Trading the diamond for the water

Tony Azevedo grew up playing a number of different sports.

Baseball, basketball, soccer were just a few.

It was an unlikely one that ended up changing his life.

AZEVEDO, NOW 36, recently retired from the sport of water polo after competing in five Olympic games for the United States, finishing with the silver medal in 2008.

“My dad (Ricardo) was a former Olympic coach,” said Tony, who was born in Brazil before moving to Long Beach, Calif., as a youth. “I remember watching practices as a kid and how much fun it looked. One day, I just chose water polo over baseball. I grew up playing a ton of different sports. One day, I just decided to focus on water polo, but I really enjoyed playing baseball and other sports.”

The U.S. finished with the silver in 2008 in Beijing.

“My favorite memories from the Olympics are walking through the opening ceremonies with the NBA players and knowing that there’s millions of people watching and supporting you and your country,” said Azevedo, who is in Coeur d’Alene this weekend to put on water polo clinics. “I’ll never forget those moments and listening to the anthem on the medal stand in 2008.”

In ’08, the U.S. beat Serbia 10-5 to advance to the gold medal match. Hungary beat the U.S. 14-10 in the final.

“We hadn’t beaten them (Serbia) in eight years and we absolutely crushed them,” said Azevedo, who played striker during his time in the sport. “Playing in that gold medal game against Hungary was amazing as well.”

Azevedo played on the national team from 2000 until his retirement in 2016.

“The sport hasn’t grown as much as it should have,” Azevedo said. “Now that some parents are getting kids out of football, the participation is growing a little. There’s more opportunities from other kids getting out of other sports. There’s not as many long-term injuries with water polo than football.”

The mental side is also key to the sport according to Azevedo.

“If you’re really successful at a team sport, you can be in this as well,” Azevedo said. “It’s the toughest sport in the world. You’ve got to work hard, using your hips and staying above water. You’ve got to work as a team and learn to shoot properly, as well as moving your legs in the water. You’ll see that a lot of successful people in the world have played water polo.”

And as far as the extra kicking under water to gain an advantage?

“There’s a lot of that going on, but it’s part of the sport,” Azevedo said. “You can accidentally kick someone and create an advantage. But the more you train, the better you are at avoiding that. The more you practice and get better, the more successful you’ll be and won’t get hit as much.”

AZEVEDO WILL be at the Kroc Center today and tomorrow for clinics on the sport.

Today’s clinic will focus for players from age 11-15 and Sunday will be for players 16-20.

“We’re really focusing on growing the sport and creating opportunities for others to learn and play,” Azevedo said. “We’re just trying to make it a little more fun for kids.”

“Our local players are obviously very excited to work with and learn from one of the best players in the sport,” said Mark Collingham, coach of the Coeur d’Alene water polo club team. “We’ve got players from other areas coming in to take part in this.”

Clinics begin today at 10 a.m. and Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.