INNISFAIL - The Innisfail Hurricanes Water Polo Club is finishing up its season with a splash.
The club, which has athletes aged six to 13 this year, has seen good development in its players this year, said Ray Bergeron, president of the club.
"Excellent development in all our players,” Bergeron said. The Hurricanes club has several members who also play for the Calgary Mako Water Polo club, he said. Six Hurricanes girls play on that club’s female 12 and under team, while one girl plays on the Mako female 14 and under team, and one boy on the male 14 and under team.
"Those athletes are playing in tournaments every month at a provincial level,” Bergeron said.
But the development isn’t limited to those athletes. Everyone from the club’s youngest "pups” to the older athletes work on their skills twice a week at practice, including intramural games that are held every two weeks on Wednesdays.
"You can’t just continually practise drills, you need to play some game situations,” Bergeron said. So they divide up the groups and play games to help with that skill development.
Other skills practised include fundamentals, like the swimming techniques used in water polo.
"There’s different kicks and different strokes in water polo than you would use in swimming,” Bergeron said.
The club has seen good growth over the past couple of seasons. This year, the club grew to about 30 players, an increase from 22 the previous season.
The season runs from mid-September to the end of March. The twice-weekly practices see the club’s two hours of pool time divided between the younger and older players.
An Alberta Water Polo Association tournament for the 12 and under teams will be held in Innisfail in early March. Bergeron said it will give a chance to see the Hurricanes’ players that also play for the Calgary Mako U-12 team in action locally.
Those interested in signing up for water polo next season can check out the team’s website, best accessed by web searching Innisfail Hurricanes. The club also always has a table at registration night, Bergeron said.
"We are a very fun and competitive sport; it’s great for kids that are learning to swim to increase their swimming skills in a short period of time,” he said.
"They get in and have fun, and their swimming abilities improve very quickly.”
Ray Bergeron, president of the Innisfail Hurricanes Water Polo Club
"We are a very fun and competitive sport; it's great for kids that are learning to swim to increase their swimming skills in a short period of time."
