Exciting things are always happening at the Peralta Colleges. For the past year, most of these exciting things have been "virtual" but that is starting to change. On March 31, 2021, the women of the Laney College Water Polo team hosted a scrimmage against Las Positas College. This scrimmage was the first Peralta Sports Event since the Alameda County sheltering in place order began to protect us from the spread of COVID-19.
Precious Gerardo, Head Coach, Women’s Water Polo, Laney College had this to say about the event:
"This is the very first athletic contest that Laney College has participated in since the first shelter in place order on March 12 2020 so we are really excited just to be back in the pool and back to playing. "
Joe Sullivan of Peralta TV was on hand to video some of the competition for Peralta News. His short video is now posted on the Peralta Colleges YouTube channel.
Coach Gerardo continued, "I feel like it went well. Everyone was really excited."
Both teams followed COVID protocols ahead of the competition by testing and screening. Coaches like Gerardo and Laney College Athletic Director John Beam have been advocates for student athletes, ensuring that students and coaches follow the necessary safety protocols to keep students and employees safe and healthy.
Coach Gerardo arranged the friendly competition with Las Positas to give the athletes a chance to compete. "I was really just trying to do this for the players and the student athletes to come back and finally get to experience playing again. We have one sophomore on the team who will be transferring out so this is her last chance to do it. That was my push, my drive to make it happen."
Coach Gerardo reflected, "We realize that a lot of people can’t do what they want to do whether that is coming back to campus for athletics or for clubs or just for their classes. We feel very grateful that we’re able to be here. We hope this provides hope for everyone else that we’re coming back soon. We want to include everyone and hopefully you feel like when you join the team, you become part of the team and part of the family."
So who won the scrimmage? Everyone who participated!
For more information please visit the Laney Athletics website at www.laneyathletics.com.