The secret to Trinity Lutheran College’s stunning water polo success
The Gold Coast’s top water polo school has revealed their secret to dominating the local competition and producing the most State reps of any team in the region.
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A Gold Coast school sporting powerhouse has completed a clean sweep of the 2019 water polo season, claiming four APS premierships from four grades.
Trinity Lutheran College have enjoyed one of their finest water polo seasons of the last 15 years, taking out the 2019 grand finals in both Junior and Open competitions for boys and girls.
Trinity water polo director Lesley Hipgrave said the secret to the school’s success was the introduction of a junior development program four years ago.
“We’ve been fairly dominant in water polo on the Gold Coast for 15 years, but in the last four years we’ve had a water polo development program at the school.
“Year Sevens can elect to take water polo as a sport and in Year Eight and Nine students can take water polo as a subject.
“For the 10s and 11s we run certificate three’s in sports excellence, teaching them how to coach and referee.
“We include everyone but it is an excellence program, which is part of the reason why we’ve had five students in Queensland state teams this year.”
Four of Trinity’s five water polo coaches have represented Australia, with 2008 college captain Kelsey Wakefield a veteran of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Trinity’s Open boys team was led by four Queensland reps in Jacob Stubbs, James Carrigan, goalkeeper Flynn O’Neill and captain Wills Markham.
Their team, coached by Ms Hipgrave, won their Under-18s Grand Final 11-0 despite fielding zero seniors in the final.
It was a similar story in the Open girls team, with just three Year 12 students in the line-up a sure sign that the side’s success will continue in 2020.
School captain Emma Siddle and fellow Year 12s Emily Holyman and Leah Owen graduated this week having never lost a game in TLC colours.
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