Water Polo Thriving in Wissahickon

Wissahickon Water Polo is an organization that supports the boys and girls teams at .  It also provides a place for middle school players to compete and get their first taste of water polo.

Doug Krause recently served as president of Trojan Aquatics. He believes Wissahickon Water Polo provides the perfect venue for new players to literally get their feet wet with the sport.

“It serves as an opportunity for young kids to learnthe sport,” said Krause. “It’s not something you’re going to get at your average day camp or anything like that. Hopefully, kids will learn the sport and enjoy it, and ultimately have a desire to play on their high school team.”

The high school team competes in the Pennsylvania Water Polo league in the PIAA. The schedules for both teams involve plenty of traveling. The competition includes a group of teams in the Philadelphia area, a Harrisburg team, a team in North Allegheny out in Pittsburgh, and a cluster of teams in the Erie area.

While several other towns in the area have had a feeder program, the middle school program with Wissahickon Water Polo is relatively new. However, several young players are beginning to get hooked on the sport, and the results will likely pay off for the high school team in the coming years.

“The programs in the Wissahickon area really just started in the last couple of years,” Krause said. “It’s kids that played in the middle school. Before this, they would have been exposed to it perhaps because an older brother or sister played on a high school team.”

The high school teams play during the fall season, but Wissahickon Water Polo has a spring league sponsored by American Water Polo.  Games are played at high schools or at Villanova leading up to the spring championships.  There are programs in the league for 18-and-under, 15-and-under, and 12-and-under. 

“What we’re trying to do with American Water Polo is drum up some more interest from the area swim clubs,” said Krause. “We’d like to develop more of a league, and that would be beyond the high school and middle school programs.”

The sport of water polo requires a tremendous amount of strength and endurance. As much as the players enjoy playing the sport, it can be difficult at the beginning for newcomers. That’s why Wissahickon Water Polo makes it easier for its beginners.

“They are playing with kids that have the same ability,” Krause said. “When they first start out, we have to find ways to make it simpler and easier for the kids.  Water polo is supposed to be played in a deep pool, and you’re not supposed to touch the bottom. With the youngest kids, we start out with noodles and also play in the shallow end.”

While the coaches at Wissahickon Water Polo are hoping to build strong teams at the middle school and high school levels, the basic concept of fun remains with the young athletes. Wissahickon Water Polo provides an atmosphere that provides plenty of enjoyment for its participants.

“It’s just like any other sport,” said Krause. “If you don’t make it fun at a young age, the kids are going to get turned off easily. Kids love to be in the pool in the summertime. A way to combine swimming and the recreation of being involved with it is to play water polo. The kids seem to really jump on once they learn the basics.”

For more information on Wissahickon Water Polo, visit waterpolo.wsdsports.org or www.americanwaterpolo.org.