Water Polo Team Honored by City Council; Pool Concerns Addressed

Agoura Hills City Council representatives last night presented boys Varsity water polo team members and head boys coach, Dusty Litvak, with recognition award certificates honoring the team's exceptional and unprecedented season achievements, as well as the aquatics program’s overall, forty-year record of excellence.  

From its inaugural 1971 boys and girls swim teams and boys only water polo team, to 1997's first all girls water polo team, to the boys and girls teams' joint 2007 CIF title championships, and the boys team unrivaled, consecutive 2010 and 2011 CIF titles, to both the boys and girls water polo teams' combined twenty-two (22) Marmonte League championships, twelve (12) swimming/diving League titles, and ten (10) individual CIF swimming titles, it is difficult, as it is said, to argue with their success. Couple with all those winning records the fact AHS aquatic student athletes sport the highest GPAs of all AHS teams combined, or of the entire student body for that matter, and it becomes increasingly evident why team rosters are overflowing: Excellence is attractive to students and parents alike. 

“It's a special honor for us to be able to recognize the boys water polo team, which has back-to-back CIF championships in both 2010 and 2011. That's quite an accomplishment, and something that's never been done here at Agoura High School, or by any other Ventura County water polo program," said Mayor John Edelston, who took the lead in arranging for and presenting the award.

Such outstanding athletic and academic records might lead one to conclude the Agoura High School (AHS) aquatics program and its participating student athletes have everything they need to succeed. Considering this season’s unprecedented, back-to-back boys Varsity water polo team CIF championships, and girls (currently undefeated in League) Varsity team CIF playoffs destination, it’s clear these student athletes and their coaches are not simply treading water – they're making impressive waves. AHS aquatic training appears to be exceedingly effective  - and it is, despite the decidedly inferior, substandard, and disgraceful pool facility conditions in which these athletes train and compete. 

Any argument Agoura High School's pool facility must be “suitable enough” to produce such championship swimmers and water polo teams, is frankly, deceivingly shallow and entirely misses the mark. Dive into the deep end to discern what student athletes and coaches endure and sacrifice in order to excel, and the water becomes markedly murkier. 

Pool size and depth constraints, for example, require students to delicately balance crack of dawn start times and 10 pm finishes with proper nutrition, adequate sleep and homework. Case in point, athletes in attendance last night headed back to the pool following the Council meeting for an 8-9:45 pm practice, as pool capacity limitations do not allow for more than one group practice at a time. Adequate pool time often comes at the expense of other basic needs, and travel to out-of-area pools becomes a necessity. And, add to the pool's laundry list of problems: unsafe dive blocks that pose a threat to AHS swimmers' and visiting team's safety; an outdated, deteriorating, prone to failure, and no longer up to code single pump system's ineffectual and inefficient ability to properly filter both pools; lack of ability to host at home CIF playoff games and swim meets due to lack of regulation size and depth. It is honestly shocking to see the deplorable conditions in which these dedicated, hard-working championship student athletes and their coaches train and compete; surprising a city of Agoura Hills repute would tolerate it. 

Perhaps most disconcertingly, prospective team cuts now loom large due to program popularity and lack of space. The current, antiquated pool simply cannot keep up with demand. The AHS aquatics program is now 100+ athletes strong, and ever-growing. Lacking a larger pool, new students - and, perhaps those who may most need the program's benefits - are increasingly subject to hearing, "There's not enough room for you." 

The nearly half-century old, much loved, well-used and well-served Agoura High School pool facility is, like all such physical structures, fast approaching a veritable tipping point; cosmetic measures and band-aids simply cannot address multiplying foundational, structural and environmental issues. The pool's structural lack of regulation size and depth standards, and subsequent inability to accommodate today's record number of interested student athletes requires a level of redress a new coat of plaster categorically cannot resolve. Investment in costly, partial repairs cannot ultimately address the overriding issues of inadequate size and depth, or the need for appropriate, contemporary, technological improvements that reduce chlorination needs and water turnover rates, all of which help mitigate environmental impact, and help control operational and maintenance costs.

Following the presentation, Coach Litvak thanked the Council members, commended the athletes for their remarkable accomplishments and sacrifices, and requested City support and cooperation in bringing a newly renovated pool facility to Agoura High School. A city-school relationship similar to the Conejo Recreation and Park District and Thousand Oaks High School alliance would provide off-hours and summer community access to the AHS pool for child and youth water safety and swim lessons, and other recreational and educational aquatics programs. A precedent for such an agreement was set when the City supported and contributed to improving the AHS tennis courts in exchange for community access. 

City support is imperative to putting this new pool project into the fast lane, as major capital donors expect community contribution before considering significant grants. As such, parents, alumni, coaches and even student athletes have plunged into fundraising mode, having so far raised approximately 10% of the necessary funds.

And, while recognizing the Agoura High School aquatics program for its historical accomplishments is an appreciated and unparalleled honor, the City of Agoura Hills can best demonstrate its recognition for the value this program imparts to its residents and reputation by taking proactive measures to contribute to its longevity and continued success.

The City's return on such an investment will unquestionably and unarguably pay off over the next half-century, leaving a legacy of community health, safety, environmental stewardship, and perhaps most importantly, demonstrable care and concern for its children, youth and, indeed, all residents - and the condition of the facilities they frequent.