By Raquel Serruya
Senior Marko Miocic flies out of the water, left arm outstretched above his head. The ball meets his hand, and he sends it flying into the goal before plunging back into the water. Miocic has been playing water polo since the seventh grade. “I decided to play because I was pretty good at swimming and the sport is very popular in Croatia, the country where my parents are from,” said Miocic. “I thought trying it would be pretty fun.”
Five times a week, Miocic travels to Greenwich, Connecticut to train for two and a half hours a day. “I joined this team four years ago because the coach of my original team left,” said Miocic. “I had the option of joining a team in Brooklyn or the team at Greenwich, and I chose Greenwich because it was the better choice.”
Practices are tough. “I mostly build my body and refine my skills like passing, shooting, and plays.” Luckily, Miocic does not have to follow a strict diet. “I can eat a whole lot of anything after each practice since I need to replenish my energy.”
As captain of South’s boys’ varsity swim team, Miocic has to balance water polo practices with swim practices. “During the swim season, I don’t go to many practices for water polo, and I focus on swimming.” He added, “ I finish my school work quickly since I can always find a little time to do it.”
Miocic also competes. He has participated in the Florida International Water Polo Tournament and the Junior Olympics in California. During the summer, he competes in smaller tournaments. He said, “I just push myself to keep moving forward.”
Miocic has a powerful bond with his team; there are only a few water polo players, so their love for the sport brings them together. “My team is very special to me because we spend a lot of time together at the pool, and I’ve become very good friends with my teammates.” Miocic added, “We have a very strong team trained by very strict coaches.”
One of Miocic’s coaches is Romanian and played for the Romanian junior national team. His other coach played as a Division 2 goalie throughout college. “It’s kind of a good cop, bad cop situation.”
Miocic looks forward to playing Division 3 water polo at Whittier College in California. “My favorite thing about playing water polo is that there’s always something new to learn from the many different people I meet.” He said, “I would recommend trying water polo to people who are up for the challenge.”