The Malibu Youth Water Polo program snagged two trophies this month in the Ventura County Water Polo League at Oxnard Aquatic Center in Oxnard on Nov. 5.
The program’s 12 and under team advanced tournament’s Division 2 title game and the 14U team won the Division 3 championship. Both teams had a mix of boys and girls on the roster.
Both squads were awarded trophies for their efforts.
“Got some hardware!,” said Hayden Goldberg, the coach of both teams.
The 14U group defeated South Coast Water Polo Grey and Arise Aquatics to win their championship.
The 12U team beat Gold Coast Water Polo Club to advance to the championship match. They were defeated by a Southcoast Grey girls team in that matchup.
Goldberg, who also coaches the Malibu High boys water polo team, said upon entering the tournament with two young Malibu squads, he wasn’t focused on wins and losses. The coach only wanted the players to improve their knowledge of the game.
“You really can’t learn until you play against an opponent that doesn’t know who you are, that wants to win for their own team,” Goldberg said. “I want everyone to learn the rules of the game and be able to make mistakes. We want to get all of the rust off so by the time they feed into a high school program they will be alright.”
