FEATURE ARTICLE
April 20, 2012
The
Updated Mission
By Aaron
Brown
The goal of illpolo.com has and always will be
to recognize the GREAT athletes who participate in this GREAT sport of
water polo. And, of course, to provide information about this GREAT sport.
Now that I have your attention, judging from the recent page view
statistics, I would like to reiterate the mission of this site.
Now...go back and read the last brief
paragraph. There is the mission. Ten years ago I felt like water polo was
not getting the credit it deserved. I was new coach fresh out of college
and couldn't figure out who was playing who, where, and when and thought
that there should be a place where someone in McHenry could hear about
what someone at Homewood-Flossmoor accomplished during the season and vice
versa. I also simply wanted to know what schools had water polo teams and
what was happening each night. I couldn't find that information anywhere.
I didn't care what football team had three players getting recruited by
colleges or that some basketball team was one win away from winning their
conference. That was all the newspapers were telling me.
I wanted a water polo player who scored the
game-winning goal in a big rivalry game or a girl who scored her first
Varsity goal to be able to walk with their head held a little bit higher
because people interested in the sport heard about what that player
accomplished. To see their name in print and to let that specific player
know that people truly appreciated those accomplishments.
I'm not a journalist. I'm not a coach anymore.
I don't even work at a school that provides the GREAT sport of water polo.
Instead, my goal has become and will always be to hype up the sport that
we all know deserves a lot more credit than it receives. To do so, I am
asking for your help.
In the next five weeks, there will be 2,350
players (I roughly counted) that suit up for their teams as they gear up
for the postseason, then go full-steam ahead into said postseason doing
their best to support their teams. They need to be recognized. They
deserve to be after all of the time, effort, and energy they have put into
this sport.
So how can you help? If you see a score
missing...send it. If you see a great performance...tell me about it. If
you think someone who deserves recognition has gone unnoticed...let me
know. Do whatever you can to help recognize the boys and girls who put
their heart and soul into water polo feel like they are being rewarded for
their accomplishments.
The illpolo.com web site is nearing a
monumental one million page views for the 2012 season. That's 1,000,000
(because it looks better that way). That is for a season that started in
March and is just passing the mid-April mark. People are checking and
reading. Not just from Illinois but from states like California, Florida,
Indiana, Massachusetts, Texas, and Utah. Countries like Afghanistan,
Germany, and Hungary.
Do whatever you can to help water polo continue to grow
and prosper.
Here are some ways you can send information or help as
the season approaches its' most important stage:
E-mail:
illpolo2012@gmail.com
Text: (847) 331-6520
Tweet: @illpolo
Contact:
http://www.illpolo.com/contacts12.htm
Donations:
http://www.illpolo.com/donations12.htm
