Recording a 70 percent save rate in Andover Boys’ Water Polo’s game against St. John’s Prep, Thomas Glover ’18 has been the anchor of the Boys Water Polo Team since he started playing his Lower year as a goalie. Glover has proved to be a vital asset to the team by stopping countless shots on the net. Due to his teammates’ descriptions of his vision, strong passing, and shot blocking abilities, Glover has been titled The Phillipian’s Athlete of the Week.
How did you get involved in water polo?
I started playing water polo my lower year. Freshman year, my prefect took me to free swim and we played water polo. I just thought it was really fun and decided to try out with Nick Schoeller ’18 my Lower fall and we made the team. I had done Fall crew [Junior] year so I had been involved with water sports before.
What position do you play?
I play goalie. It is a lot different than goalie in other sports; I mean yeah you are trying to block the shots, but you are also similar to a quarterback in football in a sense. The goalie does a lot of passing and normally gets a fair amount of assists.
How did you start playing goalie?
My Lower year, my coach said that we needed a goalie and asked if anyone was willing to try it. I swam when I was younger, but I am not a particularly strong swimmer compared to all the guys who play water polo and are on the swim team. So I said sure because I thought it would basically be less swimming. I really liked it and it’s a lot of fun.
What do you enjoy most about the team environment?
The main thing I enjoy is that everyone is friends with each other on the team and loves spending time with one another. This makes water polo super fun to be a part of because we do so many team activities together.
What is one of the biggest
lessons you’ve learned from the team?
For me I had no idea that I would ever do water polo, and then I just decided to try out with Nick [Schoeller]. Just because of that decision I have had this great experience at Andover. So I would say that I’ve learned that trying new things often leads to good experiences.
What’s your pregame ritual?
I try to hype myself up a lot and get excited before each game. First, I take four scoops of pre-workout. Then I head to the bathroom and flex in front of the mirror. Then, I bang my chest three times and start to say encouraging things to myself. Usually it’s something like “you got this” or “you’re the man.”
What is your best memory from Andover water polo?
I don’t have a particular favorite memory, but in general we have team dinners every single night in Commons. I really love all the guys on the team so it is a really fun thing to do after practice ends.
Who has positively impacted your experience on the team?
I think that Nick Schoeller has had the biggest impact on me. When we started playing water polo we were both very weak swimmers, and we have been in the same lane every single day together since the first day. We are always a lot slower than everyone else, but we make it our goal to get everything done and we push each other to get better.
Since it is your Senior year, what are you going to miss most about the team?
I will really miss the practices every day and the games because they are just so much fun. I will also just miss water polo as a sport because it is a very niche sport and unless you have access to a pool and a bunch of people that are willing to play water polo, you can’t play.
Editor’s Note: Nicholas Schoeller ’18 is a Copy Editor for The Phillipian
