After only its first full year, the Sunshine Coast's newest sport has taken firm roots.
The Sunshine Coast Sockeye water polo club started up just over a year ago, but now has a solid membership that is quickly gaining experience.
The club just returned from an 18-team tournament at the University of British Columbia's outdoor pool where they made a good showing considering some on the squad had less than a year's experience. After losing some initial games, the Sockeye went on to beat a UBC team 11-4 in their last game of the tournament.
"It really isn't about the record. Valuable fitness and experience was gained, and everyone played and had fun," said team co-organizer Darren Molder. "We practice once a week and concentrate on building fitness and skills from a fairly beginner level of play, so for us to go into Vancouver and take a game is really astounding. It was more about introducing some of the newer members to what water polo is all about. Now they're hooked."
Water polo is played much like soccer but in a pool, where teams pass the ball while attempting to advance it toward their opponent's goal.
Molder used to play for the UBC club before moving to the Sunshine Coast a few years ago. By chance, he ran into someone at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre who used to play for another team in the same Lower Mainland league.
"I saw Brian (Lee) at the pool and we were both like, 'Hey, I know you,'" said Molder. "Within minutes we were talking about the possibilities of starting a club on the Coast and it just went on from there."
The two put out the word and actually found a few others who had played before, but most of those who joined were beginners. But Molder said he's happy to share his experience and it's been extremely rewarding for him to see some of the newer players develop over the past year.
"That's how we all started out - learning how to catch a ball while trying to keep your head above water. We've all benefitted from someone else's patience, so I'm happy to give back," he said.
Molder and the Sunshine Coast Sockeye encourage anyone with moderate swimming skills to come out on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre to try it out.
"It's such a great sport you don't even realize until afterwards --how much exercise you just got," said Molder. "And the fitter you get, the more fun it is."
-Submitted
