Matthew Sharp headed to Serbia as part of Australian water polo side

MATTHEW Sharp was good at basketball and a strong swimmer, so his sport teacher at Reddam House saw a golden opportunity to get him to play water polo.

Matthew Sharp started playing Water Polo less than 3 years ago and has now made the Australian team.

MATTHEW Sharp was good at basketball and a strong swimmer, so his sport teacher at Reddam House saw a golden opportunity to get him to play water polo.

The water polo “experiment”, as his mother, Michele calls it, has more than paid off. Just three years after his first game, the 15-year-old (in action above) was selected in the Australian squad headed to Serbia next month.

He will compete in the IX Darko Cukic Memorial competition as part of the 15-person, Born 2000 squad, earning him a Junior Sports Star nomination.

Seven News is the major media partner of the award, sponsored by Rebel.

The Queens Park resident has also made the NSW squad the past two years.

Matthew Sharp started playing Water Polo less than 3 years ago and has now made the Australian team.

“I train hard and I was bigger than everyone when I was younger, I had natural talent and it gave me an advantage over everyone else,” Matthew said.

“I could train harder and better, because I was physically capable.”

His success in the pool has moved his passion from a dream to play professional basketball to chasing a shot at Olympic gold with the men’s 2020 team in Tokyo.

It is a fun sport to play there is a lot going on and there is many different positions you can play so there is variety.,. I wasn’t having as much fun playing basketball as I was in water polo, it is very physical, which I like.

But he knows he has a lot of work to do, but mostly, he just loves the challenge of water polo.

Matthew Sharp in action.

“It is a fun sport to play there is a lot going on and there is many different positions you can play so there is variety,” he said.

“I wasn’t having as much fun playing basketball as I was in water polo, it is very physical, which I like.”

His commitment is unwavering, training up to 10 times a week and he hopes to gain as much experience from the trip, including a week training with the Croatian national side before the competition starts.

“I want to learn form the national teams and their leaders so that I can become a better player in Australia,” he said.

Head coach of the Born 2000 team Andrew Yanitsas said that the competition in Serbia is unofficially recognised as the largest tournament for this age group each year.

He said he expects each player to make the most of the opportunities presented while on tour.

“The Darko Čukić Memorial competition is kind of an unofficial world champs for under 15 players and is held each year,” he said.

“The 15 athletes travelling with us were identified at national championships and by their state associations and therefore afforded the opportunity to represent their country at a relatively young age for Australian mentality.

Matthew Sharp in action.

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