Me : 2014-2015

The prompt that we were asked to right about for our last post (tear) was, "How have you changed this year?" Personally, I don't think that I have changed that drastically, but the only way to find out is to look through my previous posts.

Comfortablism As I was examining all of my blog posts from start to finish, I noticed that I had become more comfortable with the blog itself. From my first post on The Building Blocks to my previous post, Preparing for Provincials, I see a real difference in the way that I am talking to my audience (if there even is one - HAHA). Anyway, I am soooo much more comfortable with what I say now, and even maybe a little too comfortable in some situations, than before. I am excited to see that I have improved as a real blog writer. **When I tried to find a picture to show the difference between a relaxed person versus a rigid person, this just came up so... ya.

Pants (on sale for $43!)
Photo Courtesy of : Levis

Fluency Not only in my blogging, but also in my English essays or AP free writes, I have realized that my writing passages have been a lot more fluent and articulate. I can sense what words I need to say and where to put them. At the beginning of the blogging year, I was having a struggle for words or phrases when writing. But now I can write, and it's like water flowing out of a water fall.

Smartness Lastly, I just realized that I have turned into one smarticle particle. Grade nine has really done wonders for me. The things that I talk about in my newer posts compared to my old ones are a lot more professional and knowledgeable but I can still make them fun! Even the words that I use bring me into a-whole-nother sector of smartness (probably from the thirty vital vocabs that we had to write this year ;))

Booyah! (me to all of my friends)
Photo Courtesy of : Pixton

ANYWAY (I also realized that that word has been seen in every single post about four or five times each so yay!), I hope you miss me because I won't be back on here ever again, unless I have some writing intervention where I need to blog. It was a fun journey with y'all, but it needs to come to an end (just like my obsession over bacon). Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!  Shoot, I can't  use that anymore, so I guess I'll just say BYE.

P.S. Since this water polo blog is still technically alive, I just wanted to let you know that State Championships is next week! I am so excited because the Park City girls are going to crush it! Okay, just thought I would let you know! Bye!

Preparing for Provincials

Hehe... Just kidding. Provincials??? We aren't in Canada here. Or maybe we are, eh? No, but seriously State is super close (and by State, I mean High School Water Polo State Championships). I am so excited to go because we have about twelve people going! It's in Cedar City again, just like our last tournament called Summer Games.

So, our main competition at State will be Cedar City. I mean we are so much better than them but they think that they are awesome. At the last tournament they said, and I quote, "Park City's not going to know what hit them at State." What idiots. We are going to CRUSH them... no question. It will be like a 200-pound person stepping on a little ant. Except Cedar City is more characteristic of the person if you know what I mean :).

Sweet Dreams Cedar City
Photo Courtesy of : ATRL

Since State is coming up soon, we have to buckle down and work hard at practice. Unfortunately, half the girls on our team don't know what the word "commit" means, but we really need them so we can't kick them off now. We are doing more scrimmages and working on plays in practice to get us prepared. Practice is becoming a lot more fun now that we don't have to keep learning the basics which my sister and I (and a few others) already know.

We are also practicing our team cheers. Our team has the best team spirit out of all of them. Some of the boys aren't as enthusiastic as others, but that is their problem. We have made a whole list of cheers to do at different times during the game. Screaming them out is my favorite part of the games. The girls team (not so much the boys team) are doing a lot of fun things together. We just recently went to a movie with more social outings to come in the near future! Here is a pic of Jessi, Carolann, and I getting some healthy slurpees at 7-11:

Yum!
Photo Courtesy of : Ashton Strauss-Hook

Besides practices, social outings, and planning on defeating Cedar City, we are all just having a really fun time preparing. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Teams Review

So, there are some teams that I hate, and others that I L-O-V-E Madonna. Just joking, I don't really like love any teams, but there are some that I like way more than others. These teams are just a few out of the many that we play. So let's get into it (hehe I sound like the stupid beauty guru channels - jk I watch those like every day).

Kearns

Kearns has an A team and a B team because they are the hearth of water polo down in SLC. Their A team is pretty good, but their B team is pretty close to our level. Kearns is nice for the most part I guess, but their parents are the worst. They are so rude, and they think that they own water polo. They should probably use some of their annoying energy on an exercise bike instead of being rude to everyone else. Don't get me wrong, I have lots of friends on Kearns, but their parents need to take a chill pill.

This is what the parents look like - even the moms.
Photo Courtesy of : LA Times

Murray

In my last post, I wrote about our tournament in Cedar City and how we had that gold-medal game. That game was against Murray. I don't really have any feelings about Murray. They are pretty nice and good at water polo. They aren't even annoying. So ya...

Tooele

I actually really enjoy playing against Tooele because they are actually nice! Compared to Cedar City, they are like angels sent down from heaven.  Their team isn't that good (we beat them every time), but they have a really good goalie. She blocks a lot of our shots. One time at our last tournament, their goalie got two goals! Like what the heck - how does a goalie get goals? Well, she swam all the way out to half way and shot it top corner! It was pretty amazing

Cedar City

I thought I would save my least favorite for last. So Cedar City is so annoying. Basically we beat them every time, but they still think that they are way better than us. It's really quite confusing. We beat them even if half of our team is gone. After every game, they cry and cry and cry. Their coaches make such a big deal out of it. Apparently they want to beat us at state but that is NOT going to happen. This is my interpretation of what they look like in and out of the water :

Out of Water
Photo Courtesy of : Totally Top Ten

   

In Water
Photo Courtesy of : Andrew Hibbitt 

                                     













Okay well that's all I have to rant about today, but stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Tourney with Namaste

Red head, afro, colorful tattoos, yup! That's Namaste for ya! Okay, so Namaste is this annoying referee who likes to bag on our Park City Water Polo team. He always fouls us and makes up all this crap that really doesn't make any sense. He looks sorta like this:

Photo Courtesy of : Tri Radar

Photo Courtesy of : my mum

We traveled to Cedar City last Thursday for the annual Summer Games tournament. It was the first time that our team had ever gone, so it was pretty fun. The car ride down consisted of sour patch kids and Pringles (I'm really healthy). My friend Alexa was eating her usual meal similar to a bird's diet: carrots and trail mix. When we got there, we stayed at the Abbey Inn which was really fun because all of our rooms were close to each other. Here is the girls team getting ready to drive to beautiful Cedar City :



The first day that we got there, we played one game against our rivals Cedar City. Apparently they hate us, along with everyone else. I really don't understand why no one likes us, but I'm pretty sure it's because we are good, and we are a brand new team. Anyway, we beat them (obviously), and watched the boys game later that night who won as well. The next morning we had a game at 7:50 AM and won that against Tooele. Our next two games were mid-day and night against Herriman and Sourthern Utah who we also crushed. So, getting back to the Namaste part, he was really annoying as always, and kept ejecting people from our team. It was a blast.

Let's talk about team spirit! (and not about my face)
Photo Courtesy of : Blair (the Summer Games coordinator)

So in our gold medal game, we were playing Murray. The score was going back and forth, but the problem was that Namaste's friends (the other referees that hate us) kept giving our set offensives. An offensive is when the team on offense gets a foul, so then the possession is given to the defensive team. So basically every time we would get down there, it would be an offensive. We still played really well considering that we had a lot of bad calls against us. It was great, though, because our team is really good about losing. Here is a pic of us being happy afterwards:

Silver Medal baby!
Photo Courtesy of : Blair (the Summer Games coordinator)

When we were in Cedar City there was an amazing pizza place that we went to called Centro. It was literally the best thing ever. And shoutout to our awesome waitress who made jokes with us! Well that's all I got, but stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Getting Ready for Pura Vida

FOURTEEN MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!! until I go to the beautiful land of Costa Rica. I am literally so excited right now. We are going with our close family friends, the Beyers. I actually didn't realize how close it was, so I basically have to order a bunch of things today. We leave April 1st, at 11:59, so it's coming up. I will miss two days of school, but who really cares when you are going to an exotic getaway. Here is a basic view from our house that we are going to rent:

Osa Peninsula
Photo Courtesy of : Destination 360

Anyway, I have very many things that I am going to pack, but the problem is that I can only take 27 pounds! This is because we are flying on a really small plane once we fly into San Jose. My packing list is as follows :

• bucket hat (so I can look cool while I am going on adventures - oh, and to keep the sun out of my face)
• hiking shorts (even though we will spend most of our time at the beach - and to look cool)
• hiking pants (I heard that there are bugs there)
• sunglasses (it's really weird how I don't have a pair of these)
• hiking boots (to go along with my shorts and hat)
• keen sandals (I used to gag when I saw these, but now I see the purpose)
• bug shirts (again... BUGS!)
• rash guard (when I surf!)
• swim suits (no explanation needed)
• sun dress (if I actually feel like looking nice)
• toiletries (I would list them all but ya)
• undergarments (^^^)

Osa Canopy Tour
Photo Courtesy of : Osa Tropical

The lady that is renting out the house to us, and she has told us about many activities that we could try out! There are many, but the one that really stood out to me was zip lining! I have been convincing my dad to let me build one in our backyard for so long, but he hasn't quite agreed so this is amazing. The zip lining company says that the rides are 1.5 hours long on different lines, and you go right over the tree tops! It sounds amazing. I even heard that they have one of the longest zip lines in the world! We also might be trying water fall repelling, jungle hikes, and snorkeling. Surfing is supposed to be amazing on the beaches that our house is situated at, so that is a major plus!

Photo Courtesy of : Surf Trip

Since my blog is about water polo and my life, I should probably incorporate some of the sport into this post. The problem is, in Costa Rica, there is literally no water polo. Most of them are probably too busy surfing or zip lining! The only picture that I could find of a water polo player from Costa Rica is this one below: 

Photo Courtesy of : News Gov

Anyway, I hope you are jealous of me and my future travels, and stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

The Curly Fries Take Riverside

You're probably all thinking WHAT? Why am I even talking about curly fries? Well there is a very important reason, and it relates to water polo (oddly enough).

This weekend, my team, called the Curly Fries (I can here your Ohhhh's already), traveled to Riverside, California for a water polo tournament. Actually it was the ODP Youth Women's Nationals (results). Zones from all over the US came to this tournament to compete which is pretty cool. Our team traveled in different ways at different times, but we all managed to get to the hotel on Friday night before our tournament which started on Saturday and continued onto Sunday.

My Sister and I @ the Airport
Photo Courtesy of : Kendall Morrison (my mum)

When we got to our Hampton Inn on Friday, we were given our room assignments. I ended up rooming with my friend, Georgia, from Colorado who also stayed with us during one of the camps. we hung out in everyone's rooms until it was time for supper. The food that was brought to us were gross sandwiches from Subway and foreos (fake oreos) that were also not very good. We wanted to get ice cream, but the parents said no (sad face). After dinner, we went up to a few of my team mates' suite and had a team meeting. We basically talked about how we were going to lose but we should still try!

The next morning, we woke up at 5:30 and had some breakfast before our 7 o' clock game. The breakfast literally sucked. There wasn't even any bacon OR bread which are my two favorite foods. I settled with honey nut cheerios and orange juice. We drove to the pool in our huge mini van and played three games. We had about three hours between each game, which allowed for me to get my tan on (which was my main goal of the trip). The Mountain Zone Team (us) won our last game against Hawaii that day but lost the first two against crazy California teams.

Bus Selfie!
Photo Courtesy of : Becca Hurst

After a long day of games, we went out for pizza at this small, family-owned restaurant. We then went to this weird restaurant/ice cream parlor called Farrells for some amazing ice cream. The whole restaurant was circus themed which was also pretty cool. There were a lot of loud noises and horns going off that my friends and I weren't too excited about.



On Sunday morning, we woke up an hour later than the day before and got the same, gross breakfast. Our first game that day was against Florida, and, even though we lost, we all played really well. Before our next game, we tanned even more and got smoothies and snow cones (which was probably the best part of the trip). Sadly, we lost our last game to Hawaii, which was disappointing since we had beat them 11-3 beforehand.

From Left to Right : Rissé, Me, and Sarah
Photo Courtesy of : Sarah's Mom

My family flew home last night and didn't get in until twelve! I am currently sitting here at school, my eyes half closing. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my post about my weekend, and stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Playing w/ The Cool Kids

About two months ago, I wrote a blog post on high school swimming called Swimming w/ The Cool Kids, but now it's........ WATER POLO SEASON!

So I am literally so excited because water polo is my boyfriend, besides the other twenty lined up at my door. The sport itself makes me feel so relaxed and happy because it is my passion. I only started about two years ago, but it was love at first sight. Okay, now I am going to stop pouring out my emotions and move on to the real details of Park City Water Polo.

The first day of it started February 17th, which, sadly, was during our school recess. This means that there were only a few of us there because who wants to spend their one week break at a pool?? Oh right, me. Basically the season is from the middle of February to the end of May, which is a pretty good chunk of time. We have practices every week day, and I think we are going to start to add Saturdays and morning practices (optional, of course). We mostly just have games during the week like a Tuesday or Thursday, but it depends.

Women's Varisty Team
Photo Courtesy of : Mike McDowell (my dad)

Practices are usually pretty fun. First, we pass on land while we wait for the elementary kids to finish their "swim lesson". Then, we set up the pool by taking out the lane lines and the flags and putting in the goals. Most people like to get the balls in and start shooting but Coach Josh gets mad, so we just swim to get warm. We do some drills and probably start passing again. Next, we either do a shooting drill or a passing drill which gets us moving. Sometimes, we scrimmage (which are the best days ever), but we mostly just do drills that sometimes don't make sense.

Most people think that they can just join water polo whenever they feel works for them, but that isn't going to cut it this time since we actually have a full girls team! There are about eleven of us girls who play, and some are still deciding whether or not they want to do it. Our team is coached mostly by Josh Loyens, but Jeff is also a major contributor. As captains, my sister and I like to plan all of the social events, since that's the best part! Last Friday, we had a team sleepover, which was so fun! We made really cool bags that had glitter and even fur on them! If you are looking for a fun team to be a part of, our girls team would love to have you!

Team Bags (notice the "Bite Me")
Photo Courtesy of : Me

ANYWAY (I realize that I say that a lot), I hope you liked reading about my life, once again, and stay tuned for more posts coming soon!