Local water polo teams face off against South Africa’s best at Westlake High

By Joann Groff Special to The Acorn

TOUGH DEFENSE-Thousand Oaks High water polo player Bari Sowa, right, applies pressure to a South African attacker.

Yesterday morning, as the sun was rising, the girls from Thousand Oaks High School’s water polo team prepared for a big game at Westlake High. Only the Warriors weren’t their only match up at Tuesday’s round robin tournament––the other opponents traveled more than 10,000 miles to be there.

For the last two days, the T.O. girls have hosted the South Africa Youth National Team, setting up games with local schools, barbequing, shopping and showing them the beaches.

"This has been a real experience trip for them," said Mike Giles, head coach at T.O. "They are preparing for their own tournaments, and this is a good way for them to get some common training in and see the sights too."

The girls arrived in the area Tuesday and stayed with families of the T.O. girls the last two nights. The teams went to the coast and went shopping in between playing against girls from Agoura Hills, Ventura, Westlake Village and other teams in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

"Everyone has been so hospitable here," said Karyn Brooke of South Africa. "This trip has really changed my perspective of American culture. You read things in the newspapers and things, but everybody has been just amazing toward us. And everyone is so keen to play polo – at home it’s hard to find people to play – here, everyone is eager to get in."

Aside from polo, the South African girls have been doing their fair share of traveling, visiting Santa Barbara, Ventura and Northern California cities like Berkeley and Davis. Today they head to Orange County to pick up some games with local high schools and catch the United States Men’s Superfinals in Long Beach, the biggest tournament of the year before the Olympics.

"It’s been absolutely fantastic," said Ryan Castle, head coach of the South Africans. "Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming – they’ve taken us in without any questions. Beyond the beautiful landscape, it’s really the people that have made this trip what it’s been. They made us feel like we weren’t foreigners – that we could belong if we wanted to stay."

The two teams met on a whim over July 4 weekend, when the South African team showed up late to a tournament in Santa Barbara. Giles, who says his motto has always been "keep your suit in the car; we’ll play anybody, anywhere, anytime," had his girls hop back in and give them a game. The teams hit it off, and decided to spend more time together.

"We got back in and played them in Santa Barbara to welcome them, and it was a great experience," Giles said. "They are good girls … they have some quick counters and interesting plays."

The T.O. girls agree.

"They’re really nice, well, outside of the water – in the pool they are pretty mean," said Bari Sowa, a junior at T.O., of the South African girls’ aggressive style of play. "It’s been great though. We learn the tricks of other schools, like Agoura by playing them so often. We’ve picked up some more tricks now – it’s like fresh blood – a whole new experience."

The South Africans also noted the very different playing styles.

"We have learned a lot about polo while we’ve been here," said Laura Barrett. "The experience we’ve gotten has been incredible. We may be a bit faster, but we are lacking tactics and picked up a lot of strategy from them."

The team said they can’t wait to bring all the skills they’ve acquired back to their native country.

"We have learned so much," said Castle. "With the improvement we’ve seen in our team the last couple weeks, it looks like we’ve been here two years. We owe that to all of the players and coaches who have helped us and worked with us."