Men’s water polo aims to build team trust with fresh faces, returners alike

Having a skilled team does not always lead to immediate success.

For No. 2 UCLA men’s water polo (2-2), building trust and work ethic is critical to success this season, according to coach Adam Wright.

After a mixed weekend for the Bruins – two losses Saturday and two wins Sunday – UCLA is looking to develop not only its skills in the pool but also a strong foundation of character.

Wright said a missing aspect in recent teams is collective team trust, which, he claims, can be the key factor to team success. He said this year’s team has built that trust more than past teams.

“They’re really starting to develop organically as a real group where they’re building trust in each other,” Wright said. “That’s something that we’ve been lacking the past couple of years…. You need the whole team to trust each person and the trust that’s being built – it’s something special in team sports. You have got to have that if you want to have a chance to be the best and be successful.”

For both returning and incoming players, the weekend round-robin marked the first time in more than a year since they last competed. Although their season is shorter than usual, it brings the players some normalcy to compete again.

With 11 new players joining the team this season and 25 of the 30 players being underclassmen, the team has a chance to create a new dynamic and rebuild the team identity, according to Wright.

Sophomore center Gabe Discipulo – who scored a total of four times over the weekend – said Wright leads by example, never requiring more of his players than he can give himself.

“(Wright) brings a really unique and intense work ethic that he also demands from his players,” Discipulo said. “The way I view it is that he doesn’t ask us to put forth more effort than he does himself, but he works nonstop for the better of the team, and I think that provides him and all the staff a good example for us to follow as a group.”

After not competing for so long, and months of practice, sophomore goalkeeper Bernardo Maurizi said this past weekend allowed the Bruins to implement what they’ve been working on while having fun.

“We’ve been training really good in (the last) three-plus months,” Maurizi said. “We just had to show in a game what we have been doing constantly every single game, every single day in practice. … (This last weekend) was just about having fun, first of all, and doing what we’re capable of doing.”

In the two games UCLA won, there were a total of eight different Bruins who scored, a reflection of Wright’s culture and team mindset.

Wright said while his team is young, the character of the group stands out and he believes they have what it takes to win a national championship.

“We really believe the young guys that we’ve brought in this team are the kids that we’re looking to bring into our program from a work ethic to a character standpoint,” Wright said. “They’ve demonstrated that they want to do everything they can to be the best.”

Sophomore attacker Tommy Gruwell – the team’s leading scorer – said Wright does everything he can to help the team and praised the three-time Olympian.

“(Wright) works harder than anybody in UCLA Athletics for sure, hands down. He cares so much about the program, UCLA (and) the team that it’s something we all look up to,” Gruwell said. “He cares so much for us that when he’s hard on us, it makes sense. No one doesn’t want to be here. We all want to be here for him and for each other. He creates the best culture. It’s fun to play – it’s hard – but it’s fun to play for him. I think he’s the best coach in the country by a long shot. It’s great having (Wright) on your side, on your bench and ready to go to war for you.”