Merced High water polo standouts Kade Slocum, Cord McCall and Hunter Gossett all earned the opportunity to represent Team USA youth and cadet squads over the summer and traveled to Europe. It was a unique experience for the Bears trio in and out of the pool.

 

Slocum was a member of the 16U cadet national team and played in Serbia. Gossett played for the 18u team in Serbia and McCall was part of the 16u team that played in Hungary. “It was just such a fun experience,” Slocum said. “We got to meet new people, we saw different styles of water polo. I met new guys that I'll probably know for the rest of my life because of water polo.”

 

The trio started out with their zone teams and while playing with their zone team at the National Championship they were selected to attend the national team selection camp. That’s where they earned their spots on the team. 

 

“It's exciting,” McCall said. “It's a lot of tryouts in order to get there throughout the spring and summer, starting in March. When I found out I made it I was pretty excited.” Gossett was filled with a lot of emotions when he found out he had made the team. “There was a little bit of nerves, a lot of happiness, and a thought that I've got a lot more work to do.”

 

All three players were underclassmen on last year’s Bears team that won a Sac-Joaquin Section championship. All three will play key roles as Merced tries to repeat and make another run at a title. 

 

Earning a spot on the national teams gave the trio an opportunity to play games against club teams from other countries. Playing international water polo was an adjustment for all the players as they transitioned from the high school game to the international game. 

 

“It’s so much more physical, and it just taught me to just deal with it,” Slocum said. “It helped me become bigger and better, and it really helped me grow in the sport because it's like playing a totally different sport over there.”

 

McCall says his experience was similar in Hungary. “The physicality, it's a whole another jump up, and the refs allow a lot more like grabbing and holding,” he said. 

 

Gossett says they’ve had to make an adjustment coming back home and playing high school rules again. “You have to really rein yourself in and be careful because international water polo, the refs do not care, and physicality just means that you're playing hard,” Gossett said. “If you get punched in the face, you got punched in the face…Keep playing. You have to learn to not react. Coming back here you have to learn to adjust back to the high school game so you don’t get yourself excluded.”

 

All three players spent over a week overseas. It gave them a chance to experience a new country with new food. Slocum said he got to try traditional Serbian meals and tour the country when they weren’t in the pool. 

 

“It was just completely different, the people, the lifestyle, the clothing, everything,” Slocume said. “Everyone was super friendly there, it was awesome.

 

McCall said he was able to visit temples, castles and go on a river cruise while he was in Hungary. “We had a full day of touring,” McCall said. “We saw Budapest. We got to go on a cruise in the Danube River. It was very interesting and cool.”

 

The three stars are ready to take what they learned from their experience playing international water polo and bring it back to their Merced High team to help in the Bears’ quest for back-to-back section titles. 

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.