Water polo tournaments - bevies of half-dressed teens and tweens parading poolside, parents spectating from bleachers or slipping on wet tiles in search of the right game and time. Team tables heaped with healthy snacks while the players mysteriously squirrel sugar-candy into their backpacks. A constant barrage of whistle-blasts and shouting, punctuated occasionally by a hard shot rebounding off the metal goal (a bar out). Team cheers and cowbells, mad sprints, bruises and stretch marks on the backs of boys growing too fast, highlighted by the scratches of nails that slipped past inspection.
Having just returned from a successful Mountain Zone Tournament in Southern Utah (Cedar City, to be exact, about one hour from the largest fire currently burning in the U.S.) I wrote a short tribute to the sport.
Water Polo Game
Bar out
Yellow orb streaks skyward
Legs churn, players push while
Tracking the trajectory, plotting
Rebound to set offense or race to defend
Breakaway down expanse of sleek aqua
Deep, holding hip or shoulder
Working in place while uncertainty reigns
A moment suspended, shot-clock frozen
Until whistle blast dictates possession
Elbows drive ribs
Knees find groin
Pool churns, drivers slice through whitewater
Defense shadows, hole-set wrestles
Grim goalie lurks behind
Marking the shot.
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