conclusion that this year’s U. High water polo team is fervently aiming for the top.

“Obviously the goal every year is for us to be playing our best, and reaching our potential by the end of the year,” said Penilla. “Knowing we gave it our all (is paramount). If we’re gonna play the best team in the world we’re gonna lose, but if we play our best that’s all I can ask for. So, I’m just making sure that everybody puts themselves in a good position to succeed, and that’s different for every individual, but as a team I hope that’s a really high level of success.”