Feb. 21, 2017
By Matt Szabo - @mjszaboStarting up a collegiate water polo program can often seem like a roll of the dice.
How will the players mesh with each other? How will they deal with the high likelihood of losing a lot early on? How will the university support the program?
Across the country, though, several programs are making it work.
In California, San Jose State just finished its second year after reinstating its men’s water polo program while the Fresno State women’s team will begin competition next year.
There are also success stories further east.
McKendree University (IL) has added both men’s and women’s programs this season, as has La Salle University (PA). St. Francis University, also in Pennsylvania, kicked off its inaugural women’s season this month. In addition, Wagner College added a men's program to complement their conference championship winning women's team.
Gregg Emde, the McKendree coach, is no stranger to success. Last year he led Lindenwood University (MO) to a College Water Polo Association national championship. But he knew that starting a college program from scratch would be a different challenge.
The Bearcats men went 12-15 in their initial season last fall, playing as a club program. The women’s team will have a mixed club and varsity schedule, but both McKendree teams will bump up to NCAA varsity status for the 2017-18 school year. Emde said the school also will keep a men’s club program next year.
“The guys did well,” Emde said of the recently completed men’s season. “We had 17 freshmen, and they ended up eighth at club nationals and were competitive from the beginning to the end.
“You never know, and there were a whole lot of dynamics that went into it. I can say that we had a variety of talent levels, but everybody’s ego was in check. They act like 17 brothers. They get along very well, so it’s been a lot of fun. It could have gone either way, and I’m happy with the way it went.”
Paul Macht of La Salle also is pulling double duty in starting up men’s and women’s programs this year. Macht was Princeton’s head coach from 1977-81 but recently has been coaching in the club and high school ranks.
He said college water polo has changed a lot over the years.
“[The program] is getting off the ground, so that’s good,” Macht said. “It’s a lot more time than I imagined, with all of the NCAA regulations on recruiting, especially.”
La Salle’s men, playing in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference, went 3-12 last fall. The Explorers women are competing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this spring. Both teams have two scholarship positions available, Macht said.
Macht said he wasn’t able to recruit as much has he would have liked, but he’s assembled a diverse 11-player women’s roster. Two women are from Southern California, and two hail from Hawaii.
“Some student-athletes say, ‘I don’t want to play for a bad team,’ but some are excited with the prospect of growing a new program,” Macht said. “Some kids think, ‘I can get playing time right away,’ and they see that as a positive thing.”
The other women’s college team starting this year in Pennsylvania is St. Francis, led by Coach Pat Beemer. The Red Flash will be playing in the very competitive Collegiate Water Polo Association and also have had their share of challenges.
“Sometimes we’re geographically unsexy, especially for a southern California kid who’s grown up playing water polo all the time,” Beemer said. “It’s a small school, on top of a mountain. Believe me, it’s gorgeous, but it’s very rural … and that’s a challenge. Lani Merrill from San Clemente is on the team, and this is a kid who’s used to surfing every day. That’s not happening now.”
Beemer’s roster includes five players from southern California—but also seven from Pennsylvania. He anticipates a fun first season.
“Everything we do is a milestone for the program,” he said. “That’s one of the things I say to the kids. ‘Hey, if you score in our first game, you’re the all-time leading scorer at the school.’ For my goalkeeper, it’s, ‘Your first save, you just set a record, and every time you touch that ball you’re setting records.’ In the grand scheme of things, I don’t know where we’re going to fall in terms of results. But they’ve been working their butts off; we’re ready to go.”
San Jose State has seen slow progress since reinstating its men’s program in 2015. The Spartans, led by longtime West Valley College (CA) junior college coach Bruce Watson, finished 7-21 last fall after earning four wins in 2015.
Watson said he’s excited about offering another option for kids to play college water polo, especially in a talent-rich state like California. San Jose State is also his alma mater. The Spartans compete in the Golden Coast Conference.
“It’s kind of a funny way that things have evolved because of budget cuts and what not,” he said. “The better high school water polo teams in the country are private schools, and they don’t tend to go to state schools so much. You have to aim for a different athlete and a different type of kid. But you know, that’s fine. It gives them a place to play.”
Staying in California, Coach Natalie Benson feels the same way about starting the women’s program at Fresno State. The Bulldogs will begin competition next season. Women’s water polo was brought in as a varsity sport along with men’s wrestling.
There have been relatively few options for kids in the Central Valley to stay close to home and play water polo, though Fresno Pacific does have a program.
“I think Fresno is a perfect place for water polo in general, not just women’s water polo,” Benson said. “I think the choice to bring in women’s water polo, along with men’s wrestling, it’s great for the region as well as the school. There are a lot of kids who live in California and want to stay in California—and maybe don’t have the options they’d like. It’s always nice to have another option for those kids to be able to continue competing at a high level. I’m really excited that there’s a lot of home-grown talent, so to speak, in the area.”
In the end, all of these programs may face challenges getting off the ground, but they’re also contributing to the growth of water polo.
Beemer, originally from California, said he’s happy to see the East coast continuing to grow its aquatic acumen.
“High school water polo is growing in Pennsylvania,” he said. “When I first started coaching, there were maybe two dozen high schools that had the sport. Now you’re talking about 50 and almost 60. With the addition of St. Francis and La Salle in the state, there are now nine universities with varsity water polo, which is good. It’s small but still growing.”
