Our Upcoming Training Trip to Afghanistan

Afghanistan Water Polo has been in existence for over six years now.  A lot has been accomplished during this time, from teaching players how to play the game for the first time to having continuous training throughout the year, and the program continues to grow!

In January (2015), Scott Caruso, Bill Richardson, and I will head to Afghanistan to train the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team and local players in Kabul, Afghanistan.  This will be Scott’s third time with the team and Bill’s first time meeting the team.  It will be an interesting trip for everyone as this will be our longest training event in Afghanistan since 2011.  We will be there for 30 days training the team!

One month may not seem like a lot but everything we can teach them in those 30 days, the team can use to continue to build themselves to the next level.  So every time we go to train the team, we can continue to raise their level of training and their abilities to complete at the next level!

I am looking forward to seeing the team, meeting new players, seeing old players who were on the team long ago, and supporters who have been supporting the team since 2008 and today!  I am also looking forward to the players learning new things, seeing their enjoyment playing the game, and seeing their progression through the training.  Seeing the newly build pools in Kabul will be exciting as well as these new facilities will contribute to the success of aquatic sports in Afghanistan.

These are the heroes of Afghanistan that will be there for the youth to look up to and for the country to cherish.  I hope that we will train the players, the team, and create heroes for a country that so desperately needs them!

Finally In the Pool!

Imagine my excitement when I arrived on Shorabak and saw a crowd of over 200 people surrounding the pool. Normally the spectators did not arrive until after practice started. This meant only one thing, the pool was filled to a level of water where people could actually swim in it. As I walked up the stairs leading to the pool, I saw water trickling from the pipe into the pool.

All of the athletes of the Shorabak Garrison Swim and Water Polo Team were at the pool ready to swim in the pool with about six feet of clear water in it. Getting the athletes focused in stretching and dryland exercises proved a little difficult and comedic at the same time. All of their focus was on the pool that was filling with water. It was like putting chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven in front of my son Westy. I was the mean parent who would not let his child touch the piping hot cookies so he would not burn his hands when he touched them. I would get questions from the athletes every minute asking why (I was so mean and) I was not allowing them into the pool. They were explaining their case that the clear blue water was calling out to them. Why would I prohibit them from entering the beautiful water?

My answer was the same each time. I told them (That I was mean and) that we would keep the same schedule every practice so everyone knows what to expect at practice. Begrudgingly, the team continued with their stretching and dryland exercises while sneaking peaks at the water. After almost an hour (Of me torturing them) of dryland, which is way longer than the team normally takes, we were ready for the pool.

Once the athletes had the chance to enter the water, it actually became quite serious. The athletes became very competitive and wanted to sprint every single length of the pool. I was glad about their seriousness but knew what the end result would be for them. As the athletes started to tire from swimming lengths of the pool, some of them started complaining of ailments to include earaches, stomach aches, shoulder injuries, cramping, or leg/foot problems. Knowing that this was from the athletes being out of energy, not wanting to lose the “race” and look bad, and because I am the meanest coach in the world, I told them that practice was almost over and to continue.

Eventually realizing that not every lap is a race, the athletes started focusing on things I was telling them about stroke technique, breathing, and for some of the athletes, how not to drown and how to be safe in the water.

In the last four minutes of practice, I broke out the water polo balls and had the team pass in groups of five, just like we practiced on the ground. Despite their tiredness, the team was focused on their drill and did exceptionally well.

The spectators of the practice continuously cheered and spoke with each other during the practice. There were many who wanted to join as well. The athletes did a great job at the beginning of practice telling the spectators to not interrupt the practice. The spectators also filled up their water bottles and chai pots with the water from the pool, which is something I am still not yet used to seeing. But I have learned that this is something to expect while coaching in Afghanistan, no matter what part of the country I am in.

The only downside to the practice was that there was another ball broken by barbed wire. This was the third ball in two weeks. This is normally something that would not be too concerning, but I only have five balls left for the team. With mail taking over a month to arrive from the United States and no such thing as water polo balls in Afghanistan, I could be out of balls with nothing to replace them with. The athletes said that they would speak with Colonel Safi about removing the barbed wire and having a guard at the pool. There would be a guard positioned at the pool 24 hours a day to ensure that the pool is not used during non-practice hours. That means that the pool will stay semi clean and that nobody drowns. This would be the same setup as we had at the Pol-e-Charki pool.

Having water in the pool was quite refreshing. I cannot wait until practice tomorrow.

The Fish are Still Out of the Water

We are now complete with our second week of practice. But I am uncertain what sport we are practicing. I am trying to coach the athletes in swimming and water polo. Both of these sports require water but there has not been any in the pool. We are now reaching the limits of how I can train the athletes on dry land.

Colonel Safi has repeatedly reaffirmed that the pipe is being fixed. He said that the contracting office is working the issue. Progress was made one day and the pool was actually being filled with water. To my dismay, the pipe just wanted to tease me and only fill it a few feet high before it broke again.

Frustrated, I went to the contacting office to see what I could do to help fix the pool. I explained the situation and how important it was to fill the pool with water to a very well dressed man who indicated he could help. After listening to my plight, he told me that the pipe to the pool was fine and it was not a contracting problem, it was the problem of whoever built the pool. There was no contract for the pool and therefore it could not be worked on. Very frustrated but not yet defeated, I asked if there was anyone else I could speak with at a higher level. He hesitatingly said yes and brought me to his boss’ office. Come to find out, the nicely dressed man was just a laborer who was on his way to a wedding party.

I explained to manager about our situation with the pool and how I needed his expert assistance. He told me the same story and said that he has already done more than he was supposed to and that his hands were tied. The issue was with the connection from their pipe to the pipe (Which was really a rubber hose) for the pool. Not content with his answer, I asked him what the solution would be to get it fixed. The gentleman in a very nice tone told me that the pipe would be fixed in a few weeks at the earliest.

Very frustrated, I asked him why it would take a few weeks. The nice gentleman could not provide me an answer. With this in hand, I spent the next 10 minutes convincing him to fix the pipe as a personal favor to me (Even though he had only known me for about 20 minutes of his life). He agreed and said that he will be very happy once the pool is filled with water.

Happy with his answer but worried about the pool actually being filled with water, I walked back to work. I look forward to Saturday’s practice, which will hopefully be in the pool.

Second Day of Practice

I was disappointed again today as I arrived and there was still no water in the pool. With my mind looking to the positive, I felt I could fit in a day’s worth of dryland instruction about the basics of the game after the team completed their stretching and dryland exercises. As athletes started arriving, I felt a little relieved that we would finally be able to begin actual practices vice trying to make it happen. Two, three, and then a fourth athlete arrived but no more. I asked the athletes that arrived so far where the other athletes were. Their response was that the soldiers were still at work or off of work.

What does that mean exactly? Are they still at work or off of work? With difficulty understanding my own translation of what I think they were telling me, it meant that the other soldiers were still working or they were too tired to come to practice. Maybe they had headaches, did not feel well, or were taking naps.

One of the athletes then received a call on his radio telling him that he had to return to his unit. He apologized, told me that he would return as quickly as he could, and quickly left.

Disappointed by this news, I walked to Colonel Safi’s office to find out what was going on. Colonel Safi asked me to sit and have chai with him. I respectfully declined and told him that I was trying to run practice. Excited by my response, he asked how practice was proceeding. I responded by telling him that it was not as only three soldiers came to practice.

Enraged, Colonel Safi called in another colonel and a captain, yelled at them, and quickly dismissed them. Colonel Safi told me not to worry about it and the soldiers would be there shortly. Colonel Safi, ignoring my request to not drink chai with him, had a soldier bring me tea and told me to stay until the soldiers were ready. I reluctantly agreed, not because I did not want to have tea with him but because I was leaving work to come coach and not hang out and drink tea. However, this is the way things have been done in Afghanistan for hundreds, if not thousands of years, who am I to disregard history?

Knowing that I was concerned about soldiers not arriving in time, Colonel Safi assured me that this would not happen again and reminded me that organized sports is a new concept for them. It will take time for them to understand promptness and being prepared. He said that the soldiers have a hard enough time showing up for where they need to be for work. These concepts are the very thing I want to teach the athletes on the team. I am glad that he understands this and wants to support what we are trying to accomplish.

After Colonel Safi and I finished our chai, I left his office and returned to the pool where a captain was getting all of the soldiers into formation. Once they were ready, I explained to the captain that I wanted all of the soldiers on the deck next to the pool and the most responsible soldier to stand next to me in front of the athletes. He got the soldiers to where I instructed him to and then he came to stand next to me. I then told him to lead the team in stretching by watching what I do. He looked at me perplexed after my communication to him using Farsi and hand signals.

As I walked behind all of the other soldiers, so the captain could lead the stretching, all of the soldiers turned around to look at me. After a few times of telling the soldiers to turn around, they finally were looking at the captain and not at me. I started the first stretch, which was just slowly spinning one of my arms in a forward circular motion. The captain then told all of the soldiers to look at me to see the stretch. I then quickly told the athletes to turn around in Farsi and they did so in confusion. The athletes starting spinning their arms in the same motion. I then switched direction, upon seeing this the captain directed everyone to turn around and watch me. Seeing this, I quickly stopped my arm motion and told the soldiers to look at the captain. I then reiterated to the captain that I would show him the stretch, he would copy me, and all of the soldiers would follow his direction.

The captain followed my direction but I still think he was confused. When I switched arms and direction, he then followed my lead but did not tell the soldiers anything. The other athletes confused, they turned and looked at what I was doing. Once I turned the soldiers around again, I think the captain finally understood what I was trying to communicate to him. He quickly stopped following my lead, explained to the soldiers that they will only watch him, and then resumed the stretching. With the exception of a few minor hiccups, the stretching went well.

The stretching did take a long time, about thirty minutes, but I was satisfied with their performance. By the time we were done with our stretches, it was already 5:00 pm. It was time for me to go back to work. Reading this, some might say that this was not a successful practice. However, I feel that we were successful as we went through our first portion of practice and the athletes know what to expect. Hopefully, everyone will show up on time tomorrow ready to practice. Maybe there will even be water in the pool!

Shorabak Garrison Meeting

I asked Hakim to translate again as I wanted to make sure that Colonel Safi and I were able to communicate. Hakim was very excited to help as he felt like he was contributing to something very exciting.

When Colonel Safi first invited me into his office, he looked very busy. He had about 20 Afghan National Army officers in his office and he was speaking on two cell phones. Hakim and I sat in some very comfortable chairs and waited for our turn. Colonel Safi quickly completed his phone calls and introduced himself, ignoring all of the patiently waiting officers. He then started telling Hakim a story about how his friend was telling him about a water polo program in Pol-e-Charki and how much they accomplished last year.

Needless to say, I did not need to say much to convince Colonel Safi to get involved in the water polo program and to get the pool fixed. Through Hakim, Colonel Safi promised that he would have a team ready and the pool fixed in one week. He then asked if I had any questions. I asked him if he had any questions about my vision for the program or what my plans were. His response was that he knew enough about me and my plans and did not need any other information.

Colonel Safi was very keen on the idea of starting an organized sports program aboard Shorabak Garrison. What better way to accomplish this than to start a swim and water polo team? He said he would take care of the pool issue.

I am going to wait to express my excitement about this meeting until after the Shorabak Swim and Water Polo Team starts practicing. I do not want to get my hopes up again like I have in the past few weeks, just to get let down.

I look forward to the next meeting with him about introducing water polo to Helmand Province Afghanistan.

205th Corps Swim and Water Polo Team's First Practice

I made sure that I gave myself enough time to leave the office and arrive at the pool early. I stopped by my tent, grabbed my bag of gear which included goggles, swimsuits, water polo balls, water polo caps, and some other miscellaneous items. I then borrowed a vehicle to drive over to Shorabak. Upon my arrival at the pool at 3:00 PM, I noticed that the pool was bone dry. Even though I was a little disappointed that there would be no water in the pool for the first water polo or swim practice in the history of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, I was optimistic of the outcome of today's practice. I patiently waited for the athletes to arrive and by 3:30 PM, not one athlete showed. Since I was concerned that I may have not understood where Captain Zebullah said I was to meet the athletes, I walked over to his office to see if the athletes were waiting there.

With his office locked, I was concerned that he may have been given wrong information of the intended start date and time of our practice. I looked around the other office spaces and Captain Zebullah was nowhere to be found and no one knew his whereabouts. Defeated, I started walking back to the vehicle I borrowed when I saw Captain Zebullah walking from a building. I walked over to him and we started trying to speak with each other.

With no linguist to assist us, he was able to effectively communicate to me that with the 205th Corps being sent to another city, he did not have athletes that would be here for more than a few days or weeks. He did not want to have them start and then disappear one night because their unit was moved to a new location. That would leave me with no players.

Even though this was one of Captain Zebullah's original concerns which I thought that we discussed and agreed on (Even though the soldiers were being sent to a new city, they would practice until they left), it just did not work out that way. However, he did speak with the Shorabak Garrison Commander, Colonel Safi, who agreed to meet with me in one week and he also made some headway with getting the pipe fixed at the pool.

With it not being a total loss, I was still back at square one. I thanked him for his assistance and said that I would meet him next week so he could introduce me to Colonel Safi. Disappointed and knowing that I had a lot of work waiting for me, I sadly returned to work. All of that energy and planning out the window. I hope that my upcoming meeting with Colonel Safi puts us back in the right direction.

Final Planning Meeting for the 205th Corps Swim and Water Polo Team

It is finally official. We will begin the 205th Corps Swim and Water Polo Team in one week. I just walked out of a meeting with Captain Zebullah and he assured me that we would start the team then. They are going to get the broken pipe at the pool fixed so the pool can be filled with water and are going to select a team of 20 soldiers for me to coach. It was decided that the Afghan National Army soldiers would be democratically selected for the team from each of the units in the 205th Corps and on the Shorabak Garrison. I am glad that they are choosing the athletes this way and just not selecting athletes based off of family ties, ethnic background, or rank.

I eagerly wait to start the team next week. I already have swim and water polo gear here. I have suits, goggles, balls, water polo caps, and water polo balls. All I need now are athletes to coach and water in the pool. Here is the start of a new adventure!

City Council meeting at the City of Newport Beach

This evening I gave a presentation to the City Council of the City of Newport Beach. Dave Kiff, the Assistant City Manager, was the one who put us in front of the City Council after hearing what Scott McCook and I had to say about the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team.

It was a good experience, giving a presentation to the City Council. Even though I rehearsed the presentation many times, I still struggled through the presentation at times. I always felt like I was leaving something out or not telling the whole story. I was afraid that I would not say enough or say too much. I was only slated for seven minutes for all of my slides and questions. In the middle of the presentation, one of the council members asked a question. Even though it was a simple and easy question to answer (something that I should have brought up earlier in my presentation), it threw me off a little. Other than my few stumbles, I did ok and got my points across. We will see what the future holds for the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team and the City of Newport Beach.

You can watch the video at Newport Beach TV: http://newportbeach.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=24&clip_id=953. You can fast forward on the right column by scrolling down on the right side until you see Afghanistan Water Polo or you can sit through the first ten minutes of the city council meeting.

Thankful

I just spent a wonderful day with my family for Easter. You may ask, what was so wonderful about it? It was spending time with the family.

Even though Easter is not Thanksgiving, I have a lot to be thankful for these days. To start, would be my wonderful wife, Leilani, and our wonderful children Isabella and Westy. They have been so supportive during this project of trying to get the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team to the United States to train. We would not be where we are with this project without them. Other family members have pitched in as well. All have pitched in emotionally to support us and some have used sweat equity to help and some have even donated. There are many ups and downs during this great opportunity to create heroes for Afghanistan and my family has been supportive every step of the way.

The athletes are patiently and anxiously waiting in Afghanistan. I pray every day that the team will all make it the United States safely and that nothing horrible will happen to them prior to making this trip. These athletes showed me how to shove adversity back and create something positive in such a difficult environment. They also showed me what things are truly important in life. They are the reason that this whole dream started. I am so thankful for these honorable men.

Our volunteers have stepped up to the plate and have brought us to where we need to be. Whether it was people who volunteered to be on the board of our nonprofit organization, people who have put us in contact with potential donors, people who are helping spread the word and help create awareness, those who want to provide lodging, meals, pool time, or hand out towels to the team after practice, I am just thankful for the extraordinary volunteers that are ensuring the development of this team to promote peace through sport.

Our donors and sponsors have been phenomenal and I will always thank them. Some of our sponsors even go back as far as before there was even a national team. All of our donors and sponsors help us get closer to bringing the team here. Whether it was a small, anonymous donation, to donations of equipment, pool time, and the like, it takes the team towards the pathway of the Olympic dream.

The general public has been remarkable. From teary-eyed calls of support to referrals to people who may be able to assist our program. Sometimes people accidently run into our website or they read or watch something from the news, just the calls or emails are always very encouraging. Our supporters from the public have been outstanding and I couldn’t ask for more. Thank you.

I had a quarterly newsletter prepared to send out but felt that this letter was more appropriate. If you have not already picked up what I am trying to point out in this letter, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so blessed and thankful of your support of our program.

We are now so close to bringing this team to the United States in August. Let’s all come together, push through, and ensure this happens.

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.

A Coach Leaves, Big Demands, and Delays

Steve Scott left today. He was so involved in helping develop the first ever water polo team in Afghanistan, the 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team. I wish that he was able to stay until the completion of the season but I am so happy that he is going home to be with his family. I am sure that Steve realizes that he made an impact to the people of Afghanistan both as a mentor to the Pol-e-Charki Base Commander and the staff but also to the athletes. What I do not think Steve realizes is how much he will be missed and the extent of his contact has made. He was not like any other mentor from America or the western world. Normally, many of the mentors do a good job for the Afghan soldiers and then move on when their rotation is over. I will probably be one of those mentors as well. I will make positive changes and then leave where a new mentor will then do the same. However, Steve helped the Afghan people dream and showed them opportunities they would have never thought of. Through the swim and water polo team, he helped create heroes on the Pol-e-Charki Base and hopefully they will someday become heroes for their country. Just look at the photo with Steve Scott and Mohammad Amin. Pictures say a thousand words. It is a sad day…

Rohullah called and told us that we cannot have national team tryouts next week as we cannot secure a pool. All of the pools in the Kabul area are private pools and the owners do not want to close off the pool to its paying patrons. So, to compensate the owners for the pool time, the owners would like us to pay $500 per day, even though the pool would only be used for two hours each day. That is $250 per hour!!! Why so much? It is because it was mentioned to the pool owners that an American was involved. I guess they think that all Americans have money growing on trees back home (We only wish) or they think the US Government is going to pay for it. Either way, I have never paid more than $100 for pool time, even at the nicest facilities in the United States and I do not even have that kind of money.

So now our national team tryout is delayed. If we do not have the national team tryouts by the end of the month, we will have to wait until next year as Ramadan starts at the beginning of September this year and it will be too cold to swim after that. Rohullah and I are back at square one and need to find a pool. The Base Commander will not go for us using the base pool, especially since civilians would have to come aboard the base, Steve Scott is gone so he cannot help me convince the Commander, and Rohullah says that people would not travel out here for a national team tryout anyway. What are we to do?

Pictures, Strategic Plans, and Afghanistan National Olympic Committee VII

Rohullah called Reshad a few days ago and told him that they wanted to move forward with the water polo program. Rohullah liked everything I had to say and thinks that my heart is true. Rohullah, Reshad, and I met again. I brought the strategic plan that I created, with the help of my peer group back in the United States, and gave it to Rohullah for his review. The strategic plan took a few days and is something that I never written before. It took a lot of thought of what I thought a national program should entail, being realistic, and a lot of rewriting. It outlined the plans for a national water polo program in Afghanistan. Of course, it is in English, which he does not know how to read, nor is any of the official languages of Afghanistan. The plan that Rohullah set is that we will have national team tryouts in ten days from now. He is going to try to coordinate the pool location and time, spread the word about the tryouts, and start getting everything together to start the program based on my strategic plan. We will see how it all comes together. National team tryouts are only in ten days!

Steve Scott also took photos of our team at practice today. The photos came out great and shows so many aspects of the team. He took photos of the team in and out of the water. The shirts that you see Scott and I wearing and the caps the team are wearing are from Bahram Hojreh, of Los Alamitos Water Polo. He was nice enough to donate. I am sure that Bahram will like to see photos of a team wearing his gear on the other side of the planet. Steve will be leaving soon to go back to the US to be with his family and a new duty station. He will be sorely missed and was a great supporter and was instrumental in starting the 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team. Without Steve, I do not think that the Pol-e-Charki Base Commander would have ever allowed me to use his facility, and only for swimming and water polo at that. I know that I am charming and all but I could not have done it without him.

Afghanistan National Olympic Committee VI

After almost three weeks of not hearing anything, the Swim Chair called us and asked if Reshad and I could come down to his office to meet again. Today's meeting went well. I had some documents for him to look at, just basics about the game and a general plan of what I would like to see for the program. We were just talking generalizations at this point.

It was still a very one sided conversation. Rohullah was very quiet most of the time. He was very attentive and smiled alot. I do not know if he was smiling because my ideas are so farfetched or of genuine interest. He would ask an occasional question then listen for a while before asking another. We spent alot of time together, even though it was quite hot in his office.

As we were about to leave, Rohullah started speaking at lengths to Reshad. They were both speaking very quickly to each other. It seemed that Rohullah would ask Reshad a series of questions then Reshad would ask an occasional question. Both Rohullah and Reshad both saw that I was hoping to get a glimpse of what was being said. While Rohullah was speaking with him, Reshad quickly told me that we would talk about what they were discussing in the car after we left. I felt left out of my own discussion but I trusted Reshad to take care of things in my best interest.

Once Reshad and Rohullah completed their discussion, Rohullah thanked us for coming and we were on our way back to Pol-e-Charki. Once we exited the gate, Reshad started telling me what transpired. Reshad spent about ten minutes rehashing the discussion. Their discussion boiled down to my heart. Was I true in what I was proposing and would I follow through? I was proposing what they perceived as the almost impossible and Rohullah wanted to make sure that the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee and the Afghanistan National Swimming Federation were not set up for failure by falling for dreams that a Westerner threw at them and then never follows on.

Reshad also told me that they were supposed to speak on the phone tonight. I await to hear the results.

Planning

Through various discussions with Leilani about the idea of a national water polo program, we decided to open an exploratory committee. I contacted water polo coaches from the United States to see what their thoughts were on the possibility of developing a national water polo program in Afghanistan, what it would take, milestones, and what possible measurable results could be achieved, if any. The feedback I received from members of the water polo community was outstanding. Everyone was very supportive and offered quality feedback. They reinforced my thoughts and also provided some good ideas as well.

Based on this information, I decided to move forward. This project could not be remotely completed without the support of Leilani, and of a team. First, I made sure that Leilani would be supportive and I also convinced her to help me start a non-profit organization, assuming that my next meeting with the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee goes well, and if it even occurs. I also called my mother, Jane Piasecki, and some fellow coaches, Bahram Hojreh from Los Alamitos Water Polo, and Grier Laughlin from Colorado Water Polo to see if they would support the project as well. I also called some other individuals that I felt would be very helpful in this project but unfortunately were unable to help because their schedules would not permit. I also called Scott McCook, a parent of a former player of mine. I caught him out of the blue on a Saturday morning. He was probably thinking I was calling from somewhere locally (Southern California) to catch up, not to be calling him from Afghanistan to talk to him about the potential of this project and the possibility of his involvement. Ironically, when I first told him the reason I was calling, he paused and then asked me to repeat what I said. Not because I mumbled or that he did not hear me, but because he had to process what I was telling him, “Water Polo and Afghanistan.” I actually think that I caught most people that I called or emailed off guard like that, Scott’s response was just classic.

Now with a good, reinforced plan in my head, and the support that I need at hand, I am confident for my next meeting with the Swim Chair. I hope that they Afghanistan National Olympic Committee will have interest in this idea. We will see what happens.

Afghanistan National Olympic Committee V

Reshad and I headed back down to Kabul, this time to meet with the Swim Chair at the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee.

I received a phone call from him yesterday, asking if we could meet. From my phone conversation with him, I believe that he does not speak any English. Luckily, Reshad was working late with me when the swim chair, Rohullah, called and Reshad found out when we would meet.

Rohullah’s office is down the road from the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee’s building. It is across the football (soccer) field, which was comprised primarily of dirt and no grass, in a small building behind a brick fence and aluminum/metal gate. The building he works in is used for community development.

When we arrived, it was very hot outside. There was no air conditioning in the dark office that someone sat us in. All of the curtains and windows were closed and there was one fan running. It was a little bit cooler in the office than it was outside, so it was a plus. While we were waiting for the swim chair, we were asked if we wanted anything to drink. We both still had some water, so we respectfully declined.

About 20 minutes after arriving, Rohullah arrived in the office with two other men. I do not know what the other men’s function in our meeting was but they were very attentive during the discussion. Once we introduced ourselves, Rohullah’s assistant brought us some tea. She was very quick and silent when she brought the tea but when she was putting the tea in front of me, she was asking me if I wanted something. I politely said no thank you, in Dari, but I do not know what I said no to.

Rohullah, and the other two gentlemen, were very interested in what I had to say. I gave them each copies of the presentations and went through each page with them. Rohullah did not share much with us during this meeting. I do not think it was because he did not speak any English. He just listened and asked an occasional question. I think he was very leery about me, an American who just shows up out of the blue. Another Westerner, full of promises to help their program. Case and point, he asked me “Are you going to be like every other Westerner who comes to us promising the world and then not doing anything?” I just responded by telling him that I had an idea and that I just wanted to help.

After Rohullah and his partners listened for a long time, he told me “The Olympic Committee gives us (The swimming federation) no money. What can you give us?” I can see what I am trying to get myself into. I also think that they think that I have alot of money.

At that point I told Reshad to politely tell Rohullah and his comrades that we had to go. We were there for a long time and needed to head back. We said goodbye to one another and we all walked out to Reshad’s vehicle together. As we got in the vehicle, I had a feeling that Rohullah would not be working with us on our idea.

It was very quiet during the drive back to Pol-e-Charki. I was processing all of the information from the meeting. I was dissecting the discussion word by word, occasionally asking Reshad what his thoughts were on the whole discussion. Reshad thought that it went well and that I was just overanalyzing it.

I don’t think that I will get another call from Rohullah…Only time will tell.

Afghanistan National Olympic Committee IV

This morning I received a call from the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee asking if I could come today to meet with them. Even though our prior attempt to meet with them did not work out, they were certain that we would meet.

Reshad and I drove in his car to Kabul again to meet with the President of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee. There was a lot of traffic and it took about 90 minutes to get there. The building that holds the Olympic Committee is quite old and rundown. Once we arrived, it took us a while to find the person we were supposed to meet. Along the way, Reshad ran into one of his lifelong friends that actually worked at the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee. He finally took us to where we needed to go.

While in the waiting area, which really was an office with two desks, with two very old computers, and some extra chairs. The employees in that office asked us why we were waiting for the president. We told them that we wanted to start a national water polo program in Afghanistan. The employees started giggling and laughing for a few moments. They then asked us if we were serious. Our reply was “yes.” Once they realized we were serious, they proceeded to tell me, through Reshad translating, that it would never work.

A few minutes later, someone in the president’s office popped their head through the door and motioned for us to come in. When we entered, the office was full. There were two gentlemen standing. There were a few couches and chairs that were full. The president was speaking with two gentlemen on one of the couches. It was a pretty heated debate, ending with the two gentlemen standing up and leaving, looking defeated on their way out. We were then pushed to sit on the couch.

We were then offered some chai (tea) from the president’s assistant. Reshad and I of course accepted, as it would be considered rude not to. The assistant poured out the cups that were on the table from the previous gusts, poured a tiny bit of tea into them, swirled the cups, poured the dirty tea from there, and then poured our chai into them.

Once the president finished with the next group, he turned to us to listen to what we had to say. I handed him a short presentation on paper and started speaking. As I paused to let Reshad translate, the President started yelling at the people who just walked in and sat down. I then realized that I needed to cut to the chase. I then told Reshad to just tell the president that we wanted to help them develop a national swim and water polo program. He sat for a few seconds, flipped through the presentation, then proceeded to tell me that they have had many Americans and Westerners who have promised the world and have not done anything for the Olympic Committee. He then told us that they already had a national swimming program, which just started at the end of last summer. He finished by saying that he did not have any more time to speak with us.

As we were walking out, the president said that he would have the swim chair contact us and that we should speak with him directly with what we wanted to do and that the swim chair would update him with any progress.

As Reshad and I walked out, I was thinking about the hour that just transpired. The 55 minutes of waiting and listening, followed by the three minutes of our “discussion”, and the final two minutes of walking out of the building. Even though we were not of interest to the President of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee and definitely not taken seriously, I was determined to follow through with this.

201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team

It is such an honor to be coaching these athletes. The first few practices drew huge crowds and there were dozens who were wanting to join the team as well. The "20 best athletes" were chosen by the 201st Corps' Sports Officer Mohammad Tahir with very careful selection with strict requirements.

The athletes are very committed. I have come to the realization of why through my discussions with the athletes individually and as a group: All of the athletes, along with most Afghans I meet, are very serious about sports; and that someone is taking an interest in them. In the United States, you sometimes have trouble getting everyone to show up for practice, they have a birthday party to go to or they have to go get their nails done. Here, even the hopefuls were out there everyday, knowing they wouldn’t even get to go in the pool. Unless, of course, they were out on a mission. That’s why we needed more athletes. I told Mohammad Tahir that we could use ten more. He said, ‘They’re not good for you." Athletes who show up everyday to watch a practice for weeks are good for me.

Eventually the original twenty were expanded to thirty guys, but this meant more men in the water, some who were struggling swimmers. Even though I was careful for what I wished for, I still had my hands full and needed help. Steve Scott, a Lieutenant Commander in our beloved Navy and the mentor for the base commander, volunteered to coach. Adding Steve allowed us to work in two groups. Steve took the novice swimmers and developed their strokes, while the advanced group worked on their game. Each of our groups made great strides.

Constructing goals proved to be one of the tougher challenges. I downloaded plans for the goals, and the eager engineering department went to work, but having only seen football (soccer) goals, they came back with small, heavy frames constructed of steel. The goals had to be placed on the deck

The view from the pool deck was very different from pool decks in the US. I have never had an armed guard at the pool before and the scene from the pool can be rivaled by few pools. Coaching this team is unlike anything I have ever encountered.

Who knows where this will take us...





The athletes of the 201st Corps Swim and Water Polo Team line up for warm up.

Water Polo in Afghanistan

I currently work with the United States Army as an administrative mentor for the 201st Commando Battalion, Afghan National Army. Here since January 2008 I’ve enjoyed my job and the soldiers that I support. The Special Operations units, both American and Afghan, are instrumental in fighting the war on terrorism and are influential in helping Afghanistan become a stable country and one that can sustain itself. These units have taken casualties in the past and unfortunately, because of their missions, there is a high probability that they will take more in the future. I live and work on an Afghan National Army base named Pol-e-Charki. It is about 15 miles east of the capital, Kabul. Near our compound, there is an unfilled swimming pool. Scouting it numerous times I realized that there is a great opportunity to help people and do something I love at the same time: Coaching. I have been in several coaching situations in my career but none have prepared me for my current coaching opportunity.

As a quick background of seldom mentioned information about Afghanistan, there are an estimated 33 million citizens. These people mostly live in poverty. With the exception of highly developed parts of cities, most of the Afghan population lives in mud-brick buildings. Many people beg for food, water, or anything that you are willing to give them. Shoes are a luxury in some areas and many of the people who do have shoes, do not even have shoes that fit. Prior to the US and coalition forces helping the people of Afghanistan, the Taliban was in control of the country. While the Taliban was in control, most people were not allowed to attend schools, especially women. Less than 30% of all the people in Afghanistan are literate and only 12% of women can read or write. The Taliban did not allow music, athletics, telephones, cell phones, televisions, computers, or internet. Outside of major cities, very few people have access to electricity.

Afghanistan has a few major sports. Until recently and even at present, most of these sports are recreational only and do not have developed structure. These sports include running, football (soccer), volleyball, and cricket. Until recently, none of these sports are played at the local, regional, or national level. People run for pleasure only, very few do it for exercise. The only time people run in competition, is between friends. Volleyball seems to be the most played sport for Afghans and from observing them play, I would have to say it is their best sport. I cannot find the origins of why the Afghan’s love that game or why they are so good at it. I believe Afghanistan would have the best chance, out of all team sports, of making an Olympic bid with volleyball. Cricket is the least played, out of the team sports, which I have seen played in Afghanistan. Some Afghan’s obsession with cricket would be from British control of Afghanistan from the 1800s until 1919. Generations must have fully enjoyed the sport and taught it to their children. There is not much else that is known about it.

Football (Soccer) is the most widely known sport and as equally popular as volleyball. Most competitions are between people within a village and rarely between two villages. In my time here, I have seen many different versions of the soccer ball to include volleyballs, a plant that looked like a gourd, round watermelons, patched rubber, and what looked like bubble wrap taped with duct tape are some of the many examples. Football goals are as creative as the balls they shoot them in, clothes marking the ground, shells from mortar rounds, weapons, sheep or goats, rocks, trees, or rickshaws. My first experience of coaching in Afghanistan was in the sport of soccer. I was working with other Americans, a French soldier, and Afghans with trying to create a football league. We each took soldiers out of the units that worked with and developed teams. We were practicing a few times a week to hone their skills and teach them the international rules. Teaching basic fundamentals, like throw-ins, was an experience in itself. One day, in February, the Pol-e-Charki Base Commander decided to put barbed wire around the football field. This did not stop us from playing. However, once the Pol-e-Charki Base Commander, started sending his military police officers, with drawn weapons, to tell everyone that they could not use the field until the field was made to be perfect, we had to stop playing. The field has not been opened since that day.

Swimming is another pastime of Afghans. There are a few rivers, lakes, and reservoirs within the country. This is where the majority of swimming is performed. But there version of swimming differs as it is completely recreational. Proper stroke technique or the teaching of it is completely nonexistent. Based on a survey conducted in June of 2008, of 300 people, there is an estimated sixteen pools in the country, all located in the major cities. It is also estimated that less than 20% of the population knows how to swim (Paddling or treading water without drowning) and less than 2% of women know how to swim. Just like in athletics, women are not allowed to swim in public areas. The only opportunity that women learn how to swim is if they learned to swim before they were six years old, or if their family is rich and has their own pool.

Many of the Afghan soldiers are anxiously waiting for the pool to open as well. As it is hot, all of the buildings here have no air conditioning, and there are very few trees to find shade in, what is a better way to beat the heat than to jump into a pool? There are other uses for this pool that I have seen already. The Afghan National Army uses it as a reservoir as the water tower on the west side of the base is inoperable. I have also seen soldiers use the pool to do their laundry when the water is high enough for the soldiers to reach.

It is unknown when the pool was actually built. The buildings around the pool were destroyed during heavy fighting in different wars. The pool was rehabilitated a year ago but the pool was not open very long last summer. There is no pump or recirculation of water. No heating element, covers, lane lines, seating, or anything else you expect in a pool area. It is just a 25 yard pool with a bed of dirt lying on the bottom.

Once the pool does open, I still do not plan to jump in. There is no chlorine, bromine, or any other pool chemicals to keep the water safe. To add to the sanitation issue of the water, in Pol-e-Charki, there is no potable water. According to Safewateronline.com, the water and sanitation infrastructures in Afghanistan are severely damaged and non-operational. However, this information only includes where there are water and sanitation infrastructures in place. The United Nations specifies that almost all of these water facilities are only within major cities. The CIA World Factbook states that Afghanistan has “inadequate supplies of potable water” and the website lists almost every waterborne disease, known to man, that are in this unhealthy water. According to figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund, nineteen percent of those living in the cities, and only eleven percent of those living in the countryside have access to safe drinking water.

Another issue about this facility is the access to pool time when it opens. The pool is not a priority for the base commander. I have even offered my services to teach the Afghan soldiers how to swim in exchange for a few hours of pool time a week. The base commander’s response was that the pool is for soldiers to have fun and it should not be used to make soldiers work hard. In addition to this negative response, I recently located a company that was willing to ship free pool chemicals so we can keep the pool sanitary. Again, my request was turned down because if they need water for the base they may need to get it from the pool and it cannot be chlorinated.

Even with all of these setbacks, I am still as excited about teaching these Afghans about water polo as they are to learn. Soldiers that want to learn how to play “swimming football”, are so excited that they go to the pool everyday and see whether it is filled or not. These soldiers are amazing, to say the least. They have endured hardships that most Americans and the western world cannot fathom. They have had their homes destroyed, family members killed, have had to live in exile in other countries, little or no education (Most soldiers only have a 3rd grade education and most of their wives have had none), and they only get to see their families for a few weeks a year and some do not have direct access to contact them as telephones are a relatively new utility here, but they still find ways to smile, laugh, enjoy camaraderie with their friends, and be able to get excited about new things.

Their swimming apparel will be their army physical training shorts. No swim suits for these guys. They would be too embarrassed to wear them not because they fear jeering from their friends but because Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a very conservative culture. Men do not walk around with their shirts off and women are required to be covered (Whether completely covered with no skin showing or everything but their face being covered). Swim suits are not needed but I do require some other equipment that is vital to the sport of water polo. These items would include balls, caps, and water polo goals. Bahram Hojreh, from Los Alamitos Water Polo, has done an outstanding job so far by donating caps, balls, a ball bag, air pump, a coach’s whistle, and instructions on how to build goals. I cannot wait until these items arrive in the mail. Now I just need to find the wood and metal to build these goals.

Through extensive research, through the internet, United States military, and through citizens of Afghanistan, there are no known swim teams and definitely no known water polo teams. This just might be the water polo polo team in Afghanistan and maybe even the first aquatics team. But some of these soldiers, who will come out to play water polo when the pool opens, may not be playing here in a year. Some will finish their duty in the army, some will be moved to another base, and some will be killed in the line of duty. We will see how the first water polo team in Afghanistan fares in its inaugural season.

A reminder that Afghanistan is in the middle of a war. The remnants of this building are down the hill from where the Camp Pol-E-Charki pool is.

Staff Sergeant Arif, a Commando in the Afghan National Army, stands next to the Camp Pol-e-Charki pool, where he plans on learning to swim and play water polo in.

A view from the pool deck of the Camp Pol-e-Charki pool. The pool offers a commanding view of the surrounding area for as far as the eye can see.