Water Polo League
Water polo league is offered to swimmers ages 9-18 and teaches the nuances of the sport in a low-key, competitive environment. The season runs March-May at Bayside, Great Neck, Kempsville, and Princess Anne Recreation Centers.
League and Registration Info
Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation offers an intramural spring water polo league for youth age 9 - 18. 18-year-olds must be currently enrolled in high school, proof may be required. Emphasis is placed on participant development and fun in a low-key competitive environment. Each team will play regular season and championship matches. Teams with low registration will be canceled on February 19. Valid Recreation Center Membership card required throughout the season.
New to the league?
Try It Out Week is your chance to experience practice, build skills like treading water and ball handling, and get coach feedback before the season starts. All new participants must attend.
Important Information
Registration
Registration: Registration for Water Polo begins in December.
Cost: $160 per participant
Eligibility Swims: Details for each team's eligibility swim dates and times are included on the registration receipt.
Age Requirements
- Birthday verification may be required.
- Registrants must be at least 9 years old and no older than 18 on or before March 15.
- Participants will compete in age groups based on their age on March 15 of the current year.
Eligibility
Eligibility swim is a requirement to participate in water polo leagues. After the eligibility swim, participants are placed in practices according to their ability to perform all competitive strokes. Players must be registered before the eligibility swim dates. For dates and times, please contact your team's coach.
9 - 12 year olds
Must be able to swim 50 m/yds using front crawl with head above the water and tread 5 minutes. While treading water, both hands must be out of the water for at least one (1) minute and must be able to move forward, backward, and side to side.
13 - 18 year olds
Must be able to swim 100 m/yds using front crawl with head above the water and tread 5 minutes. While treading water, both hands must be out of the water for at least two (2) minutes and must be able to move forward, backward, and side to side.
Teams
Team Representative: Raiden Dreer
Raiden was raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Virginia Wesleyan University. He has been with Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Aquatics for 10 years as a Lifeguard, Water Safety Instructor, Lifeguard Training Instructor, and Recreation Specialist, and he will be looking to channel this experience for his first season as a Swim League Representative.
Outside of aquatics, Raiden enjoys reading, sightseeing, and spending time with his dog Conan. Raiden's advice to swimmers is: "A little progress each day adds to a big result".
- Bayside Recreation Center: (757) 385-5930
Coach: Tommy Gray
Tommy is currently in his first year of coaching with us here in the league. He has been coaching clinics and has played in the Water Polo league. Tommy's advice to players is “Condition, you are only as good as the effort you put into your training.”
Team Representative: Teresa Weissman
Hello, my name is Teresa Weissman and I will be the Water polo Team Representative for Great Neck Gators. I am excited to have joined the Gators this year. I graduated from Kellam High School, Continued to TCC for an associate's degree, and completed my Education at Old Dominion University with a Major in Biology and a Minor in Recreation.
I played Water Polo with a club team for about 2 -3 years. And have been swimming most of my life. Last year I was the Team rep for Princess Anne Piranha's and helped coach the team. I like to be active and spend my time swimming, hiking, running, listening to audiobooks, and doing a few crafts. My advice for the League is to always try even when it seems to get hard.
- Great Neck Recreation Center: 757-385-5940
Coach: Morgan Thomas
Morgan Thomas is a water polo coach for the Great Neck Gators. She graduated from Bayside High School. She is completing her Master of Business Administration at Virginia Wesleyan University. Morgan played water polo for 5 years and this is her fifth year as a water polo coach for the City of Virginia Beach. Morgan enjoys swimming in her free time. Her advice to our water polo players is to try your best and don't be afraid to ask questions!
Team Representative: George Dunbar
George grew up in a Navy family and lived in several different places before moving to Virginia Beach in 2005. George swam competitively while at Green Run High School. He then attended Old Dominion University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Communications.
He has been a Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor for over 10 years before joining the Aquatic Unit full-time as a Recreation Specialist. This is his third season as the representative for the Kempsville team.
His hobbies include surfing, fishing, football, exercising, and eating. His advice to the players is "practice how you wish to perform!"
- Kempsville Recreation Center: (757) 385-5970
Coach: Christyn Hollkamp
Christyn grew up in Ann Arbor, MI swimming with her local club teams year round. She discovered water polo in high school and it quickly became her favorite! She played for 4 years before graduating and enlisting in the Navy.
She is now a small business owner with 2 active kids who she hopes will one day share her love of water polo. This is Christyn's fourth year coaching the Stingrays. Her advice to the players is effort and perseverance are the building blocks of success.
Coach: Gabbi McCants
Gabbi is a junior at Kellam High School. She has been playing water polo for five years and first year coaching. Her advice is that water polo can be stressful sometimes. You just have to remember that you aren't alone in the game. Become friends with your teammates to gain the best experience from the game.
Team Representative: DeAnna Coddington
DeAnna will be in her first year as the Princess Anne Piranhas team representative. DeAnna has 18 years of experience in swimming and teaching lessons to head their swim lesson programs, this experience will serve well in working with coaches and players in our Rec League.
DeAnna is pursuing a degree in Biochemistry at ODU. In her downtime, DeAnna likes to take her dogs to parks, gardens, or volunteer at sporting events. Her advice to players is "Just keep trying!"
- Princess Anne Recreation Center: 757-385-5950
Coach: Ean Moore
This is my first year being a coach, last year I volunteered to help on the Kempsville rec center team and learned a lot of coaching skills. In the past I have played for seven years, over those seven years I have played rec center water polo for all of them, high school for the past four of them, one year of the travel team, and one year of a master's team.
I put all these practices and the skills learned from these practices at the Junior Olympics this past summer. I'm looking forward to learning more and hopefully teaching others.
Advice for players: Water polo is not the easiest sport and will not be learned in a day. It's physically taxing but as you learn to play and practice more the sport becomes easier and more enjoyable.