I think one way to get more boys or teenage boys involved with swimming is by getting states to expect the sport of water polo. My state doesn't do it and a lot of other states don't do polo. But if more states adoptive the sport more young men would be involved with swimming at least in the high school level. Most guys at my high school in California during the 1970's played Water Polo in the summer and fall and swam in the spring. They were in better shape in swimming and could work more yardage than if they swam for only 3 months which is common for states without water polo. Water polo is so popular with teenagers in California that they introduce even girls teams in the 1990's. Most boys like a sport which is similar to hockey except that its in a pool instead of an ice rink. Also, US water polo would gain by having a bigger pool to draw from on their national team instead of 80 percent or more just coming from California.
Parents
Former Member
Cynthia has touched on a subject that has regularly puzzled me. Why isn't water polo more popular, as a spectator sport as well? The similarities to basketball/soccer/hockey are striking. (I did not realize just how similar they were until I volunteered to be an assistant coach for my kids' soccer and floor hockey teams, and found a lot of the drills were pretty much the same.) Moreover,
- Unlike soccer, someone actually scores; more than one or two goals a game.
- Unlike basketball, you do have a goalie and meaningful defense, so each individual goal does have importance.
- Unlike hockey, the pace of the game is just a bit slower, so you can see plays developing, and goals will be scored because the offense executed the shot it intended to make, rather than tossing the puck at the net and hoping to score on a rebound or lucky deflection.
I can understand why a swim meet would be about as interesting as watching paint dry to someone who is not into the sport as a participant. (My family has informed me of this fact frequently.) But, the even smaller following for water polo has puzzled me.
I'm also astounded and bemused that youth today are afraid to wear a classic speedo cut swim suit. When I was on the high school swim team, wearing ANYTHING EXCEPT a speedo would have marked you as hopelessly unhip (think Drew Carey "birth control" glasses), and that would have included the jammers that are popular today. In college, WE WANTED to show off; we ADVERTISED our meets to the student body by mentioning the small quantities of lycra we wore in the pool. Of course, the purpose of youth fashion in general is to astound, scandalize and/or perplex people in their 40's, so I suppose it's not that surprising...
Matt
Cynthia has touched on a subject that has regularly puzzled me. Why isn't water polo more popular, as a spectator sport as well? The similarities to basketball/soccer/hockey are striking. (I did not realize just how similar they were until I volunteered to be an assistant coach for my kids' soccer and floor hockey teams, and found a lot of the drills were pretty much the same.) Moreover,
- Unlike soccer, someone actually scores; more than one or two goals a game.
- Unlike basketball, you do have a goalie and meaningful defense, so each individual goal does have importance.
- Unlike hockey, the pace of the game is just a bit slower, so you can see plays developing, and goals will be scored because the offense executed the shot it intended to make, rather than tossing the puck at the net and hoping to score on a rebound or lucky deflection.
I can understand why a swim meet would be about as interesting as watching paint dry to someone who is not into the sport as a participant. (My family has informed me of this fact frequently.) But, the even smaller following for water polo has puzzled me.
I'm also astounded and bemused that youth today are afraid to wear a classic speedo cut swim suit. When I was on the high school swim team, wearing ANYTHING EXCEPT a speedo would have marked you as hopelessly unhip (think Drew Carey "birth control" glasses), and that would have included the jammers that are popular today. In college, WE WANTED to show off; we ADVERTISED our meets to the student body by mentioning the small quantities of lycra we wore in the pool. Of course, the purpose of youth fashion in general is to astound, scandalize and/or perplex people in their 40's, so I suppose it's not that surprising...
Matt
