I am not a very active waterpolo supporter but my connections with the summer game go back to when my late father Freddie played for many years as goalkeeper for Sliema ASC.
Today many of my former students play in all sectors of the local game. Many of them are the basis of a solid foundation for the future as they play in the under 15, under 17 and under 19 teams. They are totally dedicated and breathe life into a popular game which the National Association under the long serving president Robbie Ebejer has continually striven to improve and upgrade.
In the past few days I had the opportunity to meet two of my former students who are regular players in the various leagues. Nikolai Lubrano of Sliema who has progressed from the under 15's to the under 17's and under 19's and Timmy Agius, the Neptunes player, who although only 15 has already played for the senior team. Talk naturally centered on waterpolo and the way they would like to see youth games strengthened.
These two young men have determined ideas which the waterpolo authorities should take into consideration. Many a time those actually taking an active part in a game can give useful information and put forward sound suggestions for development. One of these which immediately struck me was Nikolai's request to the education authorities who together with the Waterpolo Association, should introduce waterpolo at school level as part of extra curricular activities.
As he said, everyone thinks about providing facilities for football, basketball, volleyball and the like, yet whenever a new sports complex is built no decent size pool is built. Such pools would ensure that students as young as seven could take the first steps towards becoming seasoned waterpolo players. This is something which will also attract various youths from all Malta and Gozo and not leave waterpolo mainly for those who live near the sea or who had some family member connected to the game. The Cottonera and Gozo sports complexes could easily have had a pool added to the plans.
Timmy Agius who has already tasted the sweetness of playing with Neptunes' first team wants to see more international competition at youth level. He rightly feels that such competition will give youngsters more to look forward to and to gain much needed experience.. Club international tournaments and those involving national youth teams will eventually provide the best players for the top categories of national teams. Timmy said that friendly matches are played against visiting foreign clubs but these don't always have that competitive edge which is so vital.
I wish I could have met more players from other teams as both Nikolai and Timmy were full of praise for the youngsters of the various other teams taking part in the various competitions.
They were full of praise for so many of them. They also spoke highly of the organisation and coaching of the various clubs and said that it was the hard work and personal sacrifice of many of the officials which made sure waterpolo kept abreast with the times.
The Waterpolo Association and the administration of all clubs in Malta should hold regular meetings with the members of their youth teams as they can garner a lot of information which could help them administer and bolster the performance of their teams. Regular seminars or conferences with the youth teams are also a must.
Nikolai and Timmy were speaking on behalf of every other youngster taking part in the game, when they also asked for such meetings to be held during the winter months as well as these will keep the members of the various teams in healthy contact with each other.