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POLO IN THE DESERT Even though Arizona State University has had a women’s varsity water polo team since 2002, the game of water polo is still new to Arizona’s youth. Within the last two years middle school and high school age students have become more familiar with water polo and kids from the Valley of the Sun are beginning to embrace this sport. Many people are concentrating their efforts on building strong water polo programs so that water polo will become more commonplace among Arizonans. Bill Loffswold is one such individual. He and his wife, Beth, coach Mesa Water Polo and their passion for the sport has driven them to expose as many of Arizona’s youth as they can to this sport once called water rugby. Bill had a dream of forming a high school league in Arizona and saw the fruition of his dream in 2007. The inaugural season of the Arizona High School Water Polo League had four teams competing from Mesa, Phoenix Desert Vista, Red Mountain and Westwood. Beginning in April and running through May students from neighboring cities and schools come together to form teams that compete in a series of tournaments. The culmination of the season is the Arizona State Water Polo Championship. The inaugural State Championship was awarded to Westwood lead by Senior Sam Lovetro. The 2008 season has now begun with the addition of two teams to the league, Gilbert Highland and a second Phoenix Desert Vista team with more teams to join on the horizon. Beth and Bill don’t limit themselves to coaching, but instead also host and instruct a number of water polo clinics for kids elementary age and older during the summer through Mesa Parks and Recreation. Sun Devil Water Polo Association
is another club team that has developed a strong water polo program
that is also growing leaps and bounds. Jelena Maljkovic is the youth
coach for Sun Devil Water Polo Association which is based at Arizona
State University’s Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Maljkovic herself
is no stranger to water polo. She was a member of the Serbian Junior
National and National Team and competed at the European Water Polo Championships.
The club has boys and girls ranging in age from 9-17. Sun Devil Water
Polo Association hosts clinics frequently throughout the year to the
community’s youth teaching an introduction to the sport of water
polo as well as more advanced skill level clinics. Each July a summer
camp is held with Arizona State University Varsity Women’s Coach
Todd Clapper providing instruction. Sun Devil Water Polo Club also offers
its athletes opportunities to travel out of state to compete with other
youth water polo players. This summer the club is looking to send the
first Arizona team to compete in the Jr. Olympics. Visit http://www.sundevilwaterpolo.org/
for more information. Water polo in the desert may seem like an oxymoron, but it’s now a reality for Arizona’s youth. No longer do kids here ask if horses are involved in water polo. Kids are proud to be playing this sport. Teens that would never have donned a Speedo® now wear one. Caps that looked funny are now worn proudly. Water polo is gaining ground and taking off and it’s a beautiful sight.
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