Women’s Water Polo Team Plunges Into New Season
The Rams will get another shot at major conference opponent West Valley in its first game.
In a little more than three weeks the Rams’ women’s water polo team will go up against the West Valley Vikings, one of the toughest teams in the Coast Conference, in their first game of the season. For many of the team’s members, it will be their first competition ever.
Unlike West Valley, with a spacious campus in one of the swimming capitals of the world, it can be hard to recruit swimmers in San Francisco. Most high schools in the City don’t offer school swimming programs, and Coach Phong Pham says that he never knows if he’ll have a team each fall. But with eleven players expressing interest this year, he’s optimistic. A team consists of seven players, including the goalie. Right now, he needs a goalie.
Pham was introduced to the sport in high school and went on to play at UC Davis where he learned to love it. After graduating in 1992, he immediately went into coaching and hasn’t stopped since, presiding over Lincoln High School’s swimming program for 16 years. He has coached the City College swim team since 2010, building the women’s water polo program from scratch in 2015. “One reason we started the swimming and water polo programs is that it’s such a good experience for women.” said Pham
At 59, Pham is getting close to retirement, but it is clear that his love of the sport is a hugely motivating factor for him, as it is for assistant coach Michael Tyler, who Pham brought over to City College from a coaching position at San Francisco State University.
Tyler explains that the Rams team typically consists of players of all different ages and skill levels. “The people you meet are the best part of this sport,” he says. “It’s a great space for friends and community.”
Water polo is a fast-moving, action-packed sport, involving strategy and teamwork. A game consists of eight-minute quarters with two two-minute breaks and a five-minute half-time break. It’s all over in under an hour. Scores typically range from 10 to 20 points per team.
Pham is never sure what kind of team he will have, but he looks back to the 2024 season, when the team came close to beating West Valley, as an example of how good the Rams can be. But, says Pham, “It isn’t about the other team, it’s about being the best you can be.”
At practice on Friday, Tyler was focused on starting to build the players’ skills and endurance. After the team completed warm-up laps, he demonstrated how they should tread water and keep their heads high out of the water, using a powerful backstroke to change position while keeping an eye on the play. The ball can only be touched with one hand. “The skills you learn carry over to other sports, and it’s great aerobic exercise,” says Tyler. “Swimming works every muscle group.” Indeed, the players had to keep water bottles handy to avoid dehydration.
On top of the challenges of the game, the cost of living in San Francisco means that all of the team members are working, and that makes it hard for some of them to get to practice. He understands and sympathizes. For a time, he says, he was holding down four jobs himself to make ends meet. So he holds Saturday and evening practices to allow players with difficult schedules to get the time in. “Since the pandemic,” he says, “people are struggling.”
