On Deck With Ed Reynolds of SOCAL Water Polo

Editor’s Note: This past February 18 - 20, teams flocked to the Florida’s Coral Springs Aquatics Center for the South Florida International Water Polo Tournament. Now in its 19th year—after a break last year due to COVID-19—the tournament saw a return to form. Teams from all over the country participated in one of the country’s premier youth water polo events.

CORAL SPRINGS, FL. On a balmy February afternoon, one of the pillars of California age group water polo is roaming the pool decks here at the Coral Springs Aquatics Center. Defying the bright Florida sunshine, Ed Reynolds is clad in his club’s signature black and gold—and entirely at peace with his surroundings.

For almost four decades Reynolds has been involved with SOCAL Water Polo, a legendary age group club drawing members from Los Angeles and its surrounding polo-mad suburbs. Burly but surprisingly sensitive—not for nothing is water polo known as one of the world’s toughest sports—Reynolds exudes a joyfulness that is enticing.

[2018 USA Water Polo Junior Olympics Day Five: The Magic of the Ball]

In an off-the-cuff interview between matches for his 14U girls’ squad, Reynolds spoke about his club’s return to Florida after a two-year layoff, the challenges of prepping young athletes for their first cross-country trip and how how polo is resilient enough to overcome a the COVID pandemic—which wrecked so much in so many lives .

- Here we are in beautiful Coral Springs – 2,500 miles from your club’s home. But this is a place you regularly chose to bring a 14U girls’ squad.

We treat this tournament as a reward for the winners of swim conditioning. We do a test set of ten 100s. We had girls at the beginning of the wintertime who couldn’t hold 1:30—now four of our girls are under 1:15 for the 100 freestyle.

I told our parents that if [their kids] dedicated themselves this would be their reward. A lot of the members on my black—my “A” team—have already been here. Anyone can go but it ended up being members of my “B” [gold] team, and we’re delighted to be here.

- SOCAL has a great tradition of winning—and of understanding what it takes to grow the sport the right way.

SOCAL works on a system of markers. We build up to major tournaments; now we’re building towards Cal state championships and then towards JOs [qualifications], U.S. club championships, and [national] JOs.

This is a tournament we want to compete in but it’s not a marker tournament. It’s a place to experience a lot of growth, including travel. There’s many of my 15 girls who have never traveled with us before. They were late to meetings two days ago, they were less late yesterday and today everything went perfectly.

This tournament is about the joy of water polo. It’s purely joy—and you can tell that in every kid’s eyes out here. It’s an international tournament—we have a few less teams because of COVID—and there are teams let the girls learn the spirit of the game on a world-wide basis.

[On The Record with Michael Goldenberg of South Florida Water Polo Club]

We just absolutely love it. We call it a party interrupted by water polo. You can’t help but have a good time here in South Florida—and it’s better than being sequestered in [your] room.

- Polo is all about conditioning; getting fit in the water, getting mentally prepared to play and understanding what it takes to represent your club and your sport—and Socal does that as well as any club in the country.

We share our system with anyone who asks. We think we coach good water polo. We think we are connected to the national pipeline and coach the same things they do.

We like to see other clubs grow and learn.

There’s a lot of pf pressure in our club to win and we pick five tournaments a year where my job as a coach is on the line. This is nice because this isn’t one of those tournaments. I can have as much fun as the girls.

- The competition here in South Florida is not at the same level as what Socal is used to—especially because many of the teams here have a whole different style of play than in California.

That’s interesting because there’s a lot more physicality here. Our 14U girls don’t know how to protect themselves as much as the girls at this level because—and I’ve had talks with John Tanner about this when we were on an ethics panel at USA Water polo—if I can teach girls fundamentals then as they get older in the game, they can learn to protect themselves.

In this tournament our girls are learning things that the other girls do in terms of physicality—not dirty play. I’m talking about physical play.

One of the gorgeous things about this [tournament] is the level of the referees, and the education that goes on with the referees here. I told the girls we have the second-best ref in the country on our game [Alex Stankevitch]. And he was great.

These girls don’t get exposed to this level at all. It’s just joyous for them.

- This is a USA Water Polo sanctioned tournament, and their goal, ideally is to make things easier for coaches to get their athletes to play in top-notch competition. Do you feel that’s what was happening as you filled out your roster for this event?

USA Water Polo has flipped the switch on creating a new membership software program and it’s glitchy. We have had to spend a disproportionate amount of time making sure COVID waivers are signed, and photos are uploaded.

- I’m not defending USA Water Polo—they can defend themselves—but COVID changed everything. Is there a silver lining being mask less and enjoying the outdoors?

I teach at a university, so a mask is required—I don’t know for how long. I come from a background where masks are it. But we’re all tired after two years, and to be in a state where there’s no masking is… I’m fatigued and I’m not wearing a mask as we’re conducting this interview—and I’m two feet from you!

I’m vaccinated and I’m a big believer in the vaccination. We’ve had six grandparents from this group of girls who have passed away (from COVID), and it’s been traumatic. Most of them were not vaccinated.

I have a shirt that my masters’ team coach gave me which says: “Chlorine kills covid”. We have nine people living in my house right now eight of them got COVID and I didn’t. I swear it’s because I swim in pools and swim in the ocean.

That was hard to not have competition. We felt so constrained.

And these kids tool the brunt of it.

- So, is this the reward for you / your team after a really difficult time: you get to come here and enjoy fantastic weather and challenging competition in Florida?

Before this game we were at the Renaissance Fair. It has pixies and elves and swashbucklers and people in kilts. We have one girl who’s writing a paper on the Renaissance; I told her to take a lot of notes—nothing [they saw] had anything to do with the Renaissance. [Laughs]

The main thing was that everyone accepted each other at this fair. There was tall, short, fat, different colors; it was incredible.

We meditate now—we spend about an hour a week in what’s called mindful meditation. Today’s meditation was on celebrating our individuality and uniqueness. That hit home being at the Renaissance Fair. These girls are all unique and they come together as a team.

They’re learning there’s a lot more to life. These girls have never had an experience like this. I’ve been here—God knows how long—they will come back to me and say: “Coach, I remember that time in Florida...”