Water polo may not be the first thing which comes to mind when thinking Dubbo sport but more and more people are getting the opportunity to try it out.
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Dubbo’s own Sam McGregor, one of Australia’s greats who contested three Olympic Games and captained the Australian Stingers at London 2012, is helping the Dubbo Water Polo Club grow and on Tuesday he helped give a whole host of youngsters their introduction to the sport.
McGregor, along with fellow Olympian Richie Campbell and a number of Water Polo NSW coaches, helped run a Macquarie Clinic for aspiring players.
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The clinic was held in conjunction with the Water Polo NSW Girls Under 14 State Championships, which is being contested at the Dubbo Aquatic Leisure Centre this week.
McGregor has been based at Dubbo throughout much of his career and now he heads the Dubbo Water Polo Association, which is about to embark on its second year since formation.
“Before the clinic started I asked who had never played water polo before and about 25 hands went up so it’s an awesome opportunity for them to come along and learn something a bit different,” McGregor said.
“We’ve got a really good swimming background here in the Dubbo region so to have another sport in the water is great.
“To have a whole lot of kids come down and try it out for free and get exposure to some great coaches … it gives them the confidence to give it a go.”
The Dubbo club worked on skills this year and no proper matches were held but now with three under 13s side and four opens sides matches are being played locally each week.
At Tuesday’s clinic, McGregor, Campbell and the coaches provided all those in attendance with plenty of handy tips on both land and in the water.
The Dubbo star was delighted to pass on some of the things he learned throughout his career.
“It’s been a great opportunity for me to give back to a sport which was very good to me,” McGregor said.
“I had a lot of awesome opportunities through the sport and this also makes me really appreciate the years I was playing.
“I would just turn up and play there was work in the background I never had to do so it’s great to see the other side and it makes me go back and thank some of my old coaches and managers because they put in a lot of time and effort.”