Thirteen schools on the Central Coast made the shift from the CIF Southern Section to the CIF Central Section. The move comes with many changes, especially for girls water polo.
It’s the only sport that moved seasons, going from a winter sport to a fall sport. Girls water polo will now coincide with boys water polo, which impacts pool space, as well as practice and game times.
"There’s really two major adjustments we had to make," explains Andrew Silva, Morro Bay head water polo coach. "First off, it’s competing for pool time.Your boys water polo programs and your girls water polo programs are at the same season sport, they’re both playing and competing in the fall so we’re having to stagger practice times. We’re extremely fortunate to have the facility we have, but for a lot of other programs, it’s a challenge to find pool space and pool time. Secondly, it’s an adjustment in terms of the calendar for athletes, parents, and coaches. We’re now moving and playing games earlier in the year. We’re asking family and athletes to give up the later part of their summer and start preparing for the first part of the season. It’s just an adjustment period."
There are also some benefits to the transition. "With the shift of seasons for us, we no longer have a winter break to deal with, people going on vacations with their family. The summer is super positive too, it’s warm outside and it’s fun to be in the pool during the summer time and kind of gel with each other without school going on," said Skyllar Evans, Morro Bay senior utility player.
