FACES OF AYWPC | LACHLAN MCNEILL (VIC)

The Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC) has seen a wave of new and young coaches stepping up to help usher through a new generation. 

The water polo community in Australia, will often see people wear many different hats.  But the 2023 AYWPC has seen even more young players get involved in other roles, including coaching. 

One such coach is 16 year old Lachlan McNeill from Melbourne Collegians, who fresh from playing in the 18&U competition during week one is helping to coach the 16&U Boys team this week. 

Having been around the water polo environment since he can remember, McNeill said he’s just happy to be giving back and supporting his team mates. 

“I just love the game, I love coaching, I love the technical side to it, and I’m just happy to teach people what I know.

“I used to go and put caps on when Dad used to coach, so I used to watch for such a long time before I started playing. I was nine when I started to play, so I've been doing it for a while and I’m just happy to give back to the game,” he said. 

Coming from Melbourne, which was hit hard by COVID lockdowns, McNeill said the AYWPC is one of the best experiences his clubs participates in.

“I think for our Club, the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships is probably one of the best things we have… because we get to play against really good teams and that is what we want to do constantly.  

“We get to showcase our players, get them into squads and get exposure really,” he said. 

His 16&U Boys team got off to a solid start, with a 13-6 win over Melville Saints. 

“It was good to start off with a hard game. We had the boys pushing and they got a good win, which is what we want to see. 

“They are all quite young still and we didn’t get much training during COVID, but we are out of that now and I think we are going well,” he said. 

Switching between his playing and coaching duties he admitted can be tough at times, especially watching from the sidelines.

“Coaching can be a bit like sitting on the bench when you’re a player, because you can’t really affect the play… which is the only part of coaching I don’t like. 

“Other than that I’m happy to be on the bench, sharing my knowledge,” he said. 

It’s not just the AYWPC that McNeill has his sights on, with his early coaching days giving him a taste of things to potentially come.

He can see coaching and other roles in water polo offering him avenues to stay involved in the sport beyond playing.

“I’d love to keep coaching after I finish playing, maybe get into the higher levels of coaching and maybe even refereeing.  We will see what the future holds,” he admits.

McNeill is not alone when it comes to current players coaching juniors teams at the AYWPC and said his advice to players thinking about getting involved, is just do it. 

“Get down to training, try and be a leader in your own team, and start out with juniors, start with the basics, get into it. You’ll have a lot of fun,” he said.