Longboarding is one of many things brothers freshman Joshua Vega and junior Matthew Vega have in common. The brothers play offense as drivers for the men’s water polo team. Matthew says the two have become much closer in the last few years because of their shared interests and they work well together, complementing each other’s style. / photo by Helen Arase
Annabel Secaida
Staff Writer
Colleagues, teammates and brothers Matthew and Joshua Vega are back at it again in the pool playing together for the men’s water polo team.
Older brother, junior driver Matthew Vega, started his water polo career at 14 during his freshman year in high school.
Originally planning to play baseball, Matthew chose to sign up for water polo because he loved the water and needed to sign up for a sixth period.
“What I really fell in love with was that it was a constant moving game,” Matthew said. “I was naturally good and it made it more fun.”
Freshman driver Joshua Vega followed in his older brother’s footsteps after watching him. In the eighth grade, he decided to pursue water polo and played for a club team, CHAWP.
After one season of club after his freshman year Matthew started on the varsity team.
He is a two time most valuable offensive player and two time first team all-league recipient and, like his brother, also earned second team all-league.
“I thought it was kind of weird because as a kid he wasn’t a water person like I was, but once he got into the routine it felt cool having him play too,” Matthew said.
The Vega brothers played together for two consecutive years in high school. Joshua played on the varsity team all four years of high school and as a sophomore he received second team all-league.
He received first team all-league his junior and senior year and second team all CIF his senior year.
“I enjoy playing with my brother because he’s a lefty and I’m a righty so we get to work with each other on different sides of the pool,” Joshua said.
Although they do not always see things eye to eye outside of the pool, their relationship differs in the water.
They give and receive constructive criticism from one another and they work well back and forth.
“Both are integral parts of our offensive machine,” head coach William Rodriguez said. “They both have the ability to score at a high percentage. They’re fast, strong and have hard shots.”
They learn to complement one another. It is sharing the love for something that can create a bond especially for the Vega brothers.
“Water polo brought us closer together because we have something more now to talk about,” Joshua said. “It’s cool too because we get to hangout more and stuff.”
After graduating from Rancho Cucamonga High School, Matthew decided to attend La Verne because of the small class sizes and the relaxing environment. He was recruited his junior year of high school and already knew some of the water polo players.
Two years later, Joshua joined his brother and became a Leopard.
“I decided to go to La Verne because I saw that my brother really enjoyed going to school and I saw a change in him,” Joshua said. “He was excited about going and learning.”
Joshua was named Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Male Athlete of the week for Sept. 8 to 14.
He has 21 goals this season. Matthew has 16 goals this season and earned a game high of four points against Whittier.
“They’re big offensive threats to our opponents and you don’t want to leave them open because they can score easily,” Rodriguez said.
Annabel Secaida can be reached at annabel.secaida@laverne.edu.