Porterville’s ‘Littles’ take to polo
Nearly 20 “Littles” kept cool in Porterville High School’s swimming pool on Tuesday morning while coaches helped them develop their water polo skills in the final week of the Porterville Water Polo Club Summer Development Program.
Since June 13 Porterville varsity boys swim and girls water polo coach Lance Hyder has worked with the children ranging from 7-years-old all the way up to junior high school in the hour-long sessions. Before the Littles session, girls in high school practice for two hours beginning at 9 a.m.
“From 11-12 we do what we call the ‘Littles’,” said Hyder. “That’s all these guys that we’re trying to introduce to the game of water polo.”
Hyder and the Littles work on developing their water polo skills as well as just getting used to being in the water.
“For ball handling we’re working on passing and shooting,” said Hyder. “We’re also trying to work on the kids’ legs. Teach them how to eggbeater, just so they can tread water. And then as far as the game is concerned, it’s basically soccer in the water. But a lot of kids don’t grow up playing water polo, so for a lot of them it’s a first-time exposure to kind of how things are supposed to go.”
On Tuesday, the older portion of Littles spent time working on throwing using their strong and weak side from different distances. They also worked on screw shots and “hook and driver” plays before scrimmaging each other.
Helping Hyder out with the older Littles were Levi Davis, a sophomore on the PHS water polo and swim teams. Davis advised and instructed the kids from the pool while also spending time as the goalie. Eighthgrader Ethan Merritt, one of the more experienced players, also helped out.
“Tomorrow we’ll have a scrimmage and they’ll get an opportunity to see the flow of the game,” said Hyder. “How fouls get called, how you transition. If the goal is scored, you know you got to line back up at the middle. Just all that basic stuff.”
Taking over the younger and smaller portion of Littles was Mikayli Scheer. A PHS alumni who swam and played water polo for the Panthers, Scheer went on to Fresno Pacific University where she also played water polo.
Scheer worked with her Littles on ball control, cross body passing and allowed the players to suggest what activities they did next.
The Littles end the development program with a scrimmage on Wednesday. It will be their third and final one against Monache, who runs a similar program.
Running for over 20 years, Porterville’s development program was first started by former varsity PHS girls swim and girls water polo coach Richard Taylor. Last season, Taylor retired and Hyder has stepped in to fill his shoes as the water polo coach.
Hyder, who coached junior varsity last year, said that he feels optimistic about the upcoming season. In his final season, Taylor led the Panthers to a East Yosemite League title with an undefeated record of 8-0 and finished with a 25-3 overall record.
“We have some decent girls coming back who were already on the varsity last year,” said Hyder. “The biggest thing is play together well as a team. If we can do that, if we can work hard, we can do a lot of stuff.”