During his high school days Hunter King was a fast swimmer on the Salem High swim team and had a strong arm on the Spartan baseball team. When he went to the University of Virginia he found a way to combine the two into one sport.
King, who will graduate from UVA this spring, recently finished his time on the Wahoo water polo club team. He’s been a key member of the team and even served as team president during his junior year.
“When I got here they gave us a big list of club sports,” said King. “I saw water polo on the list and it looked like fun, so I decided to try it. It’s sort of a mix between swimming and baseball.”
Most folks haven’t seen much water polo unless they watch the summer Olympics. It’s played in a pool, laid out like a basketball court. The object is to throw a ball into a goal protected by a goalie who is treading water in front of the cage. Each team is comprised of six players in addition to the goalie.
“When we’re on offense there’s five players behind what is like the three-point line in basketball, and one in the middle,” said King. “The positions are numbered.”
Hunter plays the number four position, on the right side of the arc near the top.
“Anyone can go anywhere,” he said. “And it’s really important to have a good goalie. It’s the most important position on the team.”
Play starts when the ball is dropped in the middle of the pool for a “swim off,” similar to a faceoff in lacrosse or hockey. Hunter is the swim off guy for the Cavaliers, and he only lost two all season. Then, once he has the ball it’s up to him to set up the offense and try to score.
While fast swimming is a big advantage in the sport, being able to tread water for long periods is also a must. Hunter found out in a hurry that water polo is a lot different than swimming the butterfly for the Spartans.
“Treading water is very hard,” he said. “The quarters are seven minutes long and they substitute every two or three minutes. Being on the swim team at Salem High was a big help because there’s a lot of sprinting, but being able to tread water is also important. It can get pretty physical.”
Players can foul out after three fouls. Last year Virginia Tech hosted an event and Hunter’s parents, Chris and Jenny King, drove down to Blacksburg to watch him play. However, he wasn’t in the water for very long.
“I fouled out in 30 seconds,” he said. “I committed a foul, and then I got another foul getting out of the pool. Like a power play in hockey you have to get out of the pool a certain way.”
The Cavaliers have had a good team. Hunter has been on the team for the past four seasons and they’ve won their division every year, as well as the year before he arrived. This year UVA qualified for the national club tournament but the team chose not to go for financial reasons.
There are 15-20 players on the team and usually only 12 or so travel, but the team is not school sponsored so funding is a factor. As team president his junior year one of Hunter’s responsibilities was collecting dues and raising money from donations by parents. It wasn’t a fun job and he decided not to do it his senior year.
The team plays in three or four tournaments each season. Virginia is in a division comprised of primarily ACC schools and finished the year 10-0 against division teams. Hunter was especially proud that his team beat Navy all four years that he was on the team. You’d expect Navy to be good in the water, and the Midshipmen also have a strong varsity team.
This is probably it as far as water polo for King. There are masters’ teams but he’s unlikely to continue competing. He’s graduating in May and already has a job lined up in construction management in Washington, D.C.
“I watched the Olympics and those guys are huge,” said Hunter. “It’s really big in Eastern Europe. . .Turkey, Croatia, Greece. I’m just glad I was good enough to stick with it in college.”
