Ashli Wagner
Video Editor
Some swim team members believe Webster Groves High School should have a water polo team.
“We’ve definitely talked about it for a few years, wishing that we did have a water polo team, because especially some of the swimmers, we all think it just looks like a lot of fun,” senior Kurt Krautman said about the idea.
“It could be fun, and it’d be a good off season training for swimming for some of the guys, and then we have a couple swimmers that do it out of season and that are really into it,” senior Lucas Doll said about why he wants a water polo team.
“If we have kids that want to play a MSHSAA sport, and we have enough of them to do it, then we would most likely find a coach and find a place to practice and do it. A MSHSAA sport or Missouri State High School Athletics Association sport would be all the state-sponsored schools that they have guidelines and bylaws that you have to follow from an eligibility standpoint, citizenship; they play for State championships in the State of Missouri under MSHSAA. If people are interested, and we have enough people to fill the team then we’ve added sports as we go along everything is a possibility,” Coach Cliff Ice said about the possibility of a water polo team.
One problem with having a water polo team is where and when it would practice.
In order to practice at Meramec like the swim team, the water polo team would have to practice later in the evening.
The swim team currently practices at Meramec because Webster University dropped WGHS’s lease so that St. John Vianney could use its pool, so if Webster were to have a water polo team, it would have to find a new pool to rent.
Another problem is there is no coach.
“I don’t really know anybody here that could coach. I know a lot of people outside, but I don’t know if they would come here and coach,” senior Abe Allen said.
Allen has played water polo for nine years and currently plays on two teams. He is part of the Olympic development program, and for SLAP or Local St. Louis Area Polo.
“It’s something that I really developed a passion for. It’s mentally and physically challenging, so you have to be on top of your game,” Allen said.
The basic rules are each team has six people on the “field” at a time and a goalie who guards what is essentially a smaller floating soccer net.
The six players pass a floating ball around to each other with the idea being to get the ball into the opposing net.
The game is played in a deep pool, so no players can touch the bottom of the pool requiring a lot of water treading and swimming.
As to why some swimmers want to add another school sport, Allen said, “It’s a different sport that’s not very common in the area, and it’s growing really fast here in the West, so I think it’s a good time for us to hop on that bandwagon.”
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