Faces of the 2025 AYWPC - David Smith

David Smith is proud to be a coach at Ryde Water Polo Club.

The coach of the Ryde Rhinos 16&U Girls Gold team at this year's Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC) in Perth, took up the coaching reins as a way of giving back to a sport that has given him so much.

Even though David continues to play in the Sydney metro competition, he enjoys helping to develop the next generation of water polo players.

“I think it's a great sport to continue throughout your life, and then giving back through coaching is another great thing,” David said.

“It's about watching the girls enjoy and improve while they're enjoying the sport that I love playing... so it was a natural fit (to coach).”

For David, the AYWPC provides the perfect format for players to grow in a relatively short period of time.

“I think it's an opportunity, particularly for coaches, to develop their players,” David said.

“There's a high level of water polo here, and you get to try new things with the team and put in place what you've been practicing and working really hard for.

“But it's also a real community... the girls all know each other and they're all talking and celebrating after each game too, which I love.”

However, players are not the only ones who benefit from the opportunities the AYWPC provides.

David has now coached at several AYWPC events and admits he is still learning new techniques that he plans to implement in his own coaching playbook.

“Even at the test match last night – looking at warm-up drills and stretching drills, the tactics of the other coaches – you're always learning as a coach as well. You then take that experience back to club land,” David said.

Like many others within the water polo community, David’s multiple coaching roles at Ryde Water Polo Club are on a volunteer basis.

David believes that without volunteers, water polo would simply not survive.

“Volunteers are crucial,” David said. “I think the more volunteers in any sport, the better – but particularly in water polo. We absolutely need those people volunteering.”