“I don’t think it hurts my recruitment chances but it has helped my recruitment of [high school] teammates,” said Karina Oliveros when asked if the short swimming season has hurt personal recruitment chances.
Mia Carbajal said, “I don’t think it hurts my recruitment chances but it has helped me recruit members of my club members who I went to high school with, about five girls are coming.”
Carbajal and Oliveros are both freshmen on both the water polo and swim teams.
They both say that their thinking has already shifted to “water polo mode.”
However, when it came to sophomore Marisela Olivas, she said that she felt the sudden end of the season hurt the chances of recruitment.
Coach Sergio Macias echoes the thought, “We are just thinking and trying to figure out about the summer, how to have any contact with our athletes.”
Carbajal said, “Our coach is making us turn in videos of us working out and putting it in a google drive.”
To keep up with their physical condition, athletes are encouraged to do as much working out as they can to be ready to go once students are allowed back on campus.
“Our coach is making us stay in shape by working out,” Oliveros said.
Karina Oliveros working out at home to stay in shape for the upcoming water polo season.
“I found these [YouTube] videos to workout to so I’ve been doing those too,” said Olivas.
These girls can’t practice their sport in any similar capacity as some of the other sports may be able to. For example, a basketball player may have a hoop at home to practice with but swimmers or water polo players may not have access to a pool.
Many of these aquatic sports athletes don’t have personal access to a pool and with the stay at home order gyms with pools and public swim, stadiums are closed.
“This has been the longest time I have ever seen out of the pool, I’ve been in the past since I was really little,” Carbajal said.
“I miss the pool.”
“I don’t have a pool either! I miss being in the water!” Oliveros added.
These women also play water polo at Cerritos College.
With swim ending abruptly, they are switching gears to water polo.
“Even during swim season my mind was on water polo,” Carbajal said.
“I was pretty upset about it though because me and Karina were both in the relays together but my mind is always on water polo.
I am pretty excited.”
Oliveros agreed, “Yeah, even during swim I would be with Mia planning for next season, like oh we’re going to do this and that, so we were just doing swim to be conditioned, I’m excited too.”
Carbajal said, “I have no doubt that we’re going to do big things,” in regards to their upcoming water polo season.
“I honestly see us reaching finals,” she added.
Olivas will transfer to Cal State Long Beach.
However, she doesn’t think she will continue playing competitively because they are a division one school and it would be too much of a time commitment.
