For years, the SBHS boys and girls water polo teams have dominated with coach Bloese at the helm, smashing better funded opponents and going the state finals for the last three years in row.

Bloese leaves some big shoes to fill. Enter Coach Mark Veszi, a 36 year old man who has been playing and going to water polo games since he was six years old. He’s also coached high school water polo for the last 12 years and has been a water polo official for 15 years. Veszi was a professional player overseas, and played varsity in college.  

“We have a great connection with this coach, he’s very involved and is definitely helping us improve as a team,” sophomore and water polo player Justin Whittaker said.

Many in the water polo community and SBHS athletics department are sure that the water polo team can stay king of the wave moving forward.

“The players work very hard, they’re one of the best teams in Broward. Coach Veszi is doing a great job coaching and I have high hopes,” said Boomer Bray, the athletics coach director.

This year, SBHS has had a number of losses in water polo games. Both the boys and girls teams have lost against Hialeah and St. Thomas in just this past month. That doesn’t mean that Coach Veszi is the problem though, both Hialeah and Everglades are champions that the team has lost to before.

“Our team is less aggressive this year, but not because of the coach, mostly because of the loss of players. He is a good coach.” Whittaker said.

The team aren’t anywhere close to failures, though. They’ve won against Cypress Bay, South Plantation, and Coral Springs by over 10 points each game. They’ve also been able to go to districts this year and maintain their streak.

“I’m very happy about the opportunity to coach both the boy’s and girl’s water polo teams, hopefully we’ll bring home the state championship,” said Veszi.

Gallery • 5 Photos

SBHS water polo players aiming towards the goal to gain South Broward a point.