Stirling High School is enjoying a golden year in water polo as 10 of their students have been selected to South African Water Polo squads so far this season.
Seven girls and three boys have made the various age group teams over the year and some have played in competitions while others are still to play later in the year.
“This has been a fantastic year for Stirling Water Polo, we have always had a couple of players making the SA teams but to have 10 is just incredible,” said Stirling head of water polo Charl Wessels.
“We are very proud of our players and what they have achieved so far.”
Grade 12 pupils Erin Sims and Tayla-Jade Cawthorn were picked in the SA women’s U18 team while Grade 11s Hanna Müller, Chloë Meecham, and Krystin Ibbotson made the SA women's U17 team and Sarah Maritz is in the squad as a non-travelling reserve.
Aashiq Raffie and Faiz Faruk Soomar, also in Grade 11 made the SA U17 boys team, while Grade 10 pupils Xanthe Ibbotson and Storm Siebert made the SA U16 women and men teams respectively.
Sims and Muller were also named as captains in their respective teams.
This is a superb achievement for the school and is a testimony to the efforts put in by the coaches and the players themselves.
“A lot of hard work has been put in by the coaches Bevan Manson, with the seniors, and Carly Wessels with the juniors, who are both SA representatives themselves, and they must be commended for the role they have played in the players success,” admitted Charl.
“But the players have also put in a lot of hard work as well with them spending a lot of time in the water, which is imperative and they have shown their dedication with the hours and effort they have put in.”
Paramount to this success is playing against the best and Stirling regularly send their teams to some of the top water polo festivals and to play against the best schools from around the country.
The Stirling first girls water polo team is ranked first in the country this year according to www.saschoolsports.co.za and this just adds to the schools pedigree in the sporting code.
“We do a lot of touring around the country where our players play against the best water polo schools so that they can stay fit and sharp against top opposition,” explained Charl.
“Our girls are at the moment ranked number one in the country and it goes to show how well they have been playing.”
After such an impressive season Stirling will want to keep their golden year going when the season resumes later in the year and their players would want to keep up their good work that has seen them representing South Africa.