New PGs boost water polo team’s chances for Easterns

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Media: Kiern Lim '25

The boys water polo team practices with head coach Douglas Jones.

With the addition of three new postgraduates that are soon heading to the Naval Academy, the water polo team looks forward to a successful season. The three new PGs, Aiden Day ‘23, Alejandro Schmidt ’23 and Tom Leggett ’23 bring their knowledge and experiences from all over the country to our water polo team, boosting their chances this year to contend for the Eastern Championship.

“That’s one of the best parts of having postgrads is you’ve got guys that played in California and they bring their certain drills and certain ways of doing things. And then we kind of put those things together, and we all get better.” head coach of boys water polo Douglas Jones commented.

The PGs bring along their previous experiences with water polo to the Hill and help the team to learn and grow. “They’ve been great communicators and great leaders. They have helped the young guys learn things.” Jones commented. He also noted that they are in many ways coaches in the water because they have been playing a long time and bring their knowledge from programs all around the country.

“So not only are they great leaders and great teachers, they also just raised a level of play to one that I think the young guys aspire to be at.” Jones remarked.

In addition to the new PGs, this year’s team now has more experienced and older players. “I started when I was like 11 and now I’m 18.” Captain Artem Kyselov ’24 said. Compared to last year, the average age of the starting line-up jumped from 15 to about 18. Through pre-season and after playing a number of matches together, the team has learned to play together as a new team and fostered chemistry between players. This year, the water polo team also has a better defence compared to previous years and is one of the most skilled teams among their opponents.

Assistant boys water polo coach Chris Schiavone ’16 has high hopes for this year’s team, comparing them to his experiences on other teams that he has played on and stating that they are the “flat out the most skilled team that I have seen.”

Every year, the water polo team has the same 3 goals: to beat Lawrenceville, who they will be playing on Parent’s weekend, contend for an Eastern title and to play good water polo, but most importantly contend for an Eastern title. “I believe that we are going to win it,” Aiden Day ’23 stated.

However, for the team to achieve their goals, they would still see room for improvement. “We need to improve our awareness, because water polo is very fast paced and there are a lot of adrenaline rushing through you,” Alejandro Schmidt ’23 said. “You need to be aware and conscious to make the right decisions. We need to improve on our reaction time on looking into the center and passing it around the perimeter, making good passes.”

Despite adding 3 new powerhouses to the team, they are always looking for new players. “Anyone reading this article, come play water polo,” Schiavone concluded.