The sounds of splashing combined with thuds as balls strike the water could be concerning were it not for the immediate eruption of laughter from children who are learning basic water polo skills.
It’s a sound very familiar to Alex Giorgetti, founder of the nonprofit Giorgetti Athletics, who recently brought his world-class experience and passion for water polo to Vero Beach.
Giorgetti brings an impressive resume, having earned a silver team medal playing for Italy in the 2012 Olympics, and a gold team medal and “Best Player” award in the 2011 World Championships. His impressive athletic experience is backed by a master’s degree in disability and inclusion, informing his approach to coaching young athletes.
Giorgetti recalls that his love of water sports began like that of many European children.
“The parent pushes you in the water; there is no excuse, you cry. But after, you have fun and you start to do something in the water,” he recalls with a laugh.
“My mom is Hungarian, and in Hungary, water polo is like soccer for Brazil. It’s the main sport.”
Drawn to the team-oriented dynamics of the sport, he joined a team with his twin brother.
“Water polo is fun. You can throw the ball, play with your teammates, and talk with them. It’s a team sport, so you are not alone,” Giorgetti explains, adding that the friendships made are long-lasting.
He describes water polo as physically demanding, requiring a unique combination of swimming, soccer and wrestling. Players need to be good swimmers before they can learn water polo techniques and body positions and, once learned, the sport creates extremely strong and capable swimmers.
“It’s a good life skill. When you are used to someone bringing you underwater for two minutes in a game, you are used to it if you go in the ocean and something happens. You can save your friend’s life,” explains Giorgetti.
That focus on water safety is a cornerstone of Giorgetti Athletics, whose mission is a deeply personal one for co-founder and principal Schumetta McLendon.
“I read the stat that 64 percent of Black children in the U.S. don’t know how to swim and are five times more likely to drown. That hit home for me because I’m that stat. Neither of my parents can swim,” says McLendon, a Vero Beach native.
“I almost drowned when I was 8 years old at the beach here,” she shares.
Under Giorgetti’s patient coaching at the Leisure Square pool, she learned to overcome her deep-seated fear of the water.
“One thing that water polo does is make you a really strong swimmer. You can take swimming lessons, like I did, but I was still a terrible swimmer. When these kids are playing water polo, they’re basically wrestling in the water,” says McLendon.
Referencing one particular student she has observed, she says he now comes to practice early to train, his physique has strengthened and transformed, and he shows increased self-confidence.
While still in the early stages of fundraising, Giorgetti Athletics is already making a splash with swimming lessons for students from kindergarten to college. The nonprofit is dedicated to introducing water safety classes to underserved communities, as well as providing student athletes with elite water polo training and cross-training.
During the summer, they have been hosting weeklong camps for all skill levels, from absolute beginners to advanced and ready to dive into the deep end.
Beginners can participate in their non-competitive Fun Community Programs on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at Leisure Square, which feature an introduction to water polo and a swim technique class. Although there is currently a fee, scholarships are available.
Giorgetti is candid about the challenges of starting a niche sports program in a small town.
“It takes time to build,” he acknowledges. “To make it happen, you have to have the connection and the collaboration from everybody; the city, the county, the schools, the parents.”
Their ambitious long-term vision is to build a competitive water polo club that will serve as a hub for the entire East Coast of Florida, creating opportunities for swimmers to earn university scholarships or even play professionally.
The nonprofit is actively seeking corporate sponsorships and partnerships with community groups so that they may offer scholarships and free programming to children from underserved communities who might not otherwise have access.
“Our goal and our intentions are good,” Giorgetti says, “but we don’t have the financial power right now to do it every day for free. We are looking for the support of the community in order to provide for them.”
He believes the key is to collaborate with existing swim programs, so that water polo can be seen as a complementary activity that will keep children engaged in aquatics.
“The best aquatic clubs in America work because they collaborate. If a kid is swimming and finds that it’s boring, he’s going to leave swimming anyway. Let’s divert them to water polo. It should be about what you can provide for the kid,” Giorgetti explains.
Giorgetti is looking to share the sport that took him to the pinnacle of athletic achievement with swimmers, beginner or advanced, who are ready to dive in. His hope is that in a town surrounded by water, more families will see the value in a program that teaches skills that will reach far beyond the pool deck.
For more information, visit GiorgettiAthletics.com.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
