“It’s just like the big end of season thing. It’s something that we train the kids for all season. It’s something for them to look forward to. And it’s just the final place for them to show off what we’ve been working on and how hard they’ve worked the entire season,” said Cress Creek Naperville Summer Suburban Water Polo League coach Kayley Queen.
For over 25 years the Naperville Summer Suburban Water Polo League has brought kids across the area together to compete in local club pools, culminating in a season ending tournament. What began with Naperville high school coaches getting a few teams together over the course of the summer, has grown to into a rite of passage for the next generation of water polo standouts.
“Coach Plackett from Central and myself and a few others got together and started a, just having some teams together to play in Naperville and to kind of grow larger and larger each year. And so the last, eight or nine or ten years it’s been here at Naperville North and, the crowds in the stands are super enthusiastic. The players on the bench are super enthusiastic. It is like being at a sectional or state meet here at the end. So it’s a great opportunity for those young kids to see what that’s like,” said Naperville North girls water polo head coach Andy McWhirter.
Three city champions are crowned each year in the U-11 coed, U-14 girls and U-14 coed divisions. Each club is coached by high school players who often times grew up playing for the teams they now coach, making it easier for the kids to relate to and appreciate their advice and leadership. Some coaches have been involved long enough to see former players develop into their high school teammates.
“It feels amazing to know that I’m not alone with how I’m feeling. And I can talk to someone who knows how it feels,” said Oakhurst player Keval Sangvhi.
“Two years ago, I was coaching girls who are now on my water polo team at Naperville North. So that’s really fun to, like, see them grow. But it’s also just fun to see them grow because a lot of them I’ve been coaching since they were like 7 or 8 like they’ve been I’ve been coaching them for a really long time, so it’s just fun to see them get to this place and be able to win and just see four years worth of growth,” said Queen.
Another year, another exciting series of championships
In the 2024 championship games, Maplebrook II took home the U-11 championship with a 12-7 victory over Naper Carriage Hill with Saybrook winning the third place match over the Cress Creek Country Club.
The newly formed Cress Creek Country Club and Cress Creek Commons Co-Op won the U-14 girls championship 8-4 over Hobson West. Oakhurst defeated Saybrook in the U-14 coed championship 13-10. The excitement of bringing home a title to your home club means just as much for the coaches as it does for the current players.
“It feels so great. You know we lost our eighth grade year after year because of Covid. So we were just always determined to make sure they get one win. That’s all we wanted. Just one big tournament win like this. We finally got it and it just feels great,” said Oakhurst coach Charlie Drohan.
“I feel like, at the beginning of the year, it was a little rough, but we found a common thing that we wanted. We wanted to win, and we worked together, and we pulled together. Even though some tensions were high and all together combined, we won. It was teamwork, that’s all,” said Keval Sangvhi.
Generations of water polo sharing a love for the sport
Of course with this league dating back multiple decades, there are going to be strong family bonds involved. Oakhurst coach PJ Bartzen, who was a standout for Waubonsie Valley boys water polo, was able to coach his younger brother Charlie to championship victory in the U-14 coed division.
“I’m so excited. I mean, this is the first big thing in water polo. I mean, a lot of these kids don’t do as sub or don’t do all these other competitive clubs. And these guys are just here for a couple of months, just playing water polo, said PJ Bartzen. “And we try to make it as highly competitive as we can. I mean, clearly it showed out how hard the work these kids are putting in this entire time. And I couldn’t be more proud of for them. They did awesome.”
“Oh, it’s amazing. You know me and him been through thick and thin. We’ve been through everything and it’s just amazing. We mess around in practice getting yelled at by him, getting embarrassed by him because I missed a shot. But ups and downs, we’re brothers. It’s amazing. I feel we hugged that. Yeah, it’s just great,” said Oakhust player Charlie Bartzen.
The most important aspects of the Naperville Suburban Summer Water Polo League is to have fun and grow the game of water polo. With over 500 kids participating in the league this summer, the future looks bright for one of the top areas for the sport in the state of Illinois.
“This is fantastic to see because they all feed into all five of our high schools. This area is one of the most competitive water polo areas in the area. So it’s great,” said McWhirter.
“I just love seeing the future of water polo and showing all of these kids like my skills and what I’ve learned. Really, this is the time to learn water polo and learn all the fundamentals. I really love teaching the kids what the water polo is and how much I love it,” said Cress Creek coach Calista Jansen.
“It means everything to me. I mean, I love the sport. I love the community around it. I mean, the people in this sport is just great. Whether it’s the kids from Saybrook and all the neighboring North kids or the kids, even at Oakhurst in my hometown. I love the whole part of water polo, and being a part of it is all I can really ask for,” said Oakhurst coach PJ Bartzen.
