The562’s coverage of Aquatic sports in Long Beach is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
Last year, Long Beach high school boys’ water polo was about adjusting.
Wilson, Millikan and Lakewood all adjusted to new head coaches while Long Beach Poly adjusted to a higher CIF Southern Section playoff division and Cabrillo adjusted to not getting into the postseason at all despite being a Top 10 team in its division.
This season will be all about how these programs approach their new expectations as the five Moore League teams all seem to be headed in the right direction.
All of this comes after the historically successful 2021 in which Long Beach Poly won its first CIF-SS championship in 92 years, Wilson returned to the Division 1 semifinals for the first time since 2013, Lakewood returned to the playoffs for the first time in eight years and other teams also had postseason success.
A very fast and significant Moore League swimming season also has everyone excited to see how that speed improves local boys’ water polo.
Another successful Long Beach Boys’ Water Polo Tournament hosted at Long Beach Poly, Wilson, Lakewood, Belmont Outdoor Pool and Long Beach City College two weeks ago is just another reason the local water polo is healthy and getting healthier.
“That’s only good for water polo in Long Beach,” said Poly coach Ish Pluton, who organizes the tourney. “When we have a big tournament that draws people and good teams back to our city, that is the kind of chain reaction that leads to more water polo players coming to play for each of our schools.”
In other news, the Jordan Panthers aren’t fielding a team this year after turnout was low and they lost their coach late in the summer.
The Moore League Showcase kicks off league play on Sept. 27 at Cabrillo.
