A splendid story falls in my lap courtesy of a talented water polo parent

Checking my e-mail at the end of the weekend and this was in my box...I need to start using exclamation points more

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The most ignored team in the state just became State Champions for Water Polo! The high school, the school district, the newspapers, the officials, and the other teams all chose to ignore the tiny Sandy High School Water Polo team. The SHS girls had to fight all of the above to prove they were a power house. The school and district chose to remove funding from the Water Polo this year, claiming budget cuts only allowed them to financially support real sports that could lead them to notoriety. At every turn, they had officials making bad calls and costing them points, yet they kept fighting. There were 5 girls in the pool who had NEVER played the sport prior to the first week of September 2010. Kraig Lofstad, the young coach, took on the first team he ever coached without enough players to play the game! No matter how well the girls played (beating Park Rose by 6, beating the famed David Douglas in the final minute of the game, keeping Barlow to a 2 point lead until the officials began making bad calls in the final 3 minutes of the game), they were only included in 2 small newspaper articles.

You’ve heard of the Little Engine that Could. Well, Sandy High School’s Girls Water Polo team is the Little Team that Could. They beat all the odds and surprised everyone in the sport Friday when they won the first round of State Finals and again Saturday when they swamped their competition with an 11-4 win. They barely had enough girls to put in the water, yet they now hold the title of State Champs.

A small contingent of Sandy supporters heard comments from their opponents that hurt but inspired the girls. Spectators accompanying last year’s state champs set-up camp for their girls, including a full kitchen to cook them meals. One of those people rudely stated, “What exactly does a person in Sandy actually do? Really!” Before the game was over, with the girls obliterating last year’s champs, the same person turned to another parent stating, “Well, I guess they showed us. Evidently in Sandy they swim and play water polo all day!” Not only did our girls stomp their opponents, they did it with a big point spread. They also took most of the spots on the All-State Team, including MVP by our very own Alicia Hayes.

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By the way one of the schools is spelled wrong, as is the head coaches' name.

For the record, I'll be following up Monday for a real story about this, but in reality the tournament was played three hours away and only 11 schools in the state play water polo. The team beat two opponents to take the "state" title.

 

... is very proud of all his girls!

 

...so *that's* who has water polo in Oregon besides Ashland. I was always wondering who else it played...

 

It seems everyone was out to screw this team, yet they overcame all the odds.

 

From what I can tell the odds were 11-1.

 

Have you sent a thank you note to Mr./Mrs. Hayes yet?

 

What is against all odds is the chance she would have written one word if the team lost.

 

This.

 

Great thread!

Every time a parent anywhere in the world sends an email to a reporter, it's a new thread and a new reader we can mock!

"Those assholes who still care about our product! What a bunch of losers!"

 

In that one parent's defense, there is absolutely nothing to do in Sandy.

 

Always put the score in the lede.