In the Hillingdon Penguin junior water polo section of the Club we are fortunate to have some amazing children and supportive families.
Here we tell you about three players in particular who have shone over the past year and gained awards. And this is the time of year where we say good bye to a group of older players as they leave to go to university.
Bailey Sapsed winner of the Jack Petchey Award for November 2020
In the words of coach Shaun Hill, ‘Bailey has been training with Hillingdon Penguins for three years and in this time I have seen him go from a good swimmer and transform into a great player. Bailey plays and trains with pure passion, he has a real love for the sport. I have yet to hear Bailey complain at training in all the years he’s been at the Club. Bailey has amazing attributes which make him a key team member, his determination will ensure he performs to his fullest until the last whistle of a match and while determined, he is humble, always ready to absorb information from coaches and peers. I feel honoured to have a player of Bailey’s character in the Club.’
Dan Usher winner of the Jack Petchey Award for March 2021
Dan has been a Penguin for five years. During this time his water polo and overall fitness level has improved hugely. He is a regular and popular participant. During lockdown his fitness regime was impressive, he even persuaded his family to join in the strength and conditioning too over Zoom. Recently he has blossomed as a player. Loyal and charismatic, he’s now a versatile athlete able to play in any position.
Ukendar Vadivel winner of the Jack Petchey Award for June 2021
Ukendar loves playing water polo and his favourite position is in goal. He is universally adored. Always friendly and relaxed but puts the max into this sport. When asked after a session, how it was he will reply ‘Excellent!’ with a big grin. Leaving us to go to university he is irreplacable, both in attitude and skill, and he will be missed for all the right reasons. Good luck Ukendar – Imperial College’s gain is our loss. We hope you will continue to play at uni, but you will always be part of the Hillingdon Penguin family.
Moving On
Good luck to all the Hillingdon players leaving us to go to university: Ukendar, Molly, Sarah, Anderson and Leah. We will miss you hugely. You’ve all been a tremendous support and inspiration to the younger players. Have an amazing time, come back and play in our end of term fun tournament and tell us about all your new experiences. We know you will be hoping to join water polo clubs at university and we will be following social media to see how you get on.
We are grateful to the Jack Petchey Foundation for their continuing support and in allowing us to make these awards which are an excellent way of encouraging the players to progress and improve.
