Start A Water-Polo Team
Begin with the basics and a model to follow
By Nikki Boruch
Photos: City of Mesa Parks and Recreation
With the Tokyo Olympics having taken place recently, water polo is in the spotlight, which is bolstering local interest in the sport. Adding a water-polo program to an agency’s offerings can be both lucrative and a great addition to a sports lineup for kids in the community, but how do you begin a successful program? The Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department in Mesa, Ariz., has paved the way for other agencies to create a successful recreation program since launching its own in 2001. Here’s what worked best for this stand-out program:
Water Polo Explained
Water polo is a high-energy, competitive aquatic sport that incorporates physical activity with teamwork and discipline. The sport combines swimming and the strategies of basketball, hockey, and soccer. Two teams of seven players each compete to score the most goals in a match. To score, players tread water while throwing, catching, and shooting a ball into the opponent’s goal while also blocking attacks from opposing players. To make things more challenging, players cannot touch the bottom of the pool and must only use one hand to throw!
Not Just For The Elite
Water polo is generally thought of as an elite club sport reserved for kids enrolled in premier schools. However, for those who do not have the time or money to commit to year-round club water polo, a seasonal public program is a great way for kids to sample the sport. But where will you get sign-ups?
If you are creating a new water-polo program, the first sign-ups will most likely come from kids who are already participating in swim lessons or competitive swim teams. Mesa’s parks and recreation department formed its league through an alliance with a USA Water Polo club team that practiced at one of its facilities. Mesa used the club team’s knowledge to shape an introductory program and then promoted it to USA teams as a feeder system for year-round competitive teams. Forming reciprocal relations like this one is extremely beneficial and highly recommended in order to give a program the greatest chance of success.
What You will Need
Before trying to find interested players, you will need locations, coaches, and equipment. First, you must select locations to hold practices and tournaments. Consider the depth and space of pools. Are they deep enough, and do they have enough space for goals and players? Are the locations close enough so parents can conveniently drive to the matches?
Ask swim-team parents if any have water-polo experience and would be willing to volunteer their time and knowledge as coaches. Mesa recruits players for club teams from the lifeguards. Water-polo coaching is then considered a promotional assignment. This past summer, a young lifeguard at Mesa competed at the USA Swimming Nationals and was one of the summer water-polo coaches in her free time. Overall, the cost for summer water-polo coaches and assistants for the 10 teams cost about $11,000 with a 100-percent+ cost recovery. Each team practices three days a week for one hour during the eight-week summer season with matches every weekend.
Equipment is the final component needed to begin a program. Water-polo balls and goals are the main equipment. On average, balls cost around $30, and goals, which are the biggest expense, cost approximately $1,500 per goal. However, if the budget is tight, makeshift goals will work fine. During the first years of the Mesa program, internal park-maintenance crews created goals from PVC and netting. For safety, water-polo caps are a necessity when actual games are played. For clinics and lessons, you only need the water-polo balls. As a program grows and participation increases, you can look at buying more professional goals and more balls. Mesa uses different sizes of water-polo balls as a training-progression tool and for different age groups. Overall, if you have a pool and a whiteboard, then you have a place for kids to learn the fundamentals of treading and drills for playing!
Tips
With 20 years of experience in running water-polo programs, the City of Mesa suggests 10 tips for a successful program:
Run programs at select sites. Limiting the locations of the teams in the beginning of the season ensures you are not spreading resources too thin.
Offer varied practice times in the morning and at night. Kids who have working parents love the option of evening practices in the summer.
Run spring clinics to gain interest for summer programs.
Market recreation water-polo clinics to kids who play similar sports, like soccer, basketball, and hockey. These players pick up the game quickly and love having a different way to play while keeping cool in the pool during the off-season. Don’t forget about kids on club swim programs to add to or brush up their skills.
Use current facility lifeguards and instructor staff members as referees and coaches.
Set minimum age requirements. Mesa runs programs for 9- to 11-year-olds and 12- to 15-year-olds; also, remember that water polo is a great co-ed sport, where anyone can feel welcome and succeed.
Set minimum swimming requirements to ensure safety in deep water. Mesa requires players to be comfortable in deep water and swim the length of the pool without a break before participation. Clinics and lessons can be held in a shallow pool to help players who are tentative in deep water.
Offer “Pee-wee Polo Lessons” for those who don’t meet minimum age requirements. These lessons will become a feeder program as participants “age up.”
Consider setting maximum age limits also. Doing so encourages players to move onto the club teams when they are ready and helps to facilitate partnerships with club teams.
Partner with a USA Water Polo club or USA Swimming Masters teams. They are wonderful and beneficial resources for knowledge and support.
Nikki Boruch is Marketing and Communications Specialist I for the city of Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department in Mesa, Ariz. Reach her at parksrecinfo@mesaaz.gov.