By: Mia Angulo
Redwood Waterpolo players give insight on their trip to Croatia from play to game mode.
On June 28th Redwood’s Boys Varsity Water Polo team ended their summer with one last adventure that will definitely be one for the books. From Zagreb the capital of Croatia, to many cities such as Rijeka and Split, a trip to Croatia was an unforgettable one for Redwood’s Varsity Water Polo family.
Croatia is best known for their beautiful waters making it the perfect destination for the waterpolo team. “The most memorable part for me was the pools, they were the most amazing ones I had ever seen in my life,” says Magnus Burgess ‘24.
As if it couldn’t get any better than this, there was always something just as amazing at the next stop on their adventure.
“ They had this little water resort park that was floating in the middle of the ocean where we hung out, it was crazy! ” says Burgess.
It took lots of hard work to be able to achieve what may have been a once in a lifetime experience. The team got creative in raising the money to fund this trip.“ We had many fundraisers including drive thru’s, selling tickets for free dinners, and helping clean up weddings in return for money for our trip,” says Elijah Backlund ‘24.
All the hard work eventually brought their vision to life. Although they were living the dream exploring Croatia, they had to snap back to reality of why they were there. They were up against the top country in the world for water polo.
“We definitely improved throughout the 10 days we were there and we played against many challenging teams that were national club teams there,” says Backlund.
Overall the Rangers didn’t capture the wins they had hoped for but did gain an experience of a lifetime.
“I’m proud of our team, although our team could have improved on better ball-handling and we easily got frustrated which affected our playing,” says Mitchell Dean ‘24.
While it’s easy to focus on the losses or what could’ve been done better, the Rangers came out on top in terms of exposure and experience. Growth doesn’t always come from easy wins.
The experience overall bonded them as a team and gave them a fresh perspective moving forward into the season ahead. “I think we did really well and it was the beginning of our pre-season, we especially improved a lot on defense,” says David Ross ‘25.
“It was a really fun opportunity and I’ll forever be thankful for it,” says Ross.
Mia Angulo
Mia Angulo, ‘24, is in her fourth year of writing and her third year as an editor for the Redwood Gigantea. Mia is a member of the Redwood Law and Justice Academy, Hip Hop and Yoga Club. Mia is passionate about dance and writing and hopes to continue to do both in the future.
Tags: boys waterpolo, clubs & lifestyles, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwood sports, rhs, varsitywaterpolo, visalia ca