This fall, managing the water polo program has been a one-man balancing act for head coach Michael Allegretti. With his leadership responsibilities stretching across the boys’ JV team and both the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams, he has been juggling games, practices and player development single handedly.
To lessen these demands, one alumni, Eli Tsives from the Class of 2023, returned to the pool as a volunteer assistant coach for the program in the weeks before heading back to college at UCLA.
Before starting school on Sept 22, Tsives was often seen on the pool deck during both the girls’ and boys’ water polo practices. He said he volunteered because he was driven by his passion for both the sport and the Saratoga team he once was a member of.
“I’ve always wanted to help out,” Tsives said. “I knew that I was going to come back and help out after I graduate, just because of how much water polo has done for me. I want to give back to the younger generation.”
Tsives, who is majoring in political science and Chinese, had the opportunity of starting school late into September because of UCLA’s quarter system, which starts and ends later than schools that use semesters.
While Tsives doesn’t play for the Bruins’ elite Division 1 team, he has stayed involved with the sport through the club water polo team. His team competes against other schools’ club teams.
Though the pandemic hit in the middle of his high school years, Tsives wasn’t stopped from being an avid player for all four years. Tsives took on the role of captain in his senior year, and had a successful season despite having only three seniors in the team.
Part of the reason Tsives cherishes the sport so much is that he says it changed him as a person. In order to balance water polo, academics and the fall play two out of his four years here, he honed his time management skills.
With a myriad of details and pressure points to constantly be aware of in the sport, water polo has trained Tsives to be a more calm individual during uncertain and difficult times.
Tsives hoped his daily sessions with the team could inspire the players, especially freshmen.
“My goal is to show the team that somebody is going to take time out of their own day — when they could be doing something else — to go and help volunteer for the love of the game and love of the team,” Tsives said.
Being a volunteer assistant coach helped Tsives grow, teaching him the value of patience, becoming more mature and gaining the ability to lead a group of high school boys.
“By being the volunteer coach, I discovered a new love,” Tsives said. “A love for not just the game as an athlete, but a love of instilling passion into players who never would have had a passion if it wasn’t for an inspirational coach.”
