Photo by Ellys Sun – Silver Creek Raiders come out victorious against Mount Pleasant with a score of 17-11

By Ellys Sun 

SAN JOSE CALIF — Silver Creeks pool heater is finally back and running, students and staff are finally able to enjoy the pool at reasonable temperatures. 

This is spectacular news for Silver Creek High School’s very own water polo team, who hosted their  first home meet of the season on Tuesday Oct 10. The polo team hasn’t had a pool since the beginning of the season in early September, having to attend in-water practices at other pools such as Evergreen High School. Although the pool heater was up for the beginning of the school year, it was promptly shut off due to issues with the gas pipes, which was most definitely  convenient for the beginning of polo season. 

Many are unsure as to why the heating issue wasn’t fully fixed over the summer; the main cause of the problem occurred in May of the 2022-2023 school year, where there was an accidental gas leak due to the construction of the new K building. Marc Alpert, the current coach of the polo team said “I’m pleased with the quick work replacing the gas main line. Faculty kept me informed, and it’s nice to finally get more pool time to fix our areas of need.” 

Hosting games without pool heating was not an option because most games last until nighttime, where temperature often plummets. The Raiders were forced to travel to away games that went as far as Christopher High School in Gilroy almost an hour away. Making such commitments has paid off for our beloved raiders, and with the restoration of the pool heater. A player from the girls varsity water polo team, Sonia Kumari, said “As soon as I found out the pool was fixed and I could play my last year and have my senior night at our deck, I was quite literally jumping with joy.” The 2023 water polo senior night is scheduled to be on Friday Oct 20.