Despite some rough waters at the outset of the summer – namely, vandalism that forced the high school’s pool to temporarily shut down – the city’s recreation division is excited about the addition of a water polo camp to its list of summer options.
Recreation Manager Tina Garza explained that the high school pool used by the city was vandalized on two consecutive days the week of July 1 when delinquents emptied chemicals into the water, causing the pool to shut down for that week.
“Other than that, our aquatics program is running great,” Garza said. “We are offering the new water polo camps for high school students and middle school.”
Water polo is now in the city’s summer offerings that also include general swim, swim lessons, flag football, youth co-ed volleyball and adult basketball.
Water polo will enter its second session Monday. There are options for middle school students who may want to gauge their interest level or for high school athletes staying fit for the upcoming year.
“There’s been a lot of talk about offering different types of camps or programs through aquatics,” Garza said. “We never really had qualified staff to offer these.”
That is where 2013 San Benito Higo School graduates Jake Garcia and Jaret Barrios, both all-league winners in the pool for the Balers, are stepping in. The two are working for Hollister Recreation this summer, with their days focused on overseeing a rotation of activities in the pool.
Mornings include the water polo camp for high school players – Garcia and Barrios lead them in conditioning and technique drills – which then transitions to swim lessons. The afternoons include the general swim for the public from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. before another hour of water polo camp, this time for middle school players, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
While water polo enhances the recreation division’s breadth of options, it is also an opportunity for the San Benito High School water polo program to hone players’ skills before they return for another season – or their first in the case of freshmen – in the fall.
It is a chance for the athletes, in the steadily growing sport locally, according to the two recent graduates, to put in some extra work during the offseason.
“There hasn’t really been an option for water polo players in Hollister,” Garcia said.
There are just a handful of teenagers signed up so far – mid-summer can be a difficult time for families’ schedules – but they expect more in the second session.
“It puts you so much further ahead,” Barrios said.
For Hollister Recreation, Garza looks at water polo as a “next step” if youths are interested in swimming.
“I look at it as a feeder program for the high school or for middle school students to see if they have interest,” she said.
