BROOKLYN, NY. A beneficial component of a recent coaching clinic run by Felix Mercado, Brown men’s and women’s water polo coach, and Gabby Juarez, LIU men’s and women’s coach was a counseling session for high school athletes and their parents on what it takes to play collegiate polo.
[Breaking in Brooklyn: Brown Coach Felix Mercado at LIU]
Following is a transcript of their conversation; which included Mike Byrd, LIU assistant women’s coach, on a broad range of subjects, including:
– How water polo fits into the American collegiate sports scene
– The differences between club and NCAA DI, DII and DIII competition
– Do’s and don’ts of contacting coaches—and how to successfully navigate NCAA rules
– Is there scholarship aid in water polo? Yes, but usually on the academic not athletic side.
– Don’t let anyone tell you no! If you want to go somewhere, and play water polo there, don’t give up
This interview has been edited for content, clarity and brevity.
Felix Mercado: We’re going to talk about the recruiting process—how to be recruited. There is water polo out there for all levels. Whether you want to play recreationally, you want to be an Olympian or somewhere in between.
Understanding what’s best for you requires self-reflection. The good thing about playing sports in this country is that college opportunities are available—whether it’s water polo, football or basketball. [You can be] a four- or five-star recruit. That’s an extreme part of [collegiate sports].
Water polo is an Olympic sport and is not revenue-driven, so there’s no glamorous [recruiting] process. But a lot of the steps are the same for any college sport. Number one: Be honest with yourself [about] how good you are and what you want to do academically.
The big picture is to use [polo] to get into a school that you have the grades [for]—to separate you from the pack of really good students with really good test scores who you’re competing against.
Polo is all over American campuses
There’re all sorts of water polo played in this country. There’s club at a lot of big state schools. Not so much in New York but there’s Boston College, Rutgers, Michigan State, Ohio State. You get into the school, you practice two or three times a week, you go to tournaments.
There’s a national championship for club teams, but it’s pay to play. Your expenses are all on you. Some club programs get financial assistance from their university, but typically travel [and other] expenses you’ll be covering yourself. T-shirt, gear, swimsuits are paid out of pocket to be part of the club team.
The next level is varsity. There’re three divisions: DIII, DII and DI. But we all play for the same championship. In season, there’s nothing distinguishing what these teams do. Universities have different rules on how much you’re allowed to practice but you can sort that out when you do a deeper dive into what you’re looking for.
The differences between the divisions comes down to resources and practices. [For] DIII, in-season that’s the grind. Out of season, you’re limited by how much you can participate. DII and DI you have in-season which is a grind while off-season is more structured [than DIII].
The higher level [of competition] there is, especially when you go to California—if you’re a DI or DII athlete in California your summers are going to be getting a job [and] staying around while you train. Except for Navy on the men’s side, no team outside of California trains during the summer.
Grades matter to get into a school. But they matter more if you’re going to get money. In water polo there’s not a lot of financial assistance based upon athletics. For men at the DI and DII levels there’s a total of 4.5 scholarships available. Just because you’re allowed that many doesn’t mean a school is going to give a coach 4.5 scholarships.
On the women’s side, it’s eight scholarships. Again, just because you’re allotted a maximum of eight doesn’t mean you’re going to get that.
If you look at rosters online, you’re going to see 20 – 30 kids. Think about how scholarships are spread out and how the majority of [those] athletes are getting financial assistance through their academics.
Where do you want to go? What do you want to study?
Location is another thing. Do you want to be far away from home? Do you want to be close to home? If you’re from this area, do you like the cold? Do you want to get away from [it]? Do you want to be in a big city or a small town? Like St. Francis University—a small town in Laredo, Pennsylvania.
The last thing is: what do you want to do? Does that school offer what you’re looking to study? You may want to go to a state university, and the coach wants you there, but you want to be a nurse, or a doctor and they have no pre-med program.
These are decisions that you’re going to have to make—a broad scope of what your future might look like.
Gabby Juarez: I’ll segue into the next phase of this conversation; how to communicate with coaches. When you’re a freshman or sophomore in high school, typically on the [athletic department] web page of whatever college you’re interested in there’s the prospective student-athlete questionnaire.
If you are a freshman or sophomore, I encourage you to fill out those questionnaires.
You can email us, but coaches can only talk with you in June before your junior year. That’s when we can have direct communication.
My best advice is get in our data system [by filling out the student-athlete questionnaire] as freshmen and sophomores. For juniors please send transcripts in one [concise] email. My name is this, I play this [position], here’s some film—if you have it—and include your SAT scores. That way I can input your name and have everything that I need.
When you speak to coaches be respectful and polite. One thing we don’t like is when an athlete asks how much athletic scholarship [money] they can get. We have to get to know you, your academics and go from there.
Being polite goes a long way. From there it’s talent and if you fit into our team culture. But being kind and polite to coaches is the biggest advice I can give because coaches remember that. Also, make sure you’re a good teammate. Water polo’s a very small world; Felix and I know a lot of the same recruits.
Mercado: That goes back to the very first thing I said. Be honest with yourself. Gabby mentioned the question: How much scholarship [money] can I get? This is being honest with yourself. If you’re a really good player, the coach is going to tell what’s available before you even ask.
But there is a place for you—and it’s okay to change your mind. You want to take it easy, then you have a great season and it: Oh my God, I can play in college. Or you’re gung-ho but you ultimately decide that you’re not built for 12 months of your life totally focused on [water polo].
If you’re a varsity athlete it doesn’t matter if you’re DI, DII or DIII. You’re a varsity athlete for all four years. Meaning, what you eat, what you put in your body—the weight room, the swimming you do on your own—[this] is all going to matter.
There’s no clocking in and clocking out.
It’s like being a good student. You’re always doing something to make yourself better.
Question: What about recruiting services that help with putting a portfolio together?
Mercado: You’re talking about NCSA and Be Recruited. They’re helpful because it gets you organized—they know what they’re talking about—but in our sport you don’t need to pay for [recruiting help].
If you have a resume together, you have your transcripts and you have film, you don’t need [those services]. But you have to communicate [with me] by email. I don’t go to sites [like NCSA]; I get email from them, but you don’t know what’s actually getting through or how often someone checks their account.
Question: What is the role of film in recruitment?
Mercado: Every coach is different. I like highlights because it gets to the point. But then I want to see a game—or at least a quarter. If you send video—and its easily uploaded to YouTube—creating a YouTube page is free and you can remind a coach that you just uploaded a game against “State High School.” Or you get some clips together and direct people there.
If you’re not playing for a huge club team that’s traveling—perfect example is Greenwich. They travel more than anybody else. But that doesn’t mean that if you’re not with Greenwich that you can’t be successful. You can be very successful with Brooklyn Hustle or Makos or Y Pro. Whatever club teams that are in this area.
But you just have to make sure that when you’re at a tournament, you get film. I’d avoid parents filming because they say things that they shouldn’t be saying.
Having a coach take ownership of filming—I think coaches would do that. There’re all the free apps where you can get clips that you’re in and put them together. If a [prospective] coach wants to see it, great. If coach doesn’t, that’s okay.
Question: What is the impact of SAT scores and grades on applications.
Mercado: Again, this is about being honest with yourself. The better player you are, the less your SAT scores matter. This is the reality. Some schools are test optional.
If a coach is telling you your SAT scores aren’t high enough, he or she is giving you useful information. That doesn’t mean that you can’t apply. It’s on you to make that decision.
If you’re looking for a coach to support your application, every admission [department] says to coaches: If you want to support these kids, they have to be within this [academic] range. Because if they’re not within that range [the coach] can’t support them.
Just because we can’t support the range doesn’t mean you can’t apply. Other things can factor into you getting admitted. But if a coach is telling you you’re not in the range that means they can’t help you get in—or they don’t want to help you. That’s their way of telling you they’re not interested. And it’s okay.
Juarez: Just to echo, with the test optional movement universities are offering. LIU used to be heavily dependent on ACT and SAT scores. Now, if you have a better GPA [than test score] we’ll take your GPA and count it so you can get more academic aid. Or, if you have a higher SAT or ACT score and a lower GPA, we’ll take that score.
LIU is a private university and for them to adopt this is a really important development.
Passion in polo will push you to success
Mercado: One of my closest friends, Omar Amr—probably the only reason I’m coaching at this level—went to UC Irvine as an undergrad and then Harvard medical school. Don’t let anyone tell you that in order to get to the most prestigious graduate school or make the most money or be successful that you have to go to a certain school. You might have to work harder at LIU academically than you would at Brown, Princeton or Harvard, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful.
Going back to self-reflection, how badly do you want to be a great athlete or a great student? How badly do you want to be a great person? This takes effort, and it has to be something you’re passionate about.
As coaches we know our athletes can quit anytime. We hope their passion pushes them—that it] gets them up on that morning when they’re struggling to get up for practice or go to class because they had a bad night. We hope that their passion and mind set gets them out that door, and everything gets better.
The fact that you’re here means that water polo is important enough to push you past whatever limitations, past someone who might have told you you’re not good enough. But it does take effort.
Challenge yourself. Take difficult classes. And if you struggled in freshman year it’s okay. You can always make it up. There are community colleges for two years. Become a better student and then go on and play water polo in college.
No matter what bump in the road you hit academically or financially there are so many avenues where you can go. Things may be a bit more difficult but that’s what life’s all about. And, if we’ve learned anything the past few years, it’s about surviving and thriving.
Question: Does not know what your major is affect recruiting?
Mercado: I can tell you right now, that doesn’t matter. 60% of my athletes change their minds after their first year in college. “I want to be a doctor!” “No, I don’t want to be a doctor!” It’s an individual thing; I’ve never met a coach that it was important for them to get you into a specific major at their university. There might be some majors they can’t get you into.
Mike Byrd: What’s more important: is there a subject you want to study but the school doesn’t offer it? If you’re liberal arts major, you’re not looking at MIT. Or, if you’re math and science major you’re not looking at liberal arts schools.
Question: How do DI, DII athletes make sacrifices for both sport and academics?
Mercado: We never use the word “sacrifice;” we use the word “choices.”
It’s what’s important to you. That’s a question you have to ask yourself. Or your coach. Such as: Will I be able to go abroad?
I believe all three Ivies allow their student athletes to go abroad. When you go to school in the Ivies or like MIT, coaches know there has to be that balance between school and sport. Hopefully athletes are passionate enough so that when they go abroad, they’ll continue training.
Every school that has abroad programs has connections or partnerships with [overseas] programs. A lot of my athletes have gone abroad but we haven’t had anyone go overseas since the pandemic. No one went this year and no one’s going next year, so I don’t know what the future looks like.
Every time one of my athletes has gone abroad, they’ve been in a program with kids from other universities. It’s not just Ivy abroad programs or LIU / St. Francis abroad programs. If they’re all going to Spain, they’re all going to be together.
Question: How do good players on the East Coast get recognized by West Coast schools?
Mercado: Every school you’re looking at—it doesn’t matter if it’s in California or Texas or Ohio—you need to decide what you want to do. The same as what Gabby said, you’ve got to reach out and communicate with these coaches. There are 53 men’s polo programs and probably 70 women’s programs.
You list [your choices]—and I’ll provide links to where you can find these schools. Then you decide: Do you want to be in a big city? You cross off all the [suburban] schools. You want to be pre-med! Cross off the schools [that don’t have that].
[ACWCP List of Coach Contacts]
You narrow down to a list of 10 schools that you know have the environment you like and the field of study you think you want to study. Then, you start communicating with those coaches.
Timing for contact with NCAA coaches
Just to clarify, communicating with coaches at DI and DII schools—emails, phone calls and text messages—is after June 15th following the completion of your sophomore year. So, going into your junior year is when coaches at DI and DII teams can reply to you by a phone call, Zooming, text message or emails.
Right now, if I got an email from someone who was a sophomore I could reply: Thank you for the email but June 15th.
Face-to-face, that’s August 1st. If I were at JOs, which ended July 29, if there was a rising junior that I wanted to talk to, I couldn’t. I could call him on the phone, but I couldn’t talk with him in person. [After] August 1st they can come to my campus, and we can talk.
DIII schools are different. You can communicate with DIII schools like Pomona-Pitzer, Occidental, Austin College, Johns Hopkins as soon as you enter your freshman year. You can exchange phone calls and emails with DIII coaches. You’re not allowed to have face-to-face with them until August 1st of your junior year but if there are DIII schools that you’re interested in, you can exchange emails, phone calls, text messages and Zooms.
Question: What are some of the dos and don’ts about contacting coaches?
The last thing I’ll say is it’s 2022. If you don’t think that what you put online matters, you’re wrong. It does. Your email address; have a professional email address. Your name, your birth year @gmail. SuderDude22—that’s not good. I can go with SexyFlexy—that was my first email address [laughs]—my mom told me I could pick it, so I did!
Copy and pasting emails. There’s a lot of schools you’re interested in. We coaches get it. But you’ve got to make the effort to make sure you get it right. Make sure you’re not just copy and pasting. Do your homework and research—like: I saw that you beat Indiana in Bloomington, what a great start.
Give personal detail about the school you’re hoping to attend. The coach will notice that you’ve done your homework!
With copy and pasting, I understand but make sure you’re putting some personal information in.
What you put out on the Internet gets noticed
Going back to what you put on social media matters. I had a recruit from Illinois who was super excited [to go to Brown]. Her ex-boyfriend was mad at her [and] sent an email to my athletic director and me with an email of the athlete drinking at a party.
The crazy thing is it was a picture of her and her mom. That’s a mild thing that you might be putting out there [on social media]. There are athletes who have gotten into schools and then a video has surfaced of them saying the “N” word because they were repeating a song. All it takes is one person who is mad at you.
No matter how private your account is, if you put something out there that you don’t want your grandparents to see, then it should even be posted privately. Admissions departments look at the social media accounts of anyone that’s applying.
How you present yourself when no one’s looking is how you’re going to get into a school.
When coaches are on pool decks, as much as you think we’re watching you score goals, we’re [also] watching you come out and talking back to your coach. We’re watching you running in late to a game. We watch how you react to your teammates.
It’s only a matter of time where your character infects everything else. The further away you get from your parents, and the more you’re in control of your decisions… that stuff really matters.