The two look forward to competing in the 2025 alumni match
A few times during the Malibu High Sharks boys water polo team’s alumni game on Nov. 30 at the Malibu High pool, something unique occurred: a father and son competed against each other.
At one moment, Patrick Jensen, a member of the Sharks’ 1996 graduating class, was swimming toward an attempt to grab the water polo ball, and at the same time a member of the Sharks current squad, Costes Jensen, an 11th-grader, was sprinting with the same intention.
The younger Jensen was victorious.
At another point, Costes, 16, had the ball, and Patrick, 46, was defending him. Then Costes performed a sudden offensive move. He passed the ball, grabbed his dad’s arm, pushed off, and swam toward the goal to hopefully receive a return pass.
“He’s strong,” the elder Jensen said of Costes. “You forget how strong these kids are, how fast these kids are, how conditioned these kids are. It gives you a lot of respect for the level of play he is at.”
The current Malibu squad defeated the alumni 19-18 in the annual contest that for the first time featured a father and son in competition.
Patrick, who played in a handful of alumni games in the years after graduating high school, said playing water polo against his son for the first time in front of Sharks’ supporters was a great and nostalgic experience.
“It was our first time in the pool playing water polo together,” he said. “It was a really special moment for me. To see my own kid in the same pool … having it come full circle was really special to me.”
It was also exciting, said Costes.
“It felt like a real bond between my dad and I,” he said. “It was competitive for sure.”
The father, son, and the rest of their family were out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday when the 2023 alumni match happened. They were set on taking the pool for this year’s version of the event, which was attended by more alumni than ever.
Costes had just completed a season for the Sharks that included them winning the league championship and qualifying for the playoffs. Patrick hadn’t played water polo for over a decade, so in the lead-up to the yearly contest, he did some conditioning work in the pool.
Costes was unsure of how conditioned Patrick would be for the game but was pleased with his dad’s performance.
“I would say he did pretty good,” Costes said. ‘’I sprinted against him for the ball a couple of times and I got it. It was pretty cool.”
Playing in the match reminded Patrick of how tough water polo is to compete in.
“I have a lot of respect for all the players and how hard they work,” he said. “When you are in the pool and water is splashing everywhere … I forgot how hard the game is.”
Longtime Malibu Sharks coach Mike Mulligan, currently the boys team’s assistant coach, was a physical education teacher when Malibu High first opened its doors. He introduced Jensen and others, who would become Malibu High’sfirst graduating class, to water polo by showing them a VHS tape of the sport.
“I thought it was awesome,” recalled Patrick.
He called Mulligan, who over the years led the Sharks to a litany of wins, including a CIF title, a great male role model.
“I lost my father growing up,” he said. “Mulligan was one of those special people along the way that helped shape and change my life.”
Patrick said it is cool that Mulligan coaches Costes now along with Sharks head coach Hayden Goldberg, another Malibu alumnus.
“It’s a special experience because those are positive male role models in my son’s life as well,” he said.
Costes first played water polo six years ago with Goldberg’s youth water polo program. Costes noted how in the pastMulligan mistakenly called him by his dad’s name.
“My freshman year, he said say ‘Patrick’ and then he would be like, ‘Oh, sorry,’” Costes recalled.
When Patrick watches his son play, he sees some of his playing style in him, but stated that Costes is a better player then he was in high school.
“He has surpassed me for sure,” he said. “He is on another level. He has been such a pleasure to watch as a father.”
The father and son and share a passion for water polo. They watched UCLA defeat USC to win the NCAA men’s water polo championship on Dec. 8.
The two look forward to competing in the 2025 alumni match and expect Costes’ younger brother, Curren Jensen, to join them in the game. Curren will be a high school freshman water polo player next year.
