S.Johnson/SnappedDragons.com
It's a sport that has seen the girls team four-peat as state runners-up in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. While Southlake Carroll’s water polo team has been around since 2002, it has primarily operated as a club sport. That all changed this past December when the school board voted to add an official water polo pilot program to the district this fall, joining the ranks of CISD’s other University Interscholastic League fall sports like football and basketball.
“It’s neat to be on the front side of that and [at] the beginning stages,” CISD athletic director Steve Keasler says. “The story hasn’t been written yet, so it’s wide open. The canvas is yet to be painted on — that’s the fun part. Who knows what could happen or where it will end up being? To be a small part of that and start it is pretty cool.”
TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
The Carroll water polo club was originally started by a group of the school’s swimmers, eager to keep working during their offseason.
“From what I am told, Carroll Water Polo began in 2002, shortly after the aquatic center opened in 2001,” says Loni McCollom, who currently serves as president of the water polo parent group. “Nowadays, many SLCWP athletes are also on the Carroll swim team.”
Hungry for more opportunities to compete, those swim athletes helped lay the foundation for a club program that has thrived despite existing more behind the scenes.
In 2015, the girls team won it all at the state tournament. They’ve earned second place every year since, with the exception of 2017 when they came in third, cementing a legacy of success.
Meanwhile, the boys team earned second place at state in 2016 and came in fourth in 2017 and 2019, making their own mark at the annual tournament.
The team isn’t the only aspect of the program that has seen success. Individual athletes have shined both during and after their time playing water polo.
This year, Jojo Walters was named the Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association’s girls MVP, while Whitney Wood was named to the First Team AllState and Emily Hatcher was named to the Second Team All-State. This comes after the 2021 season where Jojo was named to the NISCA All-American Second Team and Whitney earned an honorable mention. Meanwhile, Whitney has committed to playing in college, as well as fellow senior athletes Emily and Reyna Clark.
“Because of the consistency and the great coaching they’ve had, the accomplishments have just continued to accrue, and the kids seem to just keep getting more and more talented,” says Julie Hahn, whose son Matthew, a 2019 Carroll grad, played water polo.
Indeed, head coach Keeley Lowery, now in her fifth year, has proven to be a powerful asset, leading the program to various state tournament accolades from 2018 to 2021. This year, she also tied for Coach of the Year.
“My son played and I got involved whenever he was in sixth grade,” coach Lowery says. “I started running the club Thunder Water Polo as the president, and I ran that for a good six or seven years… and then throughout that time is when I started coaching as well.”
Though her son was the spark for her involvement, coach Lowery has made a name for herself in the sport, creating her own club called Cowtown Water Polo while coaching the Dragons.
“Watching the athletes change and improve in the short amount of time that we have them is one of my favorite parts of the program,” coach Lowery says. “In early February after swim state is over with, they’re coming from all different avenues. Getting those kids from so many different situations to become a team that can play together and [be successful], that’s the best part of it.”
The successes of both the water polo program and its athletes are also due in part to a force of nature all its own: the parents. For this sport, those sideline supporters have stepped up, forming an informal albeit well-organized group that does a little bit of everything for Dragon Water Polo.
“As a group, we help manage the team by overseeing club finances, team gear and merchandise, volunteer coordination, hosting games and events at the Carroll Aquatic Center, travel tournament logistics and other functions that support the team,” Loni says. “Most of the members of the 2021-2022 parent group have been serving since their students joined the team.”
Lisa Jones, who helped the group become what it is today, has been part of the parent group for four years, serving as a treasurer and secretary from 2017-2019 before moving into an advisory role to assist the new parents in 2020.
“When I took over the financial portion, the group had raised money to a level that we were also able to purchase new caps to replace the deteriorating old ones,” Lisa says. “While still a rather lean program, the parent group was able to subsidize players that required assistance as well as [take care of] some of the overnight expenses.”
Even before she had kids in the program, Lisa knew of the parent group and how much they helped the student-athletes.
“There have always been super parents associated with this team who want to make sure these kids get the tools they need to achieve the best results,” Lisa says. “I've heard stories of the parent [group] before I joined. They raised money to build a dedicated SLCWP trophy [case] in the aquatic center from donations from other parents.”
Though the parent group will undoubtedly undergo its own change next season, the support parents lend to their kids won’t change.
“I would imagine the parent group would morph into an SLCWP Booster Club, and team support, finances, tournament coordination, volunteering and merchandising would operate similarly to other sports at Carroll,” Loni says.
These student-athletes, alongside their passionate parents and coach, have kept up Carroll’s tradition of excellence simply due to an immeasurable amount of dedication, determination and plenty of grit.
STAMP OF APPROVAL
As the water polo program’s star rose, so too did the effort to integrate it into the UIL. In October 2019, the UIL Legislative Council — made up of around 65 superintendents from across the state — did their part by approving an amendment to add the sport as a pilot program for the 2020-21 school year.
Though the tumult of 2020 eventually led the council to push its start date back a year, the program is now full steam ahead. In October 2021, the council made an amendment to add the athletic plan and structure for water polo to UIL’s constitution and contest rules.
With UIL council approval, CISD went through with its own preparations, adding water polo to Carroll’s slate of sports following a presentation by the athletic director.
“It’s been in the works for the last three or four years,” Keasler says.
With approval in hand from both the UIL and Carroll school board, water polo will be moving on up next year.
“We couldn’t be certain that the UIL program would be approved until the vote actually happened, and we had worked with many parents and athletes to present our case to the athletic director and the CISD board,” Loni says. “Getting that official approval was extremely gratifying.”
UIL recognition also comes with a few changes, among the biggest being the move from spring to the fall.
Though the club season typically takes place in the spring, the first day of practice next year is currently set for Aug. 1, with playoffs beginning in October and culminating in the state championships on Oct. 29.
Another big change will be felt by the athletes on a personal level, as for the first time, they will have a specific period in their school schedules set aside for the sport, giving them a PE credit.
“These kids right now practice outside of the school day,” coach Lowery says. “So we practice at 5:45-7:30 a.m. for some of the teams and then another round comes in at night from 7-9 p.m. So they’re doing all of their stuff outside of the school day.”
Modifications will also be made to both resources and the competition structure itself.
“Club teams cannot use CISD buses to get to games and tournaments,” Loni says. “And there are no official divisions like 5A and 6A to distinguish the teams, so you have large public schools competing against small private schools.”
Even with changes, excitement for the new season is palpable.
“By introducing water polo as a UIL sport, Texas is giving the sport a larger platform, recognizing the growth and popularity of the sport in our state and increasing the possibility of similar things happening in other interior states,” Loni says.
ONWARD AND UPWARD
When tryouts begin for the sport, it’s likely to become a cut sport. Currently, the club program has around 60 athletes and five teams.
“The program will shrink at the high school level, but hopefully the intensity of kids wanting to get in the program is going to increase,” coach Lowery says.
Meanwhile, the district continues to move ahead with its preparations needed to kick off the new sport.
Earlier this spring, CISD surveyed the community about the program and has begun ordering equipment for the teams.
“Out of the UIL, there’ll be 194 schools that will compete in water polo this first year,” Keasler says. “We’re going to try to have boys and girls varsity and [junior varsity], so we’ll hopefully have four teams.”
The district has also posted the head coaching position on its website, NISCA’s website and various others with the aim of filling it before the current school year ends. Coach Lowery is among the applicants.
“I love this district and these athletes. It has been my educational home for 17 years,” coach Lowery says. “If not in Carroll, I am hoping to be a head coach of an amazing program while working to help coaches new to the sport learn and to develop athletes.”
Above all, supporters of the water polo program are eager to shine more of a light on these hardworking athletes and bring attention to a sport growing in popularity.
“It’s about them, their futures,” coach Lowery says. “I just think it’s going to grow the sport and the recognition in Texas so our kids are going to get more visibility.”