Water Polo

What Water Polo is

• School water polo with pool practices, games and FHSAA play where the school competes.
• Boys and girls usually have separate lineups; they may share pool time and coaching staff.
• Swimming fitness helps, but water polo is its own sport with its own tryout.

What Water Polo is not

• Not the same as the fall swim team (separate leaf and season).
• Not recreational pool games.
• Not offered at every OCPS high school — pool access drives availability.

Who runs it

A school coach runs the team (sometimes the swim coach doubles). The athletic director owns clearance. FHSAA spring State Series covers boys and girls water polo.

Season and calendar

Spring. Tryouts often land in January (Timber Creek has publicly posted January water polo tryouts). Confirm pool site and practice times.

How kids get on Water Polo

• Ask the athletic director when tryouts are — dates vary by school and season.
• Finish athletic clearance before the first tryout or practice. High school athletes typically need a current FHSAA EL2 physical (valid about 365 days from the exam), parent permissions, and the school's online clearance upload.
• Many OCPS high schools also require an ECG once in high school, plus yearly NFHS Learn courses (concussion, heat illness, sudden cardiac arrest, sportsmanship). Exact checklists live on the school's athletics page.
• Ask about participation fees, spirit packs, travel and booster dues before you commit.
• No clearance, no tryout — most schools hold students out until paperwork is approved.
• Ask whether the school fields boys water polo, girls water polo, or both.
• Ask where the team trains and how athletes get there.
• Middle school water polo is not part of the usual OCPS middle school athletics set — confirm locally.

Club water polo exists in some metro areas as a separate path. See Public activities when relevant. Club play does not replace school clearance.

A school coach and the athletic director run the program. Not every OCPS school offers this, and availability changes year to year — confirm at your child's school before you plan around it.

Who coaches this at your child's school is a school question. Ask the athletic director or the front office. OCPS Insider does not keep a live coach or roster list and cannot tell you who the coach is, when tryouts are, or who made the team. Please do not email us for coach contact, tryout dates, or rosters.

Questions to ask the school

1. Is water polo offered for boys, girls, or both this year?
2. When are tryouts, and what clearance is required?
3. Where do you practice, and is transportation provided?
4. What do caps, suits and fees cost?
5. What is the game and travel schedule?

Schools we have seen list Water Polo

This list is incomplete on purpose and is not a directory. We only list what we have actually seen a school publish, so a school missing here may still field the sport — and a school listed here can drop it.

Schools that have publicly listed water polo include West Orange High School (boys and girls), Horizon High School (boys listed on its athletics roster of sports), Timber Creek High School (tryouts and spring schedules) and Boone High School (boys and girls). Browse school athletics pages or tell us what your school offers.