Water polo’s Sharp shooter
Rising Jewish junior water polo player Matthew Sharp's success on the national stage continued late last month when he contributed strongly to his UNSW West Magpies team's bronze medal win.
RISING Jewish junior water polo player Matthew Sharp’s success on the national stage continued late last month when he contributed strongly to his UNSW West Magpies team’s bronze medal win at the 2017 National U18 Club Championships in Perth.
And he followed it up by attending a week-long Born in 2000 men’s national training camp.
The Year 11 Newington College student and current Maccabi NSW Jewish Junior Sportsman of the Year scored six goals in six games for the Magpies in their Championships campaign, including one in their bronze medal match victory against Sunshine Coast.
It capped off an amazing summer for the team, losing just two matches in six months and winning the NSW Metropolitan competition.
Sharp told The AJN he puts the team’s success down to “having played together for a while and that we are all great mates”.
“It helped us to gel as a team, and we had a good coach this year who focused on bringing everyone up to the same level, giving depth.
“The national training camp really highlighted the hard work required to be the best – it’s much harder than club or school training.
“The squad is working towards the 18s World Championships in 2018 in Hungary.”
Magpies coach Daniel Streets said “as a utility player, I can put Matthew in any position in the pool, from forward to centre back, and I know he will do the job for me.
“He is strong in all areas, he has good skills and he can read the game particularly well.”
Sharp will represent NSW later this month at the All Schools Water Polo Championships and his Born in 2000 national squad is planning for a European tour in August.
To top it off, Sharp will be playing water polo at the Maccabiah Games in Israel in July, but for team USA, due to Australia not fielding a team.
Sharp’s father was born in America, making him eligible to represent the Stars and Stripes.
SHANE DESIATNIK
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