My son played both in HS. He was a competitive swimmer starting at age 6 and started WP in HS. He now swims in college. The benefit of being a swimmer who then plays WP is that the athlete is comfortable in the water and can recover when being pushed under. Being successful at WP is more about build and the ability to be aggressive as well as having a good arm and being able to score. As someone said above, your son should wear a speedo, not a jammer and be ready for a very aggressive and physical sport. Also, after the WP season, my son's stroke looked horrible and he had to work on regaining his swim form.

PS from PP water polo mom: if they’re a boy, they’ll need to ditch the jammers if that’s what they’re used to for swim team. Get him a regular Speedo for day 1 or he’ll be teased mercilessly.

My DD made the transition a little earlier and was less into swimming (she’d bailed out for summer dive a season earlier) so she definitely lagged in terms of speed and stamina. She was startled by the physicality of it. She’s an only child and quit soccer after 1st grade because she didn’t want people in her space. She now plays coed 10U water polo.

She was so upset the first time she got dunked and hit! She grew into it quickly and started to enjoy scrapping for the ball, and was thrilled the first time she did a hold on a boy on the other team. Depending on the pools you play in and how tight the refs are, some teams will cheat a lot by pushing off the bottom or playing dirty. If your kid is obsessed with fairness like mine, they’ll need to learn to shake it off.

Our team has had tons of black eyes and nosebleeds and tears along the way, plus a few games cut short for excessive roughness from the other team that wasn’t remedied with penalties. Size plays a huge part in success and even a team of fast swimmers who pass well struggle against bigger kids. If your kid is shrimpy, that can be frustrating for them. Still, it’s really fun and the kids are more low-key and laid back than when they’re in swim team mode.

The thing that is highly transferable is confidence swimming and being in the water. If you are working from that base it is much easier to get started and enjoy yourself. It also requires a high degree of fitness. When I was in school most water polo players were also on the swim team so you aren’t wrong there.

And, it feels to me more like the relationship between speed skating and ice hockey. Knowing how to skate fast and stay upright is key to both, but after that it is a brand new sport.

Let us know how it goes!

Anonymous wrote:My kid does both. Other than being in the water, they are very different sports. PPs are right about how physical water polo is - they are climbing all over each other in the water, kicking, pushing around. My kid loves it, but comes out from a long tournament pretty bruised.

The form required is also very different - it took my kid a while to get the eggbeater move down even after years of competitive swimming, and there is some negative transfer going between the two practices. Even the basic swimming is different, as in WP they don't wear goggles and have to keep their head up at all times.

And a more practical note - assuming you are in the DMV area, there aren't a lot of teams around - which also means there aren't a lot of local teams to play against. If you are in FL or CA, there are a lot more options.

All that said, my kid really does love both, and they each feed a different part of the brain / athletic drive. Definitely give it a try!

Ok, I guess we will wait and see how it goes. What age did your child star water polo? I was assuming because he’s a good swimming there would be some transfer of skills. We don’t expect it to be more than an activity to have fun with so I’m not so concerned that it’s not a competitive sport in the area.

My kid does both. Other than being in the water, they are very different sports. PPs are right about how physical water polo is - they are climbing all over each other in the water, kicking, pushing around. My kid loves it, but comes out from a long tournament pretty bruised.

The form required is also very different - it took my kid a while to get the eggbeater move down even after years of competitive swimming, and there is some negative transfer going between the two practices. Even the basic swimming is different, as in WP they don't wear goggles and have to keep their head up at all times.

And a more practical note - assuming you are in the DMV area, there aren't a lot of teams around - which also means there aren't a lot of local teams to play against. If you are in FL or CA, there are a lot more options.

All that said, my kid really does love both, and they each feed a different part of the brain / athletic drive. Definitely give it a try!

+2 on physical contact.

When I played in high school we were taught if the refs couldn’t see it, it wasn’t a foul. There was lots of kicking, elbowing, and at least at that time girls had to wear two swim suits on top of each other because it was so likely one would get torn off during play.

You have to both be willing to dish it out and be on the receiving end and that really isn’t for everyone.

+1 re: physical contact. It’s a tough sport - elbows flying, everyone is kicking hard, the ball is hard and comes at you fast. Never encountered dirty playing but refs do check for sharpened fingernails! I had some of the best ab muscles of my life playing club in college 😄

Is your child aggressive/likes physical contact? I only ask because a lot of swimmers are not. Water polo can be rough, at least from what I have heard. I heard a story of college women players keeping bottle caps in their suits to scratch the opposing team underwater.

Our competitive swimmer (6th grade) wants to start w team sport and it this seems like the obvious option. Anyone have any experience or words of advice to get started playing? If your child played, what was the experience like and did they continue playing in high school?