Agreeing to coach the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team

After a week of Leilani and I discussing and praying about the opportunity that Rohullah Marouf, the Swim Chair at the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee, presented us with, Leilani and I agreed that we would proceed. I asked Reshad to arrange a meeting with Rohullah so we can discuss this. I did not tell Reshad what my answer was as I was going to make sure that everything was in place with the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee before I started advertising this project.

Once the meeting was set, I told Abdul Kholic what our plan was and he offered to provide the armed escort. He was very excited about this as he hoped that I would say yes to the opportunity presented to me. He, just like many others, think that this is such a great honor. I do not think they realize the vast responsibility that is associated with this. We are starting this from scratch, to include the fact that there is absolutely no funding. Upon Abdul Kholic's question of what my answer would be, I told him he would have to wait until after the meeting. I am sure that he was confident that he knew the answer because all of a sudden he was in a good mood, after a week of him being irritated with me and trying to convince me to do this.

We went to the Ministry of Defense on our way to meet with Rohullah to take care of some administration issues. While there, we met with a Afghan National Army General about these administrative topics. While speaking with him, the General brought up to us how proud he was of the 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team and he wanted to wish success for me leading the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team. When I asked Reshad how he found out, he said that they did not say anything and that there are no secrets in Afghanistan.

The meeting with Rohullah was quick and full of energy and excitement. I told Rohullah what our answer was and we got straight down to business. I told Rohullah what my plan was to train the team, bringing them outside of Afghanistan, and he explained all of the roadblocks, primarily the issues concerning nepotism and pockets with holes in them. The nepotism issue I definitely think we can work but the hole in the pockets is difficult as it cuts out potential funding opportunities from the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Olympic Committee.

Rohullah promised me that he will get me a letter saying that Afghanistan Water Polo is official and I am going to be the coach, so I have source documents to show people about the validity of our program, if needed.

With Rohullah, Reshad, and Abdul Kholic very excited, we departed from Rohullah's office and went back to the 201st Commando Kandak. On the drive back, all that was in my mind about how there is so much planning and work to do. First on my list, is to set up a meeting with the selected athletes for the national team, to include the alternates.

Afghanistan National Water Polo Becomes Official

Since the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team tryouts have ended, I have only heard from Rohullah, the Swim Chair at the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee once. This was at the national swim competition a few days ago. Reshad and I were trying to get a hold of him but he was not answering his phone or email. Reshad finally got a hold of him last night and when he came to work today, he told me, in front of the S-1 Officer, that we would be meeting with Rohullah.

Since I knew that the S-1 Officer would insist on the armed escort, I thought that we could kill two birds with one stone. The S-1 Officer and I were talking about taking a trip to Darul Aman to recruit graduating soldiers, from the Afghan National Army boot camp, to fill some shortfalls in the 201st Commando Kandak. It was a perfect opportunity to go to Darul Aman today.

Abdul Kholic, the S-1 Officer, agreed that today would be a great day to go as the Commando Kandak was already paid and all of the pay reports, that show that every Commando was paid, were already submitted. This saved me from having to sneak out without an armed escort and leaving Abdul Kholic feeling like I did not want to listen to a very respected man, full of wisdom, about how a "well known and important American" needs to remain protected and safe.

Abdul Kholic quickly coordinated a three vehicle convoy, two pickup trucks with mounted weapons and a 7-ton truck to carry all of the soldiers we were planning on bringing back, and about ten Commandos as drivers and to man the crew served weapons and protect the convoy.

Knowing how the Commandos drive, how much traffic there is, and that most of the people on the road are first time drivers, I opted to ride with Abdul Kholic. I have been a passenger in his vehicle on many trips before and he is a very defensive and proactive driver. I think that he would do quite well driving in California, the Republic of Korea, or other places around the world that have unpredictable drivers.

The drive to Rohullah's office was quick and uneventful as there was not a lot of traffic. We arrived early at Rohullah's office, but he was not there yet. His assistant said that he was meeting with the President of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee about some swim matters. His assistant quickly ushered Abdul Kholic, Reshad, and I into Rohullah's office and had tea and some pastries made for us. He also had someone bring tea and pastries out for all of the Commandos who were waiting by the vehicles. Hospitality is so wonderful in Afghanistan!

When Rohullah arrived, he quickly came into the office and was very excited to meet with us. After the introduction of Abdul Kholic and Rohullah and listening to the two of them speak for a while, we all started speaking about current events, the upcoming presidential election in the United States, the weather, and the success of the national swim competition. Rohullah was very optimistic about the results of the swim competition, which was the first ever swim meet in Afghanistan, especially when "the expert", believe me, I am no expert, agreed that it was a well run competition with great results. I think my encouragement about how well the swim meet went made his day.

Rohullah quickly cut to the chase and said that he appreciated my help with teaching aquatics sports to the people of his country and for helping him strengthen aquatics in Afghanistan. He reviewed the strategic plan of a proposed national program over the past week and read the list of athletes that were recommended for the national team. He was even approving of my recommendations for coaches for the national team. He profusely thanked me for my hard work and dedication and hoped that this would be the beginnings of something great for Afghanistan.

Rohullah started telling me that hopefully they will be able to continue the program in the future because things are very tough as he receives no money from the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee for the national swim program. He said "God willing" they will be able to do something in the future with the team. This was a little disappointing as it seemed that Rohullah was not focused on taking on this program. Seeing my disappointment, Reshad and Abdul Kholic started telling him how great a national water polo program, with Afghans from Afghanistan, would be for the country. That Afghanistan needed this.

After about ten minutes of me not being able to get a word in edgewise because of the heated discussion between Rohullah, Reshad, and Abdul Kholic, about the future of the potential Afghanistan National Water Polo Team, Rohullah stopped the discussion and asked Reshad a question for me. The question was simple, "What were my thoughts?" My response was simple, to tell the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee to create a national water polo program, based off of the plan we worked so hard to make. Upon hearing my response, he asked Reshad "Will I help them?" I answered "I wanted to continue to support them in the development of a national water polo program."

During Rohullah's recent meeting with the President of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee, Rohullah was discussing the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee's thought process on their budgeting or lack thereof and the lack of support to the national swim program. The president, not wanting to be questioned about his direction, started asking Rohullah about the progression of water polo. By the end of their meeting, Rohullah did not get any swim questions answered but came back with the approval to officially start a national water polo program. Rohullah knowing this, did not share his excitement about this when we first started talking today, but it still made me happy.

Rohullah also wanted to know if I would lead the program. I was touched by the notion that he would think of me that way. I told him that I would help them in developing the program and that I did not have the background to lead a national program. I explained that I was just a high school varsity water polo coach, a club swim coach, and previously ran some club water polo teams that were successful. I would help them find some quality coaches and help them in the development from the plan we created. I was also concerned about my availability between my job and how much longer I would actually be in Afghanistan. I did not want to commit to something that I could not follow through on. I did not want to be like the "old story" that I was just another westerner or American who promised something and did not follow through. I did not have any of the skills needed to start, develop, and fundraise for a national sports program and its national team, other than interest and my recent focus of starting the team at Pol-e-Charki and organizing the national team tryouts. I told him that I would speak with Leilani and we would pray and discuss about it. I would give him an answer in a few days.

Since we had to get to Darul Aman, we had to finish our meeting. Rohullah was hoping for us to stay longer and for an answer, but I told him it will come soon.

Our trip to Darul Aman was very interesting. Between us almost getting in 50 accidents and Abdul Kholic's sole focus on why I would not coach the team, it was a pretty stressful ride. It was amazing to see how a big 7-ton truck can maneuver through traffic. We survived the ride there but Abdul Kholic was not done asking why I was not willing to help. I tried ten different ways to explain it to him that I did not say no, I just needed to think about it, discuss it with Leilani, and look at the feasibility of it. Could this be something that could really be put together? If I were to take this program on, the team could not train two-three months out of the year. We would have to get them out of Afghanistan and into a first world country to train the team. I tried explaining this Abdul Kholic, through Reshad, that there was a lot to think about. Abdul Kholic was still not happy and felt that I did not care about Afghanistan.

Towards the entrance of the base at Darul Aman, there was a palace from a former king of Afghanistan. Even though it was almost completely destroyed, you could see the beauty and could imagine how it once looked. I tried asking Abdul Kholic about it, but he was frustrated with me. Reshad tried giving me a little history about the palace.

The graduation ceremony at Darul Aman was very quaint. It was on a dirt track, the graduating platoons did a pass in review, there were two band members who were just learning how to play their instruments, and it took seven minutes. Other than Reshad, the Commandos, and I, there were no other spectators. It was very different from a boot camp graduation ceremony in the United States, where the bleachers would be full of families and friends, a big military band participating, a pass in review where everyone is in step, a honor guard, a long speech from the commander and maybe a guest speaker, all of which could take between thirty minutes and an hour.

After the ceremony, Abdul Kholic went to the drill instructors and told them which soldiers he wanted. During the ceremony, he watched at how the soldiers marched and stood in formation. He also looked at how healthy and strong they looked. The drill instructors called the soldiers out of formation after Abdul Kholic would point them out. The soldiers then went to get their bags and jumped on the truck. It was a very quick process and the soldiers were not told where they were going or anything. It was an interesting evolution to watch and I wondered how the Afghan National Army would account for these individuals or what would happen when these soldiers did not show up at their new commands. I guess we will see how this works.

Even though Abdul Kholic was satisfied that we accomplished a big mission that he and I have been working for a long time, he was still mad at me and did not say much on the way back to Pol-e-Charki. We were still defying death and accidents by the miracle of us fitting in spaces half the size of the vehicles. With no regard for the newly recruited soldiers who were stuffed in the back of the 7-ton truck like sardines, they somehow made it back to Pol-e-Charki with no incident too.

The rest of the day was very quiet. Not much was said in the office. Hopefully, I will be able to talk about this with Leilani soon.

National Swim Competition and Dirty Pools

One day after the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team tryouts, I went back up to the pool to gather all of the suits and goggles from the supply room. Rohullah Marouf, the Swim Chair at the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee told me that there would be a national swim competition in a few days and he wanted the 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team to be there and if I could contact all of the athletes who tried out for the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team. As I walked up the long and steep hill and past the destroyed buildings, I noticed a lot of Afghan soldiers on the pool deck, enjoying themselves just like people would on a pool deck anywhere in the rest of the world. Soldiers were listing to music, sitting in chairs or on the ground, and jumping in the pool. There was lots of laughter and conversation that could be heard from afar.

Upon my arrival, after about 24 hours from my last visit to the pool, I saw a dirty pool. Not just a dirty pool, a dark pool where you could not see the bottom. It was not windy and there were no dust storms. The pool was a mixture between brown and black and I could not understand how people could be swimming, bathing, drinking, or washing clothes in that water. I ran down the hill, went to my room and got my camera, and then ran back all the way up the hill to take a photo. I took a picture because I knew that I could not effectively describe how the pool would look.

The national swim competition was at a pool near the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee office and is next door to Rohullah's office. The Commando's I mentor insisted that they drive me there and provide security for me. After many discussions with the S-1 and S-3 officers about the security that I did not need, they still insisted that I have it. They said that I was now a very important person for Afghanistan and that anytime I was to leave the base, I must have an armed escort. I laughed at the idea and explained, through Reshad's translation, that it is not up to me or anyone else when or where I die, I have been there many times before without an escort, and that I am not remotely important enough to have a driver and an armed escort. The idea was absurd.

On our way to the event, we dropped Reshad off by his house. He was thankful because it saved him a lot of time and the cost of sharing a taxi with many different people. Before we stopped, Reshad ensured that the Commandos (Yes, I was stuck with the escort) were aware of where the pool was and that if they got lost, I could only help them to a point. My driving time and known routes in Kabul was somewhat limited, my Dari skills and the Commandos' English speaking skills were incompatible, and I did not want to drive around the city, armed escort or not, and end up somewhere where I was in potential danger (My perception for danger has a high tolerance. Most situations are not dangerous for me). Even though the driver and I ended up disagreeing on directions once we were on the road again, we got there without getting lost and with no problems.

The swim competition was a lot of fun to watch. It was very reminiscent of the Pol-e-Charki Base swim competition and of the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team tryouts. Everyone was swimming their hearts out. There were athletes from many different areas of the country. Most of the athletes were novice swimmers, with the exception of the members of the national swim team, who were all there.

The event was very serious in nature, as all other organized sports events I have encountered here. The athletes on the 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team wanted to wear their water polo caps to the swim meet to show that they were professional athletes and representing their team (Even though I told them repeatedly that the water polo caps are not designed for swim competition). There were banners covering the fences, VIP seating area, podium complete with microphone and speakers, and seating areas for the general public. There was an opening ceremony, where Rohullah, someone else from the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee, and some other prominent individual spoke; the reading of the Qur’an; and singers.

There were about 50 swimmers who competed in 7 events; 50, 100, and 200 freestyle; 100 butterfly; 100 backstroke; 100 breaststroke; and 100 individual medley (IM). Some of the events they had several heats and other events only had a few athletes. The 50 freestyle had six heats but there were only two swimmers in the 100 butterfly. The two athletes, who swam the 100 IM, swam the strokes well but would have been disqualified in a sanctioned international meet.

Rohullah Nikpai (In the suit, in center of photo), who just returned from the Olympic Games in Beijing, with a bronze medal in hand (First Afghan to ever win a medal in the history of Afghanistan), even arrived to speak at the event. Even though he was late to the opening ceremony and had to speak in the middle of the event, it did not matter. Everyone was in awe once he stepped on the pool deck and it became very quiet in a short amount of time. Even the competitors in the water stopped swimming their event because he walked on the pool deck. He was a soft spoken individual who has the look of pride and determination in his eyes. Everyone wanted to be near him, in hope that touching him or being within a few feet of him would create the osmosis process, where they can take his accomplishments and morph them into something great that the individual who touched him can become. He spoke to the large crowd for a few minutes. At the end of the speech, there were deafening cheers that could be heard all of the way back to Beijing. He shook many hands and took many pictures. About an hour after arriving, he finally was allowed to leave the pool deck and walk out to the street. I would have to imagine that it took him another 30 minutes to walk the 100 yards from the pool to his vehicle before he was able to leave as well.

A few minutes after his final departure, this swim competition finally resumed.

The 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team athletes did very well. They placed highly in all of the events, with the exception of the butterfly and individual medley. They even won a few of the events. It was nice to see that they were competitive but I hope in future years that the times in the "national championships" will be a little faster.

With Ramadan coming up and cooler weather around the corner, this will be the end of aquatic sports for the year. Hopefully next year will have more citizens of this country participating in sports that involve a pool.

Combat Missions and Mud Storms

The Afghanistan National Water Polo Team tryouts definitely did not go as planned today. The 201st Corps of the Afghan National Army, which resides on the Pol-e-Charki Base, was deployed on a mission to fight the Taliban (Which are called the “enemy of Afghanistan” by all Afghans I encounter). It was a hectic day, trying to get the 201st Commando Kandak (Batallion), that I mentor, out the door for the mission.

With no Afghan soldiers or commandos attending today’s tryouts, it will be difficult to remain objective and will seem unfair to the “civilians” trying out. What if a civilian does not make the team but one of the soldiers do make the team? The “civilian” will complain that the tryouts are unfair and that the soldier was not even there to tryout. We will just have to see how the rest of the week works out. After yesterday's incident, who knows how this will come together.

What may be perceived as lucky for someone, it was unlucky for us with the tryouts. The Pol-e-Charki Base Commander, will not let any of the civilians on the base today because of security concerns. At first it was implied to me that he just did not want to go through the security screenings like yesterday but when I went with Reshad to speak with him, he told us that he was not allowing any visitors to the base because of security reasons. That sounds fair to me, he has to protect all personnel on the base. The Base Commander also offered us to stay and have tea. Because of my track record in the past with him (Of not staying to drink tea. Maybe that has been the reason why he has been not letting civilians onto the base), I quickly thanked him for the offer and we sat down with him and drank tea.

Even if there were no missions for the Afghan National Army, the potential of the other athletes feeling that it is unfair that the soldiers did not tryout and their expectations of having better placement on the team, and that the Base Commander did not let the civilians on the base, the tryouts would not have even commenced. At about 2:30 PM, a wicked dust storm came out of nowhere. It was no ordinary dust storm, I would venture to call it a mud storm. It started with a lot of wind and the clouds started moving in. Then it started to hail heavily, with pieces of hailstones ranging in size from small specs to pieces the size of a child’s hand clenched in a fist. As the hail was pelting down, I was getting stung on all areas of my body by these hailstones. The hail soon turned to rain. A few seconds after, dust started flying everywhere. This dust mingled with the rain and mud, the size of raindrops, started falling everywhere, to include all over my body as I was walking, and now running, from the Commando Kandak S-1 to the Special Forces compound where I lived. The distance of these two points is only about 300-400 yards. That is how quickly the storm went from nothing to mud. My arms and head had some red marks afterwards from the hail, I was filthy from the mud rain, and in about five minutes time, it started to flood all over the base. Huge puddles filled level areas, and the river bed that runs dry through the base this time of year was halfway filled with rushing water. It was at least seven or eight feet deep in such a short amount of time. It has been raining all evening and it does not look like it will let up soon.

I hope that any and all of these issues do not happen again this week. Since Ramadan starts next week, and pools are not open from that time until next summer, it will not be good if we cannot complete the national team tryouts. Even though we are looking for those who are fast and strong, we are especially looking for those who will be great teammates, have the desire to do something great for their country, and those we feel will be able to pick up the fundamentals of the sport with ease and be able to continue building themselves as individuals and as a team.

We will see where tomorrow leads us.

Pol-e-Charki Base Commander Says “No”

I spent all day today, just like yesterday, making sure that everything in place to ensure a successful national team tryout. The end result is that the day did not end in success.

The Pol-e-Charki Base Commander said that we did not follow procedures and all of the people who have to approve the request to let civilians onto the base were never notified. I asked Reshad if he was not translating correctly. He reaffirmed what the General said. I was very confused on why he changed his decision after the tryouts already started. He also stated that it will be the same way the rest of the week.

If that is the case, the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team tryouts will not be completed. What are we supposed to do now? I will keep on the Base Commander to see if we can convince him to say yes for the rest of the week. Where is Steve Scott when you need him?

With the look of defeat on my face, Reshad started asking the Base Commander about other topics. I was mortified at the fact that Reshad was all of a sudden being so friendly with the General after he just put a stop to something that could be potentially great and that the General reversed what he promised earlier. If I promised something to him, he would expect it. The worst part of it was that Reshad told him that I wanted the answers to the questions he was asking (i.e. the weather, the progress of the football field, Ramadan). Reshad was then translating random comments to me, I would ask him for clarification of what he was saying, then Reshad would take my comments and formulate different questions that “I asked”.

Besides being defeated and confused, I was now furious at Reshad. After we walked out the door, he asked me if he could explain to me what happened. He then explained to me that in Afghanistan, walking 10 kilometers is sometimes shorter than running 1 kilometer. What kind of antidote is that? What does that even mean? He also said that the General really likes and respects me and to give it time. Time? What time? Pools in Afghanistan close in one week.

First Day of the National Team Tryouts

I went up to the pool this morning, at 7 AM, and the water was filling slowly. Using hand gestures and my extremely limited Dari skills, I asked the soldier who was in charge of the pool to add the hose that he was using to water all of the plants, to the pool. Hopefully this will get the water level to an acceptable level.

I then went to the Commando Kandak (Dari for Battalion) S-1 to see what Abdul Kholik, who is the Admin Officer, and his staff had planned for the day. I reviewed the daily tasks for S-1, that we spoke about the previous day, and made sure that he or the rest of the S-1 staff had no further questions about the tasks and were on track to completing them.

At 8 AM, I went down to the front gate of the Pol-e-Charki Base, to ensure that there would be no problems at the gate for people coming to tryout. There were already a dozen people waiting at the gate to start the entry process of getting a background check and a temporary pass.

I then proceeded to Camp Blackhorse, which is a US Forward Operation Base, which is located on the other side of the Pol-e-Charki Base from where I live and work to find Specialist (SPC) Jennifer Ocque, United States Army. Specialist Ocque works in the Public Affairs Office (PAO) at Camp Phoenix. Camp Phoenix is located near Kabul. She supposedly hitched a ride last night, or possibly this morning, to Camp Blackhorse so she could cover the event and send it to the media outlets. She was very excited for the opportunity (Who she heard about from her boyfriend, who was part of the New York Army National Guard unit that was at Camp Blackhorse) to write a story and take photos of something exciting and good that comes out of Afghanistan. It was not her regular story, writing about combat missions, change of command ceremonies, or about incoming or outgoing units. This was about a national event, where citizens from around the country would be attending, something aside from war.

I have no clue what she looked like or where she was. I looked around for some of the enlisted Guardsmen that may have known her and asked them. Luckily, I ran into some of the enlisted guys who went on the convoy to Camp Phoenix yesterday. They told me that she was not on the convoy back to Camp Blackhorse yesterday but she did tell them that she will be coming on today’s convoy. If you ever want to know what is going on, just ask a Private First Class (PFC) in the military, he will be able to tell you everything that is going on, plus all the gossip that you would ever need, and then some.

I went to the Dining Facility (DFAC) and grabbed some fruit for breakfast. As I was sitting there, one of the Regional Corps Advisory Command's (RCAC) linguists asked if I could answer a few questions for some of the Afghan workers on Camp Blackhorse. When I walked outside, the workers started asking me questions about the “water volleyball” tryouts they heard about from their families back home and how they could be part of the team. After trying to figure out how these workers heard about the tryouts, I then explained to them what time to be at the Pol-e-Charki pool. They of course then asked if anyone could tryout and if people from their village could come to the tryouts. My response to them was that as long as they came in enough time to go through the gate and make it to the pool, it would be great for them to come.

I then asked if they had any additional questions and then told them I had to go back to the Commando Kandak. The workers asked if I would stay and drink chai (Tea) with them. I politely declined, told them that I greatly appreciated the invitation, and that I must go.

On my way back to the Commando Kandak, I stopped off at the Base Commander’s office to thank him for his unit’s assistance and professionalism in this process. He was very excited about the opportunities that we are providing his soldiers and countrymen. He then asked me if I would join him for tea as well. I told him that I would love to but I had to get back to the Commando Kandak. He seemed disappointed that I would not stay. I felt bad about this because it always seems when he asks me, I say no most of the time. I do not to have tea with him soon.

Getting back to the Commando Kandak at 9 AM, I was already tired. All of the running around is tiring and I only slept a few hours last night. I needed to slow down and pace myself. Of course, I did not do that.

As I went to the pool, almost every hour, on the hour, I saw the water level rising at a decent rate. I was getting a little more confident that there would be enough water in the pool.

As lunch neared, Arif (Pictured left) and Sorab, from S-1, asked if I would join them for lunch. I agreed to their request, primarily I was too tired to go all of the way to Camp Blackhorse to eat. Arif and Sorab grabbed their spoons and we walked across the street to their dining facility. As always, we enjoyed our time eating together, creating bonds, and sharing stories. Mohammad Amin and a Commando from 3rd Company joined us for lunch as well. This lunch was a little bit different as all of the Commandos wanted to speak with me about the opportunity coming up in the afternoon. I did not want to be rude and not answer their questions, so for the better part of 30 minutes, Arif, Sorab, and I were answering all of their questions about the “swimming football” tryouts. The Commandos were so excited and were determined to make the team.

After lunch, and after taking another quick trip to the pool and the front gate, we went back to work and took care of some pay issues. After everything was on track for the afternoon, Abdul Kholik wanted to drink tea and talk. He invited Arif and Sorab (Pictured right) to join as well. Once Reshad came back from eating lunch, he joined us as well. We drank tea for the better part of an hour and mostly spoke about work and about the rug that I just bought for them for their office. He was so thankful and appreciative but said that the Commandan Kandak (Battalion Commander) was mad that the S-1 Officer had such a nice rug and that he was going to take it from him. Even though the rug did not cost that much (Only a couple of US Dollars), I bought Abdul Kholik the rug as a present. I told him that if the Commandan Kandak were to try and take it, to tell him that he needed to speak with me about it. We concluded with discussing the topic of the day, the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team tryouts. Abdul Kholik said it was a great day for Afghanistan and that it will help unify the country. I am glad that he believes this and I hope that this team, whever it may end up in the future, will accomplish this.

After we finished our work, and multiple trips to the pool, Reshad, Arif, Sorab, and I headed up to the pool for the tryouts. Reshad was there to help with translation and for whatever else he saw that I needed help with. Arif and Sorab were there, at Abdul Kholik’s order, to support me in whatever I needed for the national team tryouts. I had Arif and Sorab be in charge of registering all interested athletes, explaining to the athletes what the process for the tryouts would be, and wrote numbers (In English) on the athletes’ arms so I could identify them as they competed. Arif also conducted some interviews with a few aspiring athletes who were there. Arif would ask them their name, where they were from, and why they were there. The interviewees look very excited and I just wish I could understand what they are saying. I am sure that I will have Reshad translate these for me someday.

I am glad that Arif took these interviews and photos, otherwise there would not have been a record. SPC Ocque did not show up for the tryouts, but I am not worried since there are a few more days. Reshad, Sorab, and Arif did an outstanding job helping me. I was very thankful for what they did and they knew it.

The tryouts went very smoothly. The Base Commander’s staff did an excellent job with processing all of the civilians, provided transportation for them from the front gate all of the way to the pool, and even had a few guards there for our protection. The solder who is in charge of the pool made sure everything was ready and even set up a little desk for Arif and Sorab to use for registration.

From my estimation, hundreds of people showed for the tryouts and over 70 participated in the tryouts (Even though 120 registered). I personally believe that double the amount of people would have participated in the tryouts had they not seen how “fast” some of the people were. The first dozen people that tried out were from the Afghanistan National Swimming Federation, followed by many of the athletes from the 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team. Some of the people lost any confidence they had and decided not to try out. I had Reshad ask one civilian who was standing on the side of the pool why he was not going to try out. He said that everyone was too fast and that he had no chance. Reshad told him that everyone had a chance and that he should just do it. He unfortunately did not tryout out but did stay and watch. I understand the lack of confidence of some of these guys, never swimming in a pool before, never participating in an organized sport, and trying out for a sport they have never seen before. But they were still there to witness and be a part of it. Pretty exciting stuff.

It took about three hours to go set up, go through the tryouts, and tear down. I mostly had the participants swimming 25 yards of freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke, in waves of five athletes, as that is all I could effectively fit. I also had these waves tread water for a period of time to make sure they had some of the basic skills required. No water polo ball today, that will come later in the week.

To my surprise, and let me tell you, it was a surprise, I had to jump in and grab an athlete. Have you ever heard of someone having to jump in during a national team tryout for water polo or swimming to save someone? He was swimming 25 yards of freestyle. He started off fine, but he started struggling, and then could not make it to the wall. I tried to grab him from the edge, but when I realized he was out of my reach, I slid in the water and grabbed him. He then persisted that he get another chance and that he could do it. So I let him try again, this time next to the wall. Same result (Minus me having to get wet again). He tried to convince me again and I then told him that he did a great thing for his family and village by trying out. But told him that he could not continue with this tryout because I was concerned for his safety. Arif stepped in and said he would take care of it. Unfortunately (Not for me), the other swimmers who swam their hearts out to get the best time and that were in the same heat (wave) as the participant who struggled, had to re-swim their length because I did not see how they performed. They were tired and wanted more of a break. I told them no and that they had to prepare for the next length.

Even after the tryouts were over, people just stayed and talked and were hoping that I would provide insight to who made the team. I told them that they had to keep on coming and that I would provide that answer after the tryouts ended. After all of this, Reshad, Arif, Sorab, and myself walked back down the hill, Arif could not stop talking about how exciting it was.

It was exciting. I am glad that everything worked out today and will pray that it will all work out for the rest of the week. I am starting to wonder though, with all the people who came to tryout, some from 8 hours away by taxi or jingle truck, where are those that do not live local going to stay this week? What are they going to eat? It is not like there is a hotel down the block or even a restaurant. Even if there was, where would they find the money? This is just completely different than what you would find in the United States or the rest of the western world. Hopefully, I will see them all tomorrow and that the rest of the week will be a success, for those who are trying out and for the soon to be formed Afghanistan National Water Polo Team.

The First Ever Afghanistan National Water Polo Team Tryouts

We are almost set for the first ever Afghanistan National Water Polo Team tryouts. It should be an exciting week. Hopefully there will be enough water in the pool and the Pol-e-Charki Base Commander will come through and let those who want to tryout for the team, onto the base.

Yesterday morning, they emptied, cleaned, and started refilling the pool. It concerned me that they waited until the last possible minute to do this as I asked them to do it on Thursday. It takes a long time to fill the pool, at least 24 hours to get it to a decent level.

At lunch time, I went back to the pool. There was no one there, the water was not flowing into the pool, and the National Team tryouts were 26 hours away. I finally found the Afghan soldier who is in charge of the pool. Since Reshad, and no other Afghans who could translate for me, were there, with my extremely limited Dari skills and hand directions, I was able to effectively communicate that the pool needed to be filled. Without water, it would be quite difficult to host a water polo national team tryout.

National Team Tryouts, Nonprofit Organization, and the Media

With time running out to hold the national team tryouts, and no facilities to use, I had to convince the Pol-e-Charki Base Commander to use the facility for national team tryouts. This would be a touchy issue as I would not only be asking him to use the facility for something more than it is already used for, I would be asking him to let civilians come on to the base for a week, A very tall request for someone like me to ask.

As always, the Base Commander took the meeting with Reshad and I. And as always, there was a large group of soldiers and officers in his office. He was sternly giving his answers to those he was addressing in discussion. There were no seats for us to sit and once the Base Commander realized this, he quickly told two of the officers, that he was already sternly speaking to, to get out of the seats and go about their day. They quickly got up, and walked out of the office. As Reshad and I sat down, a soldier offered us tea. Of course, we said yes, as it would be rude to say no. As the Base Commander was going over other business with other soldiers and officers, the soldier who offered us tea carefully grabbed the two empty glasses of tea that the prior occupants of our seats had, filled each with a tiny bit of hot tea, swished the tea around for a few seconds, poured the spent tea in the corner of the office, then poured tea in each of the two cups. As the soldier was carrying the cups of tea to us, he also grabbed a small plate to put some candies on. As he set the candy and the cups of tea down, I could still see all of the smudges from the multiple and previous users of the cups. As with most other places, it was not a quality washing job, but I did not want to be rude and refuse to drink the tea. I stealthy positioned the cup so I would encounter the least amount of smudges as possible.

As the Base Commander finished his discussion with the Sergeant Major, he turned to Reshad and I and asked how his team was performing and what our plans were. We explained that the season would finish at the end of next week, on August 28th, right before Ramadan. He expressed his appreciation for teaching his soldiers how to swim and play “swimming football” and asked if there was anything else we needed to speak with him about. I then nudged Reshad to have him explain to the Base Commander what Reshad and I already rehearsed several times before taking the ATV over to his office. Reshad quickly explained to him that we wanted to host the first ever, Afghanistan Water Polo National Team tryouts, at the base pool. The Base Commander was intrigued by the opportunity and asked if all of the soldiers on the base could tryout. Reshad gave an affirmative reply and then told him that it would be open to all Afghans. I could then see him processing the information and immediately knew what his response would be. I quickly interjected and asked Reshad to explain to him that anyone who wanted to try out for the team would have to go through his security screenings, several hours before the first day of tryouts. I asked Reshad to tell that it would be a great honor, for the Pol-e-Charki Base to host these first national team tryouts and that if we had it on the base, as opposed to a pool in Kabul or other places, that there would be more of a chance for soldiers to make the team, since the pool is on the base and soldiers did not have to find a ride to anywhere else.

He said we could do it under the condition that everyone must go through a thorough background screening, that I would be responsible for them, and I would have to personally pick each person up from the gate. Before I launched my counter offer, which would have been a gripe, Reshad said let’s take it and that we would worry about the transportation later. Without questioning him, we agreed and went to shake the Commander’s hand and depart. After we shook hands, the Base Commander held on to my hand, and started speaking to the ten officers in the office. Rehad explained to me later that he was just telling the group what a great job that we were doing and that the officers in the base units were to ensure that all soldiers were allowed to attend the tryouts, if they so desired. As we left, I was relieved that we had a site for the tryouts, but worried that I would be responsible for everyone on the base.

With that hurdle completed, Reshad and I were able to convince Rohullah that we should have the tryouts at the base, otherwise we would not have a team, since time was running out before Ramadan. Rohullah finally agreed and said that he would spread the word. Reshad gave him specific instructions about the Pol-e-Charki Base Commander’s requirements, to make sure that anyone that wanted to tryout would have to show up at least two hours early.

I then tried to get some media exposure for the event. Rohullah said he would also try to get Afghan media there. I sent an email to dozens of organizations, to include Yahoo news, the Associated Press, NBC, New York Times, ESPN, Time, and military public affairs offices to try to get media outlets from the western world to see something good and fun coming out of Afghanistan. Other than automated responses, I only received one human reply. Tim Dahlberg, from the Associated Press responded by stating that “It looks very interesting, I'll pass it along to my editors.” I do not think that is an email that I will not receive a follow up on.

With all of this in motion, we really need to start getting our mindset into how to fundraise for this endeavor. This is pretty exciting stuff, but without big money, how are we going to train the national team that we are forming? The national team cannot train in Afghanistan more than a few months out of the year because of pool availability, weather, and religious fasting periods. The Afghanistan National Olympic Committee has no money, from what I am told. Starting a nonprofit organization will be the only way to make this happen. So much to think about.