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SSC’s water polo program draws crowd
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Posted on Jun 14 2012
Saipan Swim Club’s water polo program has gotten off to a good start, according to SSC masters member Suzy Kindel.
In an email to Saipan Tribune, Kindel said the first week of the program drew 22 SSC swimmers, while last week, 13 members of Tsunami Saipan Swimming Center joined the afternoon session, too. Adult swimmers also have their separate water polo lessons being conducted by former University of Southern California water polo standout and Santa Monica Water Polo Club coach Jeff El-Hajj.
“Due to the large number of participants, coach Jeff enlisted additional assistant coaches to help him. The experienced staff now consists of Tyce Mister, Colin Thompson, Sean Frink, and Becky Skeele,” Kindel said.
Mister, Thompson, and Frink competed in previous water polo events during their college years, while Skeele was a former member of Cornell University’s women club team. Joining the four assistant coaches were former SSC swimmer Jennifer Pierce and University of Hawaii-Manoa standout Rezne Wong. Pierce underwent a water polo camp at the U.S. Naval Academy, while Wong used to play water polo a few years back when he was still a member of SSC and is on a short vacation here. He just came from a successful stint in the 9th Oceania Swimming Championships in New Caledonia. Like Wong, Pierce learned water polo while swimming under former SSC coaches Bill and Jean Sakovich.
“This great group of volunteers gave personalized attention to 33 children. After warming up, the kids were divided into three groups that were then rotated through three stations where specific skills were taught and practiced. Each station was manned by one or two coaches,” Kindel said.
The water polo program will continue to run this month and each session is held every Saturday at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. The children’s session starts at 3:15pm, while the adults have their turn at 4:30pm. At times, children are allowed to stay and play with the adult swimmers.
Meanwhile, SSC president Robert Torres thanked donors and volunteers who helped facilitate the program.
For more information about the program, contact Kindel at suzykindel@yahoo.com.
