On Deck with Jason Grubb, North Penn Boys and Girls Water Polo Coach

Last weekend on the deck of the Rick Carroll Natatorium at North Penn High School Jason Grubb was everywhere; coaching, problem-solving, chatting with referees—responsibilities befitting one of the Northeast’s most valued water polo coaches.

Head coach of the Knights boys and girls water polo teams since 2010, Grubb has led his alma mater (class of 1999) to six girls’ and three boys’ state titles—including dual championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019. He also runs the North Penn club team; in this capacity he and his pool were hosts for the 2021 National State Challenge (NSC), competition by American Water Polo for 14U coed, 18U boys and 18U girls from July 8 - 11.

[At National State Challenge In Pennsylvania, Host North Penn Comes Out on Top]

As play wrapped up Sunday—after his boys team took top honors (and a $1,000 prize) by winning four of five matches—Grubb chatted about his team’s prospects for the upcoming regional Junior Olympics, expanding age group play next fall and how Pennsylvania, with the region deepest pool of raw talent, can again rule the Northeast.

- Your 18U boys are one of only a few teams in the NSC going to Dallas for JOs. How useful was this tournament in preparing your players for Dallas in two weeks?

We’ve been running split-squads for the spring and summer. To get the guys together with good competition from all over the area to get some high-level games has been a big help. We played a lot better here in this tournament than we played in league games last month.

Now they’re clicking as a team. We don’t rely just on one or two players. It’s people cycling through trying to attack as a team offense and defense.

- You’re a Pennsylvania club and have often faced the PA teams here this weekend. But some notable teams from the Northeast Zone are not here: Capital, Connecticut Premiere, Greenwich, Navy. Do you have thoughts about some of the teams who did not show?

You want tournaments with as many teams as possible. We were at Wissahickon a couple of weeks ago with our JO group and played all three of Greenwich’s team (all losses)—we know where they’re at. We know where Navy’s at.

We just want to play games. So if there’s a tournament we can get to, that’s where we go. And who’s there is who’s there.

It’s good to have some of the local teams, but having teams from Chicago come out that we’ve never see was helpful.

- There are currently no plans to have a regional 16U / 18U age group competition this fall for clubs in the NEZ. Pennsylvania has pools and experienced athletes—they also have a robust high school tournament that may make it impossible for local clubs to participate.

I think it might be a pipe dream because at that point it’s about pool availability. With high school competition going, [there’s a] balance between swimming and polo. We’re very lucky here [at North Penn], I’m the head water polo coach and the assistant swim coach. My assistant [Jeff Faikish] is the head swim coach.

We try to balance it so there’s not much infighting. You see where swim teams in our state do not favor water polo and there’s not that balance.

If you look at our record in swimming, 99% of those [athletes] are also water polo players. We don’t have many people who choose one or the other. We get everyone together and keep them in the water the most time possible. [But] that’s where the club aspect of water polo hurts. You have more kids playing club and less time swimming; in the balance of power you don’t want to get in a fighting match with swimming because of the money.

You can pack eight kids in a lane… that’s why you need those big pools were you can have a lot of things going.

- There is a need for club play in the fall, and Greenwich has announced that they will schedule 12U / 14U. How will this impact how polo can grow at North Penn?

Right now it is the age group—having 12 and 14 year olds playing in the fall. We run a middle school league so we do have some of that but we don’t have those 10 and 12 year olds playing. If we can get some of those younger kids with more playing in the fall that would be a huge help.

Around here it’s also having coaches. We’re are very lucky—I have a lot of age group coaches I can pull from. A lot of teams the high school coaches don’t want to have that extra Sunday where they don’t see their families at all.

- With a state championship and all the athletes you are developing, why isn’t Pennsylvania the dominant region in the zone—as it was in the past?

It’s the youth. I’ve refereed JOs; there’s one year I was doing a 10U group. At that time if I brought my 10U boys [out to California] they would play very well. Then I watched the 12U group; the level of competition in that middle round, it’s night and day between East and West.

I have a lot of ninth graders that it’s their first time playing water polo. That’s me, too. I was a swimmer and in ninth grade [the coach said]: “Here’s water polo. You do this as well.”

When I played in the 90s there was a balance; Mifflin and Wilson they were sending guys to UMass every years when the Minutemen were great. We had college coaches coming [to scout players].

There’s a talent pool here but also you need to see the potential. We have kids with pretty decent size. A lot of my guys are much better swimmers—one of my best players, Sean Faikish, was at Olympic trials two weeks ago. He got out there and finished pretty decent as an 18-year-old. He’s going to Notre Dame.

[Irish Head To U.S. Olympic Swim & Dive Trials]

We’ve got some guys who would be really good in college but they’re good swimmers. My best girl two years ago [Claudia Thamm], she’s swimming at Auburn. A lot of college coaches [ask]: Who’s that? [I reply]: You’re not going to get her because she’s going [for swimming].

My best polo player’s going to Wagner and my second who would have had a good year except she got injured, she’s swimming at Kentucky. She’s the compete package: long, tall, really fast… and she’s swimming SEC.

Getting kids out and exposing them more—that’s the thing.