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Mahurangi College is looking to enter two new water polo teams into the Stanmore Leisure Centre League next term, after making waves at a North Harbour tournament.
The all girls Year 8 team competed in the North Harbour Zone water polo day after only having been a team for three weeks.
Coach Adam Dockary says it was a bit of a struggle for them coming from the Mahurangi College pool, where they can touch the bottom, to the full-size, two-metre deep pool in the Sir Owen Glen Complex in Albany.
“In the last game of our round robin against Northcote Intermediate, the team had two shots on goal and were really scrapping for the ball on defence, with countless turn overs for Mahu,” he says.
Off the back of that successful first try, the college will field a Year 7 mixed team and Year 8 girls team next term, largely thanks to the efforts of coach Dockary and parent Claire Phillips.
“I have wanted to start a team for six years. However, as Mahurangi is already a strong underwater hockey school I didn’t know if we would get the numbers.
“Claire Phillips, who I used to play with at college level, approached me and said let’s get this going.
Thirty students turned up to trials and we now have enough for two teams.”
Coach Dockary played water polo for the New Zealand Boys Squad at college level and played professionally for two seasons in Spain for the Valencia Senior Mens team.
He is looking to get the teams in shape to take on a league that includes Whangaparoa College, Orewa College and Kingsway School.
He says if all goes well he would also like to form a Year 9 and Year 10 team in 2020.
