Servite
High School, USA
If you see a group of boys or girls walking around sporting impressive tans, they are probably one of the American
Teams who have come from their warm California summer to endure the Auckland
rain in order to participate in the Pan Pacific Water Polo Tournament.
The Servite High School boys (photo left) are no
exception. Servite is an all boys Catholic School in Anaheim, California, just minutes
from Disney Land.
This is the team’s first international
competition. Their Coach, Mustafa Hassan, who was born and raised in the USA
gets his interesting name from his parents’ heritage. His father is Arabic and
his mother, Cuban.
Due to the financial input needed to come
on such a trip to New Zealand they have a variety of boys on their team. Some are
much younger than would play on the team if they were playing in California.
But coach Mustafa can see the positive side of it, giving the younger players a
chance to step up and learn through the experience of playing for the team
during the tournament. They have a mix of ages, from 14 to 16 and are
playing in the U16 bracket.
There are no boarding facilities at their
school so the boys all commute and live within 20 miles (32km) of their school. They
are staying in down town Auckland and have been enjoying walking around their
new neighbourhood and seeing what the city has to offer.
Good luck for the tournament, Servite High
School!
