US swim school finds sporting solution with portable water polo goals

A popular swim school in Washington State is inspiring children to learn valuable water skills and discover a love of aquatic sports with the help of portable Junior Water Polo Packagoals from Packaworld International.

7C’s Swim School teacher and junior water polo coach Kat Cunningham started water polo clinics in 2018 for swimmers over the age of eight who displayed the right skills and a willingness to play.

Held at the swim school’s Woodmoor Elementary aquatic venue in Bothell, the lessons were initially run only occasionally, as a low-key way to show children how to use their newfound swimming skills to have fun. But they grew in popularity and, with the addition of inflatable Water Polo Packagoals in 2019, the swim school has taken its water polo coaching clinics to the next level, Ms Cunningham said.

“Once the team got bigger we were able to add more practices and I was able to incorporate water polo more. Now, we do about half an hour twice a week after our swim. We are using the new Water Polo Packagoals for shooting and field work – the difference is astounding.”

Since the students were often too young to help her lift a heavier metal or wooden goal, the inflatable Packagoals also enabled her to set up and pack down quickly herself. She said they were light, easy to move and especially well-suited to situations where storage space is an issue.

Although deep pools were better for training a full range of skills, the Packagoals allowed her to deliver a range of practical water polo skills even in shallow pools thanks to their portability, Ms Cunningham said.

“The kids love them. It’s very difficult to explain, play or visualise anything to do with water polo without a goal. All the concepts I had been trying to portray, they are finally grasping.”

She said she had been on a quest to raise awareness of water polo and year-round swimming clubs for the past four years, since her move to the Pacific Northwest from Southern California.

While age-group water polo clubs were scarce in Washington State, she hoped she would be able to continue developing her students’ passion for the sport and find more venues, utilising Packaworld's inflatable fields, for friendly competition– including a custom aquatic facility 7C’s Swim School intends to construct in the town of Mill Creek, Washington, north of Seattle.

Ms Cunningham said the flexible style of 7C’s Swim School suited her students well as it allowed for development of a wide range of skills through teaching methods and custom lessons based on the instructor’s experience.

The school’s approach allowed her to bring her coaching skills to the job as well as share her lifelong passion for aquatic sports – something she has in great abundance.

“Aquatics saved my childhood. It gave me a team and a community that I didn’t have otherwise. It gave me purpose, drive, passion, and goals. I don’t think I purposefully run my lessons and practices different than others, it’s simply a difference in experience.”

>> Find out more about Packaworld’s inflatable water polo goals on our Water Polo Packagoals product page.