June 18, 2013

By Greg Mescall

A little over a year ago, after some hard work and dedication from Cleveland (TN) swim coach Tim Davis and some assistance from USA Water Polo, Tennessee added water polo as a high school varsity sport.

Fast forward to the spring of 2013, and the first season is in the books.

Thanks to the work of Davis and countless others, what started as a proposal at the Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (TISCA) in February 2012 is now reality. Ten high schools in the Knoxville and Memphis areas signed on for the inaugural season, with two schools from the Nashville area pledged for next year. It's a fantastic start for an area that's been a major player for many years in aquatics…but brand new to water polo.

For years the only water polo presence in the state was at the collegiate club level (at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Vanderbilt University). Now, with the growth of water polo in the area, the colleges are hoping to establish a feeder system with the high schools, and state recreational pools are considering adding Splashball. USA Water Polo's Associate Director of Sport Development Christy Medigovich presented water polo at the TISCA meeting last year, and in recent months Sport Growth Specialist Nick Gaffey has led the charge in growing Tennessee water polo.

Gaffey recently barnstormed through the state, setting up clinics in Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, and Cleveland. As a result nearly 100 athletes joined USA Water Polo through the US Leagues program—some in preparation for the high school season. Swimming, diving, and now water polo work differently in the Tennessee high school athletic system than in other states such as California. While other sports like basketball and football are governed by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), aquatic sports fall under TISCA and aren't governed or funded by the state.

Davis didn't just take the lead with water polo by pushing the agenda at that meeting but also by being a source of water polo knowledge and funding. The swim coach at Cleveland High School, Davis is a California transplant who played water polo in his collegiate days at the University of Maryland. His knowledge has helped his team stay ahead of the curve as the Cleveland squad was the first team in the water training once swim season ended. It allowed his team to convincingly win both matches in the opening weekend of play. He's also had to educate athletes and coaches on the other teams.

While many area coaches are experts in swimming, water polo is foreign to most. That has led to Davis giving instructional talks to opponents before matches and even refereeing some matches and connecting the dots with players during breaks. All in the name of growing the game. "They needed some coaching. After a goal was scored, I would explain rules and tactics," said Davis. "I think that is a polite way to play the game; you don't want to demoralize someone in their first or second game ever. If they feel like they are going to get thrashed, they won't want to play."

The do-it-all coach doesn't draw a salary, either, for his water polo job. That was one of the caveats to adding the sport at Cleveland: Feel free to start water polo; just make sure it doesn't cost anything.

So Davis volunteers his time to coach a game that he's been waiting to arrive for the last 27 years. What's more, he spent a few thousand dollars and bought goals, caps, and balls—all to get his program up and running. Still, that didn't make starting water polo any easier. When he first approached a few coaches about adding the sport to TISCA, there was resistance. When he asked the coaches how many divers they had on their rosters—also a sport governed by TISCA, a sport ironically allowed by the coaches without many participants—the response was silence…and water polo was on its way.

"Tim Davis was instrumental in helping water polo to get its foot in the door with TISCA and helping to spread the word in his area and throughout the entire state," said Gaffey. "With his connections and direction, we were able to find swim coaches within Tennessee that were interested in giving water polo a try." Davis and Gaffey haven't been alone in their efforts; they've been bolstered by a couple of other water polo lifers. Brandon Nicholson—a referee and another California transplant—along with Jared Bolin, head of the collegiate club program at the University of Tennessee, have been key.

Nicholson, who played collegiately at Ventura College before going on to officiate, was once area president for his Southern California Aquatics Federation region. It's made him the de facto expert on officiating, an essential piece of starting water polo in an area. "I'm probably more excited than anybody about the sport growing," he said. "I remember when I was out in Southern California, my last year of high school was the first year of girls' high school water polo [and that grew]." Nicholson has been officiating Collegiate Water Polo Association action all around the Southeast for years, but with the addition of water polo as a high school sport, he's done everything from refereeing to accompanying Gaffey at clinics in an attempt to build support. "The biggest hurdle for the first two or three years will be funding and recruiting," said Nicholson. "There is enough interest where schools have enough for a playing field or a bench. The biggest hurdle will be funding for goals, caps, balls."

Bolin's connection with UT has been another huge asset. The college played host to the two high school tournaments along with the state championships in May. UT offers an indoor dive well along with an all-deep outdoor pool that have been big in an area starved for all-deep water. "We've been really involved; we just want to see high school water polo work in the state of Tennessee, and hopefully in the future they might come play for us," said Bolin, just a sophomore at the university. "It's really exciting," he added. "I think it's neat what kinds of schools get together and start a club. It's not like all the schools in Knoxville started a club; it's a private school here and a bigger school in east Knoxville there. It's neat to see the kids come in and learn how to play. It's surprising how fast the kids come in and pick it up. They pick it up a lot faster than I did." added Bolin.

Bolin also notes Davis' efforts to get the sport approved and Gaffey's relentless approach to making water polo viable in Tennessee. "In years past, there were always rumors that they were going to try and start it up," said Bolin. "Nick just made it happen; he said 'this is gonna happen, this is gonna work.' He [and Tim] put it all together, and from there it's just taken off."

With these dedicated water polo lifers working together, Davis & Co. is always looking to recruit anyone with a link to the game. Molly Pickering in west Tennessee has been big in getting her area organized. Rob Snowberger helped orchestrate a clinic in Nashville and secure pool time at Tennessee State University. Remi Joyeuse assisted in hosting a clinic in Knoxville and has been a water polo advocate throughout. Those are just a few examples of people dedicated to making water polo a reality in Tennessee.

Davis noted there are other folks around the state with some experience in water polo; it's just a matter of getting to them and getting them involved. However, like most aquatic sports, the largest impediment might just be pool time (and space). Davis put together a proposal to get a pool built at neighboring Lee University, but the plan was nixed by school officials. "Everybody could do so much more if we had one big public pool available," said Davis. "Make it indoor-outdoor. Pools close because of programming. The participation of a university takes all that flat water time away; it's our biggest impediment, and it's not just our municipality."

Whether or not a new pool is in the offing, the Tennessee water polo effort soldiers on. With one season completed, everyone looks ahead to 2014. Right now the plan is to keep the sport in the spring—and coed—until the numbers are high enough for separate squads. Similar paths were followed years ago in Georgia, Missouri, and Florida, so Davis sees no reason to change. He also plans to start summer water polo to keep his athletes and others thinking water polo year round.

"Next year we plan on working to helping to organize and straighten existing teams, while adding teams in Knoxville and Memphis while working to get teams from Nashville on board," said Gaffey. "My goal is to have a 12-team state championship with all three areas represented by 2015."

The state championships wrapped in early May and Tim Davis' Cleveland team came up just short losing to Bearden 8-7 in the final match. The Knoxville based school now has the distinction of earning the first ever high school water polo championship in Tennessee history. Despite coming up short in the final, don't expect Davis to quit working on his dream of growing the game.

2013 Tennessee State Championship Results
1. Bearden (state champion)
2. Cleveland
3. Seveir County
4. Stem
5. St. Benedict
6. Blount County

Match Results
Bearden 8 Cleveland 7
Cleveland 18 Seveir County 11
St Benedict 16 Blount County 8
Cleveland 19 Stem 5
Bearden 9 Seveir County 2
Stem 13 Blount County 4
Cleveland 16 St. Benedict 4
Bearden 11 Stem 4
Seveir County 7 Cleveland 4
Seveir County 13 Blount County 0
Stem 7 St. Benedict 6

This article will appear in the Summer 2013 issue of SkipShot Magazine