Water Polo (Girls)

In just its second year, the Deerfield girls’ water polo team won the New England Championship.  Five years later they placed second in that competitive tournament.  Such success is the result of the dedication, teamwork and sportsmanship that characterize all Deerfield teams.  Intrigued by the challenge of mastering a physically and mentally challenging sport, a majority of Deerfield players come to the game as beginners and take great pride in learning new skills, teaching younger players and vying for a spot in the New England Final Four. The regular season blends single games and tri-meets, where team depth makes a difference in the back-to-back contests. To develop that necessary depth, we rely on bench players and assure that our youngest players compete in every game. Deerfield players have competed on NCAA Division I, Division III, and club teams on both coasts. In recent years, the girls have enjoyed summer training sessions with Bruce Wigo, the former executive director of U.S. Water Polo, Kyle Utsumi, an assistant coach with the women’s national team and former coach at Menlo School in Atherton, CA., and Sean Nolan, a former Olympic team goalie and now assistant coach at the University of California-Berkeley.

Mark Scandling coaches girls’ water polo.  For more information, please contact him at mscandling@deerfield.edu.

Varsity

Varsity

Mark Scandling

A former journalist, Mark came to Deerfield in 1987 after starting his teaching career at The Charlotte Country Day School. While at Deerfield, he has taught English at each grade level, coached wrestling and water polo, directed plays, and worked at the KIPP:STEP summer sessions. He also taught for two summers in New York for Prep for Prep. In addition, Mark coaches water polo and wrestling. He served as an assistant with the varsity boys' water polo team from 1994-96 and led the co-ed JV team for four seasons before taking over the girls' varsity program in 1997, their inaugural season. The girls captured the New England Prep School Championship just one year later. In 2003 they finished second. Several of Mark's players have gone on to compete at the college level, including a four-time All American on Princeton's women's team. He also coaches the boys' team, which won the 2007 and 2008 New England titles. Three former players are currently competing in Division I polo programs. After working in the wrestling program for 22 seasons as an assistant and head coach, Mark now works informally with the wrestlers.

Send email to Mark Scandling (MScandling@deerfield.edu)