Even if you are not a water polo enthusiast, chances are you've heard of Clint Debono. For the last 22 years, he has been at the forefront of Malta's water polo scene. Sliema ASC's website him as a 'true club man' for he has been involved in this club since 1993, though in the last two seasons, he played for Valletta.

The son of a footballer, Clint naturally started training in football. However, in summer, he used to train in and play water polo. "For me, I guess it was a natural progression to be in sports," he says. When he was 17, Sliema's water polo team captain, Marco Manara, encouraged him to start training and take up water polo seriously.

Once he decided to give up football and to join the Sliema water polo team, Clint faced another hurdle. He explains that he needed to become a better swimmer, so he had to increase the number of swimming training sessions. "It took up to three years of extra swimming training to reach the level I needed to excel," he recalls.

Although we think of water polo as a summer sport, players are not idle during the winter.  Besides pool training, water polo involves other types of training. Clint explains that during the off-season period, between September and January, players have three 7km running sessions, five gym sessions and three shorter swim sessions of about 2km per week.

Come February, training intensifies in anticipation of the imminent water polo season. "Between February and the end of August we have six to nine swimming sessions per week, and two to four gym sessions per week," explains Clint. All this is in addition to league matches which are held mostly during the weekends.

Clint's water polo career has various highlights. Winning six league titles in the last seven years is not an easy task. Playing abroad will also remain in Clint's memory album forever.  "Playing with Sliema in the Champions League and reaching the final 16 is something I feel so proud of," he says, adding that it is a pity Maltese clubs are not participating in this competition because they lack financial resources.

Clint has also trained and played with foreign teams: "I will never forget the year I to Hungary for training with my best friends. It was quite early in my career. I also went to Naples for a short stint, and I played for the Sydney Balmain Tigers in the Australian national league."

Clint was also a regular with Malta's National Water Polo team. "I played for fifteen years with the National Team in various countries," he says, adding that it is disappointing Malta's media do not cover our National Water Polo Team even though it does much better internationally than other national team sports.

In such a long career, Clint has trained and played with different coaches and different players.  He has established himself as a role model in water polo, a player that others can look up to. "I have always had a very good relationship with all of my team-mates and coaches," he says. "Obviously, after playing for so long and in a team there are always ups and downs." He describes himself as being a little hard-headed. This has occasionally led to clashes, but since water polo is a team sport, Clint believes that one has to put one's differences aside and just play for the team and give one's best.

As with everything else in life, Clint's water polo career is tinged with some dark moments too. He says that he suffered various injuries throughout the years but, in 2005, something unexpected occurred. "My coach noticed that there was something wrong with me. When I saw a doctor, I was told that I had to stop playing for a season because I was suffering from pericarditis. That's an inflammation of the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. I couldn't believe that my season was over, but with the support of my family and club, I recovered fast, and managed to play the last three games of the season that year."

All sports people need the support not just of their clubs and coaches but also of their families and friends. "The support I receive is immense," Clint says. "One of the main obstacles for sports enthusiasts in Malta is trying to balance training and work at the same time. I am very lucky because I always found the support I needed from my former employers."

Nowadays Clint has his own business, which has makes daily time-table and routine easier to manage:  "My days are easier now because my family and business partner work around my busy sporting schedule."  Family means a lot to Clint.  "Now that I am 39, and I feel settled in my business and that I have achieved everything that Malta's water polo scene has to offer, I really wish to have a family of my own," he says, admitting that many of those around him react with surprise when he mentions such a thing.

Whether to keep on playing water polo is a decision which Clint will take in the coming weeks. He says it gives him a lot of satisfaction.  "Being a summer sport, it is very popular, and there are some very keen supporters who create a great atmosphere," he says. "In fact, I was a very keen supporter of the Sliema Water polo team while growing up, and I always knew that I wanted to be part of that team one day."

Clint wants to remain involved in sport even if he stops playing: "I would like to coach or teach, being myself a personal trainer, and I would love to continue practicing with my old team mates for fun." One of his ambitions is to set up a Malta Masters Water polo team with his former team-mates.

He says water polo's future in Malta looks bright: "The sport is getting better. The club nurseries, schools, and Malta Olympic Committee (MOC) are contributing and investing in swimming and water polo training. This has changed people's view of aquatic sports. They're seen as year-round sports, rather than just summer sports."

Clint explains that children who are interested in water polo have to start from the basics.  These include both swimming sessions and basic ball skills. When they have developed a good knowledge of the basics, it's time to progress to tactics and team work. Clint suggests that, "The most important thing is to have fun. It is also extremely important to be disciplined, and work hard towards the goals one wants to achieve".

He also has some useful tips on how exercise can and should form part of our daily time-table: "Plan your training and working week ahead. What I used to find very effective was to get an early start, and train before going to work." He considers training and exercise as the key to live a better life.  "Training not only makes you look better. It makes you feel, think and work better. On the whole you can enjoy life much more when you exercise," he says.