Memorable, exciting, thrilling, amazing, unforgettable, indescribable and momentous were only some of the words that the girls of the US water polo tour had to describe their incredible tour.

After more than 24 hours of travelling time to Los Angeles, the girls got straight into the fun of the tour on day one and went to Disneyland, California.

The first day of water polo was a five-hour training session at Huntington Beach High School with Kami Craig and Kayleigh Gilchrest, both US women’s water polo players and Olympic gold medallists.

Riverside was the next stop on the water polo adventure. We transferred inland from Anaheim to Riverside to spend a week with the Riverside Water Polo Club, headed up by head coach Sarah Greenawalt. The girls progressed from fundamental skills to game tactics and drills. The girls’ sessions were three hours in the morning and then two and a half hours in the evening, where they played friendly scrimmages against the Riverside Water Polo Club.

The girls spent three days at Arizona State University with the head coach of the Sun Devils NCAA water polo team, Todd Clapper. In those three days, they spent three hours every morning with the college water polo players and had one-on-one sessions throughout the course of their clinic. They also had the chance to play games with the college team and had to up their game to that of the college players.

Every girl on the tour progressed and the improvements throughout were incredible. Each girl took away a huge amount of water polo skills and life skills, too.

On our last day in the US, we did the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The girls were able to walk across the horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge with its glass walkway that juts 10m out over the majestic west rim of the Grand Canyon.

We travelled by bus from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, Nevada. The famous Stratosphere was our hotel. Miles and miles above the ground, on the very top of the Stratosphere, were the three rollercoaster rides that kept the girls in anticipation.

The US tour from California and Arizona to Nevada was unbelievable and a tour that will not be forgotten. I look forward to the water polo season ahead and hope that all that was learnt in the US is brought back to St Mary’s.

Kelsey White
Head coach: water polo