Water polo

Kent based Sophie Hawkins has written about her love of water polo!

“I have definitely found my sport in water polo… I absolutely love it!

It combines the power and endurance of swimming and the fast-paced, competitive passing of netball, into an exciting, adrenaline-fuelled team water sport. It had me hooked from the first session I tried out at the age of twelve. Bored of club swimming, water polo was the perfect option for staying in the water and becoming part of a team, and I have grown in confidence and ability, all whilst having fun.

I train with Monson mixed under 16s in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and the sessions are the highlight of my week. I have made some firm friends there, and although our coach Tim pushes us hard, we always have a laugh too. We spend half the session on training exercises and half in a game, allowing us to develop swimming endurance, ball handling and tactical game skills. 

Throughout the year, we have the opportunity to attend several tournaments against other clubs in the region. At one of these I was spotted and asked to play at county level for Kent, and it was such an inspiring experience to play alongside, and against, such talented players. I have also recently been invited to start training with Invicta under 19 ladies’ team with the hope of competing in the National Age Group trials (NAGS) next year. 

Water polo is not for the faint hearted… there is plenty of endurance required to build-up the skills to throw and catch a ball one-handed whilst constantly treading water, and the sprint swimming in matches can be tiring to say the least. But if you’re looking for a high-energy, tactical, team sport then I would highly recommend finding your local water polo club and giving it a go!”

 This was originally published in bsporty.