Jack Henderson secures spot in Queensland Country Water Polo Championships in senior side
At 15 years of age and in his first year playing a new sport, a Mackay teenager is not holding back his ambitions of playing in more statewide competitions.
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It was a pool full of learning experiences, and that is just what Jack Henderson wanted.
The 15-year-old water polo player was one of a number of Mackay athletes to travel to Cairns for the Queensland Country State Championships, but there was one difference for the junior star.
He was playing alongside teammates more than double his age.
While Henderson hails from Mackay, the teenager did not play for the region’s side, instead getting drafted to the Country Queensland side.
He said it was a great chance to learn from experienced players.
“I got some great experience from the tournament, playing with the senior players,” he said.
“I was about 15-25 years younger than some of the players, but they were great at looking after me.
“Some people are a lot more rough and physical, and playing in the seniors I had to learn that pretty quickly.”
Despite being just 15 years old, Henderson has spent much of his life in the water, having transitioned from competitive swimming to water polo about one year ago.
Henderson said water polo was a natural progression for him.
“I play soccer in the winter as well, and so I had pretty good ball skills from that,” he said.
“I got bored of swimming in races, it was all just individual stuff and I really wanted to be in a team so water polo made sense.”
Like a duck to water, Henderson has seamlessly transitioned to the new sport, with the championships in Cairns his third state tournament in his short career.
“I was quite a good swimmer, but I just found the racing aspect of it pretty boring,” Henderson said.
“But I’ve found water polo really good because it sort of combines swimming and soccer together.
“Now that I’m playing pretty regularly I’ve been able to recruit a couple of friends down to play as well, the social side of it is pretty fun too.”
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