CIF State August 3 2026 press release on participation numbers
Those numbers do not look good for water polo
This is alarming for water polo! Nearly 5,000 person drop in girls water polo and 3,000 for boys!
I mean…when you create an infrastructure around a sport that is haves and have nots, the best players and coaching coalesce around a few dozen schools, you have exclusive closed and feeder clubs that require year round commitment, and minimal college prospects if you are outside that ecosystem…
Then kids and parents are going to take their time, talents, effort, and money elsewhere.
Few kids are showing up the first day of HS and saying “maybe I’ll give water polo a try…”
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Agree; maybe the mission statement of USA water polo needs to change and align more with USA volleyball. The growth of that sport in the last few years is impressive.
It is very worrying. Flag football is a very serious problem for hs girls water polo. Also, fewer and fewer kids try water polo as a new sport during their freshman year. Early specialization, so to speak.
Flag Football is taking girls from everywhere but Water Polo seems to be getting hot very hard. It’s not like the college opportunities for flag football are better than water polo. Women’s water polo has way more opportunities than mens.
Agreed, it’s hard for any new freshman to start when most of their teammates have been playing club for years and they’re way behind the development curve. The sport is so unforgiving, even to natural athletes, so it makes it hard to attract kids who are new to the sport in high school.
Google AI Mode summarizing on “Why Choose Water Polo vs Other Sports”
- for a 9 Year Old Girl
Water polo gives a 9-year-old female athlete a major physical advantage because it builds unmatched endurance and upper-body strength that dry-land sports simply cannot match at this age.
At 9 years old, girls are rapidly developing motor skills, coordination, and social bonds. While traditional sports are excellent, water polo uniquely prepares her for long-term athletic success while keeping her joints safe.
How Water Polo Compares for a 9-Year-Old Girl
- vs. Soccer & Basketball (Endurance): Soccer and basketball require constant running on hard surfaces, which can cause early heel pain (Sever’s disease) or shin splints in growing 9-year-olds. Water polo matches that intense cardio output but protects her growing bones and joints from repetitive impact.
- vs. Volleyball & Tennis (Shoulder Strength): Volleyball and tennis rely heavily on overhead serving and striking, which can overwork one dominant shoulder. Water polo uses symmetric swimming strokes to balanced out her shoulder, back, and core development before she executes one-handed throws.
- vs. Softball (Constant Engagement): Softball involves a lot of standing in the field or waiting in the dugout. At age 9, high action keeps kids engaged. In water polo, she is constantly swimming, passing, and moving, meaning zero boredom and maximum exercise.
- vs. Flag Football (Unique Physicality): Flag football introduces great spatial awareness and agility. Water polo offers those same tactical concepts (like breaking free from a defender) but teaches her how to be physically strong and confident in a completely different element—the water.
Unique Benefits for 9-Year-Old Girls
- A “Super-Athlete” Foundation: If she plays water polo now, she will naturally excel at any other sport later. The core stability, hip flexibility from the eggbeater kick, and lung capacity she develops will make her faster on the soccer field or more explosive on the volleyball court.
- Confidence and Body Empowerment: Water polo focuses entirely on what the body can do rather than how it looks. Girls in water polo build incredible functional muscle, stamina, and physical grit, fostering high self-esteem and body confidence heading into middle school.
- Safety and Life Skill Mastery: It turns her into an elite, water-safe swimmer. While contact happens, the water slows down sudden movements, eliminating the risk of hard-ground tumbles or high-speed collisions.
- for a 9 Year Old Boy
Water polo gives a 9-year-old male athlete a massive physical edge by channeling his natural energy into full-body strength and stamina, all while entirely avoiding the high-impact head and bone injuries common in youth field sports.
At age 9, boys often crave high-energy, physical play. Water polo satisfies that competitive drive in a safe, low-impact environment that molds them into incredibly resilient athletes.
How Water Polo Compares for a 9-Year-Old Boy
- vs. Tackle/Flag Football (Safety & Physicality): Football offers great teamwork and physicality, but tackle football carries significant concussion and joint injury risks. Water polo satisfies a 9-year-old boy’s desire for a tough, contact sport, but the water environment absorbs the impact—completely eliminating hard turf hits, tackles to the ground, and helmet collisions.
- vs. Soccer & Basketball (Continuous Cardio): Soccer and basketball require constant running on hard surfaces, which frequently triggers growth-plate pain in the heels (Sever’s disease) and knees (Osgood-Schlatter) in active 9-year-old boys. Water polo matches or exceeds that intense cardio burn but cradles his growing joints in a buoyant, zero-impact environment.
- vs. Baseball (Constant Action): Baseball requires a high degree of patience, with kids spending a lot of time sitting in the dugout or waiting for a ball to be hit to them. Water polo keeps high-energy 9-year-olds completely immersed and constantly moving. Every player must actively swim, defend, and transition, resulting in zero boredom and maximum physical exertion.
Unique Benefits for 9-Year-Old Boys
- Elite Upper-Body and Core Foundation: Most youth sports focus heavily on leg development (running, kicking). Water polo heavily targets a boy’s shoulders, back, and core through swimming, combined with explosive leg power from the eggbeater kick. This creates a uniquely balanced, muscular foundation early in his development.
- Channelling Aggression Productively: The sport is highly physical, involving underwater wrestling and positioning. It teaches boys how to manage physical pressure, hold their ground, and maintain emotional control under intense physical fatigue.
- Unmatched Cross-Training Value: If he decides to play soccer, basketball, or football later on, water polo will have already gifted him with superior lung capacity, a bulletproof core, and spatial awareness. The tactical concepts in water polo—like setting up a pick-and-roll or executing a fast break—translate directly to basketball and soccer.
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It used to be that you could start water polo as a freshman in high school if you were a strong swimmer who happened to discover the sport. That’s much harder today. Kids are starting club younger and younger, so it’s difficult to catch up if you don’t begin early. 10U!!!
At the same time, many of the most competitive high schools are filled with year-round club players, making club participation almost a necessity. Schools that don’t have a large pipeline of club athletes often struggle just to field enough players in less popular areas.
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I think you also find when 4-5 club players go to one school it turns away non club players. They show up for the first day and see girls in their grade or one above balling out and say, no thanks I have no hope. I have seen strong historical programs go from 24 athletes to 9 with no JV in 2 years time, because the talent gap was too big.
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^^^^^^^^^
This! There are a number of mid-division teams that go from League Champs and winning playoff games to unable to field a team in 2 years time. Only going to get worse IMHO
Anything USAWP can do to grow the sport nationally has to happen very soon. The CIF numbers are likely indicative of the nation as a whole. I know we spend a lot of time overly concerned about JO allocations, but I think a more meaningful macro conversation needs to be had about growing the sport well beyond CA. That has to come from USAWP and I would love to see more engagement from them on a clear plan to do that.
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I don’t know where the disconnect is, but you can go to the CIF State Site and pull up the Participation Rates.
According to the 2019-2020 spreadsheet, in the fall of 2019 there were 15,146 participants in Boys Water Polo. That is way different from the PDF.
Most of these flag football teams appear to be 'Club" teams right now, as the programs get off the ground, but it will be easy later to elevate the team to 'varsity" and eliminate a different women’s sport, that might be more costly to run.
In the 12u boys thread, there is a discussion of the potentially strong teams for the 2026-2027 season and people are counting the number of returning 11 year olds on each good NorCal team that have already participated in four JOs, looking at this statistic as some indication of success in 2027. The sad part is that they might be right, at least if one uses short-term lenses. It is getting harder and harder even for athletically talented kids to pick up the sport in hs.
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Statistics are just that, numbers. Players on their 4th year of JO competition just means those kids are not transient. I don’t see how those kids inhibit growth or promotion of the sport.
Having gone through struggles to find a club that fields a team to have my kid get appropriate experience, I have first hand experience.
The key to a success here is making splashball cheap and maximally fun. Cast a BROAD net. I bet 1 in 20 or less might go on to play club. Splashball needs to be the entrypoint.
The next step is accessibility for recreational level play. A much larger number of players might be interested in playing at a lower competitive level but costs must be lower and a focus on fun should be the goal.
If Commerce can put together a program that is free and have 4 or more 10U teams then there is a formula for success out there. It just needs to have a less greedy approach in my opinion.
Late edit: counting on kids to pick up a sport in high school is NOT a plan. That is hope and prayer kind of thinking and if that is USA WP strategy then there is zero reason for anyone to occupy a paid position. To make money there should be a very clear strategy and systematic approach.
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Agree @Polonewb . I looked through USAWP website to see if there was anything to be found around a strategy or approach. The only thing is the mission statement on the main page but nothing about a strategy to get there. The website is so outdated though it has coaches listed that haven’t coached in a couple years at this point.
I come back to USAWP engaging with the community, to either share with their membership or to get ideas. One small thing they could do is similar to the coach’s corner here. Turn off comments as I am sure it would get out of control and give a space for a quarterly update from USAWP. The transparency would be helpful for them and for the community.
Mission statement from USAWP:
Dedicated to Inspiring, Developing, and Supporting Water Polo Athletes Across the Nation, We Strive to Grow the Sport at Every Level, Foster Lifelong Passion, and Cultivate Champions Who Excel in the Pool and Beyond.
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Commerce is a very small population city with a boat-load of revenue from the business heavy city. It is not a model you can duplicate.