SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Water Polo

Patriot Games

Youth water polo club sends first graduates into high school battlefields

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 4, 2003 — They are the Metro Conference’s future water warriors ... and they have got an all-critical jump-start on many of their novice teammates by competing in youth water polo programs.

Though small by comparison to many of the elite programs in San Diego County — which itself is playing catch up to premier proving grounds like those in Orange County — area youth programs have begun to serve their purpose by preparing a new wave of players to take the next step up the ladder.

For instance, the fledgling South Bay Patriots have sent their first graduating class into battle this season. That initial class appears, from all accounts, to be flourishing.

Former Patriots competing for area high school teams this season include freshmen Derrick Clair-Williams, Robert Newman, Gabriel Gonzalez and Beto Vasquez — all for Bonita Vista — Gavin Fluhart for Eastlake and Hilltop sophomore Matt Chism.

By season’s end, they could end up helping their team win a league championship.
“I was starting to get bored with swimming, so I decided to give water polo a try,” said Fluhart, who scored his first two varsity goals in the Titans’ 25-9 victory against Southwest on Oct. 10.

Like many swimmers, Fluhart received exposure to the sport of water polo at an early age, then returned to it later.

Fluhart started swimming when he was about 6 years old and competed with the Heartland Swim Association until he was 8 or 9. He played his first water polo season with San Diego Shores in the San Diego Grommet League. When he moved from the Spring Valley area to EastLake midway during his sixth grade season, he became involved in aquatic programs with the YMCA He then found himself with the Patriots after they began operations two years ago.

He was among the older kids in the program and among its first leaders.

“It was kind of nice to be among the first ones to complete the program. You can take pride in that you were there when they started up,” said Fluhart, who competed one year at the 14- and-under-level as a wing and flat.

Fluhart said getting a firm grasp on the fundamentals of the game was the first step in the learning process during his time with the Patriots.

“When I first started, I knew the basics like any spectator would know about football or soccer. Then through the years on the Patriots, my skills improved a lot,” Fluhart said. “It was a lot of fun. It was a way to keep in shape. It felt good to go into the water.”

Fluhart said his experience with the Patriots helped him get into shape for his first season at the high school level. That first season appeared to show promise until he broke his finger just two games into the junior varsity season.

But his new-found love for the game was too much to keep him out of the water. Even though he was relegated to missing half the season because of the injury, he did manage to return to participate in limited practice sessions by wrapping his cast in plastic and treading water along with teammates.

“It made my legs stronger,” he said.

His commitment paid off upon his return to the active roster by being promoted to the varsity lineup for selected games. “His dedication earned him a call-up to the varsity team,” Eastlake coach Lonny Wood said.

Fluhart’s personal goals haven’t changed. “I want to be able to come in and be able to still play well,” he said.

Newman, whose father, Bob, was instrumental in starting up the Patriots program got involved in the sport through a friend. That friendly nudge could stand as the launch pad to a future star-spangled career.

“One of my friends told me there was this great game called water polo and I came out and tried out,” said Newman, who has become a fixture on the BVHS junior varsity team at the two-meter set position.

Like Fluhart, Newman said his experience with the Patriots helped prepare him for his first year in high school water polo.

“I learned a lot. I learned how to draw ejection fouls playing the two-meter hole set,” Newman said.

Bonita Vista coach Dan Way has inherited a large crop of the Patriots along with other players who have trained with more established programs, including the national-caliber Shores program to which Way currently has ties.

Among the Patriot grads, Gonzalez has earned a starting position with the varsity team while Newman, Vasquez and Clair-Williams have become important contributors on the JV squad.

Way, whose Barons are in position to make a run for their San Diego Section-record 17th consecutive league title this season, did not underestimate the importance that youth water programs provide — if only to spark and maintain interest as players make the jump to high competitive pools.

It’s good to have a junior program to train kids that will be feeding kids into other programs,” Way said. “The sooner we get youth water polo into more of a Little League setting in the U.S., the faster we’ll be closer to the top countries in the world like Yugoslavia. But we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”