Full of highs and lows, the boys water polo season has come to an end. Finishing third, the team failed to reach their goal of winning district. However, with a playoff appearance, thrilling five-game win streak, and lots of growth from their players, the Wildcats had their most exciting year in school history.
Though they had a disappointing showing in the 2023 season, the Wildcats held themselves in high regards going into this year. Specifically, Head Coach Tyler Nowak had lofty expectations for the boys.
“Our goal going into the season, because I think we have the talent for it, was to win district,” Nowak said. “Win games, but [stay] focused. If we don’t accomplish it, we’re going to at least improve while we’re reaching for that goal.”
However, reminiscent of last year, the team got off to a rough start. Though they had the pieces to string together some wins, the team just wasn’t communicating or playing as well as they could.
“It’s been a learning experience for me and the guys,” Nowak said. “We started the season kind of flat.”
As struggles continued, one main thing stuck out about their poor start. On paper, they were better than the teams that they were facing. However, the team wasn’t playing like it. Nowak emphasized this as the most important thing that they would have to keep working on.
“The biggest struggle, and I think this happens to a lot of teams, is sometimes we get into these games and we end up playing down to our competition,” Nowak said. “How can we make sure that we go into every single game, pedal to the metal, ready to go, and doing what we need to do?”
In their third game of the year at the CFISD Varsity Tournament, the team’s first big break came against Memorial High School. Samuel Loh, the only freshman on the team, scored a goal in the last 45 seconds, leading to junior Christian Park’s game-sealing shot.
“I wasn’t nervous; the only thing on my mind was, ‘If I make this shot, there’s no way they win this game,’” Park said. “I was just very happy because we got the win.”
The team would go on to have a 5-4 start; not bad, but not desirable. After a poor 1-2 performance in each of their first two tournaments, the team made sure to use it all as a learning experience.
“The focus isn’t, ‘Ah we lost,’ because it’s easy to be a downer about losing games, especially close ones,” Nowak said. “It’s, ‘OK, what happened that game that we can fix right now just by talking about it? What are actionable things that we can do to get better as a team? And what can we do to improve?’”
Not only did the Wildcats take this advice, but they would soon turn their entire season around. At the Clear Creek Varsity Tournament, the Wildcats caught fire, sweeping the competition to go 4-0. Here, the team’s best defender, junior Warren Ashby, recorded a season-high of 8 steals. Ashby knows how important that tournament was for the team’s success that followed.
“We just started to play at our pace and really control the game how we want to play it,” Ashby said. “So I think that tournament really slowed the game down and helped us keep that momentum.”
The sweep at Clear Creek wasn’t out of nowhere; the team knew that they were due for a breakout. When Coach Nowak was asked about what led to their strong showing, he credited it to the struggles that they had to persevere through.
“Honestly, I think the losses at the beginning of the season [fueled that],” Nowak said. “When you find the things that you can fix. And when you find the things that you can improve on. And you start working on those things. It starts to click in the games.”
As the team went on an 8-2 run with a five-game winning streak, the team’s main strengths became clear. It wasn’t just about talent or scoring the most goals; the Wildcats were full of stars that brought the team together as a family.
“My favorite part about coaching my players is that we’ve got leaders on the team who love to work,” Nowak said. “When you’ve got guys on a team like that, it’s contagious. It spreads to everybody else, and everybody wants to get better.”
For team captain, junior Ryan Conroy, the leadership is apparent both in and out of the pool. He is not only the best scorer on the team, but his 89 goals put him at 18th in the nation in goals.
“Ryan Conroy can shoot the ball amazing,” Nowak said. “He finds corners and he finds shots where I don’t think there is one.”
Another player gathering national attention is senior Jonas Villabroza. Finishing third in the nation in saves, Villabroza’s 272 saves made him one of the best goalkeepers in all of America. Despite this, Villabroza credits all of his success to his teammates.
“It’s not that I’m not a good goalie. There are plenty of good goalies, but there’s not that many good goalies that have a team that’s able to let them play to their full potential,” Villabroza said. “I think all of my saves generally come from having a really good defensive team that funnels all of the shots into me.”
Despite all of the team’s success, the team couldn’t keep up the winning streak forever. To start district competition, the team dropped back-to-back games against Jersey Village and Cypress Creek, two teams that they desperately needed to beat if they wanted a chance at winning district. With chances at the title waning, Coach Nowak knew the key to bouncing back was simple.
“Watch film,” Nowak said. “What did we need to improve on? What did we do wrong in this game that we can make sure we don’t do wrong in the next one?”
Ultimately, the Wildcats fell short of the district championship. The team’s only losses in district competition came from just two schools.
“It sucks,” Nowak said. “We had a good enough team to [win district], but certain things we just weren’t able to execute.”
However, this season wasn’t close to being a failure. The team gave everything they had when it came down to it, and knowing this, Nowak was adamant in how proud he was of the boys.
“They played their hearts out,” Nowak said. “They’ve done everything I’ve asked of them all season, just to play as hard as they can.”
Since its inaugural 2022-2023 season, the future of water polo at Cypress Woods is shining brighter than it ever has before. And with this season full of promise coming to an end, it can’t be helped to be excited about what is to come.
“Our goal next year is to win district,” Nowak said. “I want to take this program as far as I can.”
As a whole, the sport of water polo is not only quite niche, but it’s underappreciated. Since it’s just beginning to hit its stride at the Woods, its important to remember that the sport is unlike any other. With the season over, each player on the team deserves their flowers.
“It’s not easy. The pool is 8 feet deep all the way across. You’re not allowed to touch the bottom ever,” Nowak said. “All these kids work super hard and they’re great athletes.”
