The Boys’ Varsity and JV Water Polo teams have had very impressive starts to their fall seasons, and this success can be attributed in part to their new Head Coach, Ms. Brooke Rea. Coach Rea joined the Choate community this year, not just as a boys’ and girls’ water polo coach, but also as an English teacher and dorm advisor in Hall.
Coach Rea explained, “I started playing water polo because I was a competitive swimmer since age four. Where I grew up, swimming year-round was pretty normal and something everyone did. I also loved basketball, and around middle school, some friends of mine told me that I should try water polo. It seemed like the perfect combination of both sports, so as soon as I tried it, I loved it.
I’ve been playing since about seventh or eighth grade.” She soon discovered her dream position as hole set, which she continued to play throughout her water polo career.
Coach Rea’s passion for the sport steered her through four years on her high school’s varsity team, as well as on Bucknell University’s team from which she graduated in 2002. “Almost every job I’ve gotten since college has been a result of being a graduate and student athlete from Bucknell and the connections and experiences that I had there,” she said. “Right after I graduated, I went back and coached several camps at Bucknell and some teams out in Los Angeles. Then I moved to New York City, where there’s not a lot of water polo, but I was able to coach some youth programs and play club water polo myself.”
Having accumulated ample coaching experience with various youth teams and camps, Coach Rea developed individual teaching styles for each tier of ability in the sport. She said, “One of my favorite parts of being a coach is helping younger kids who are newer to the sport to learn it from the bottom up, and watching as they discover how much fun it is. I’ll see girls who are eight or nine years old being super aggressive, and boys who are really good at basketball or another sport showing up at the pool for polo and revealing a whole different side of themselves in the water. I really enjoy working with kids who are discovering the sport for the first time and learning how quickly they can develop and grow.”
At Choate, Coach Rea has the opportunity to work with student athletes of different water polo backgrounds within the varsity and JV teams, both of which have begun their seasons with strong records. “I love being with a player from season to season and just seeing them improve over time,” she said, placing an emphasis not only on individual players but also on the team as a whole and their dynamic in the water. Coach Rea looks forward to continuing a successful season for Choate. Be sure to stop by the Larry Hart Pool this Saturday, October 8, at 11:30 and 1:00 to see Coach Rea and the Varsity and JV Boys’ Water Polo teams in action against Phillips Academy Andover.
