There are numerous noises in a natatorium. The buzz of the clock. The constant splashing. The electric energy of the crowd’s cheering. The calls from the coach. Among all the chaos, there is the team captain who grounds the team, ensuring they can float their way to a win. Serving as a co-captain with fellow senior Caden Bradford, Ethan Clark ‘26 helped lead the team through their season, where they finished in the second district seed and had many significant victories.
Despite his exemplary leadership and skill in the pool, Clark is relatively new to the sport. He began playing water polo at the end of his freshman year, when Coach Matt McBrearty introduced him to the sport.
“Before then, I had no idea it existed,” Clark said. “ Then, I started going to club practices after freshman year, like [the] summer after freshman year, and then tried out for Westwood.”
Clark was selected to be a captain by a team vote and stepped into his leadership position this year. As captain, Clark took on new responsibilities while still forging connections with his teammates and honing his gameplay skills.
“The thing our coach says a lot is that as a captain, you’re not any different from any of the other players,” Clark said. “You’re still a part of the team, you just have a lot more responsibilities now. So it’s a lot of just getting the information out and communicating between the coach and the rest of the players and [on] game days, [it’s] mainly getting the team together to cheer for the girls or lead warm-ups and make sure we’re ready to play our best.”
While Clark has frequently served as the team’s goalie, he played in a myriad of positions, including utility and wing. This versatility allows him to foster synergy between players and better communicate in the water.
“It definitely helps me understand what connects the team together, especially in the pool,” Clark said. “To be able to understand what my players are doing while we’re playing a game basically gives me an advantage to help my teammates perform the best they can.”
This year brought unique challenges for the captains, as the team consisted of primarily underclassmen. This younger demographic meant that Clark had to step up in the absence of multiple older players who could lead by example.
“I think it did impact [the way I led the team] a lot, mainly because they’re new to a team in a varsity environment,” Clark said. “Coming in from middle school, and just freshmen in general, it’s hard to control them and get them to do what you want.”
The Boys Water Polo team, despite being a young team, was able to achieve many big wins and finish out their season by making it to the playoffs.
“Seeing my teammates score and the crowd and all of our teammates cheering, just the energy from that is very rewarding,” Clark said. “I think how the team reacts to our success [and] everyone else’s successes strengthens the team aspect of it.”
Beyond water polo, Clark is also a member of the Westwood Swim and Dive team. As both a swimmer and a water polo player, the two unique skill sets allow him to bring an interdisciplinary approach to game play.
“I think, in a sense, yes [swimming impacts the way I play water polo], but water polo is so different that I kind of had to relearn how to swim,” Clark said. “Swimming head up is a lot harder, and just being able to move your body quickly back and forth is a lot harder than swimming, but swimming helps [from] a cardio standpoint.”
As Clark looks toward his future outside of Westwood Water Polo, he hopes to be remembered for his leadership and dedication to the team.
“I think [being team captain is] just being a leader, trying to understand everyone else’s perspectives as well, and incorporating that if they want to train something or do something, mention that to Coach and have everyone’s voices be heard,” Clark said. “[I just want to] be a good player that everyone looks up to and wants to be better for themselves.”
