Given the relative infancy of Water Polo being an official UIL sport, many are unfamiliar with the trials and tribulations of the sport.
Not only is there a physical toll, with players being required to tread water for the entirety of the match, but there is a mental aspect which Travis senior Jack Woodruff is all too familiar with.
“Water polo requires a lot of mental toughness,” he said. “But, you tend to realize that this is what you’ve prepared for and you put your mind to it. The game takes plenty of teamwork and communication to succeed, which goes with any team sport.”
Swimming has come naturally to Woodruff, dating back to his days in club swimming. However, he and his teammates had to pick up water polo on the fly when the program first started his junior year.
“We started scrimmaging to get familiar with the sport, when the UIL first recognized it,” Woodruff said. “It was new for all of us… the coach, the team and me, especially. Learning everything was quite a challenge, but I learned to love the game and have taken off since then.”
So, what serves as Woodruff’s inspiration when it comes to his athletic career?
“It’s been two people – my Dad and my club swim coach,” said Woodruff. “My Dad has been teaching me about sports my whole life, starting as a kid when we’d play football in the living room much to my Mom’s dismay. He’s been my biggest supporter when I’ve gone through some mental blocks. In regards to my swim coach, she helped me to fall back in love with the sport and convinced me to do it throughout the rest of high school.”
Woodruff will be in the pool for the majority of his senior year, considering he will compete on the water polo team in the Fall and the swim team in the Winter.
However, this will be the final year he does so, as he pursues another passion of his at the university he hopes to attend – Texas A&M.
“I’m a member of the school’s FFA program,” he said. “I actually have two steers, right now – one will be going to the Fort Bend County Fair and the other I will be entering into the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. That’s part of the reason I want to go to A&M. I’m very interested in animals and agriculture, so I can easily see myself doing something on that route. I would also potentially like to become a teacher or coach down the line.”
Before he ironically commits himself to the land, expect Woodruff to give it his all this year, which will mark his swan-song season in the pool.