By Austin Stanton
The Canadian junior men’s and women’s national teams shocked the international water polo community at the July 14-21 UANA Junior Pan American Championships in Edmonton, upsetting the heavily-favoured United States squads to win double gold for Canada.
For Ottawa Titans Water Polo Club player Aleksa Gardijan, winning this gold medal is something he says he will cherish forever.
“It was the best experience of my life,” smiles the 18-year-old from Gatineau. “It’s a one-time thing. I’m never going to play (Jr.) Pan Ams again because I’ll be too old.”
A veteran of the national water polo program, this was Gardijan’s fifth time in the last six summers that he’s played with Canada – 2015 being his lone year off.
After taking a hiatus last summer from the grind of the national team, Gardijan decided to return this year for two reasons.
“Because it was in Canada, and playing in a winnable tournament,” he outlines. “It’s on home soil, so the chances are even bigger to win the competition because of the energy the crowd gives you.”
Previously, Gardijan travelled to Serbia and Turkey for invitational tournaments, and won bronze with Canada at the 2013 Junior Pan Ams in Argentina and placed 10th at the 2014 Junior World Championships in Istanbul.
Gardijan says getting to play in front of a Canadian crowd in Edmonton at the Kinsmen Sports Centre was a big game-changer from his prior international experience.
“In Europe or South America, it’s tougher because the home crowd is there, and you only have three or four parents in the stands cheering for you,” said the Ottawa Titan. “Having it here, you have that advantage, and I think because of that, we won.”
Nineteen athletes congregated in Edmonton on Canada Day – 13 days before the tournament started – for a 10-day training camp, where cuts would be made down to a 13-man roster. The Team Canada staff included team manager Rodrigo Rojas of the Capital Wave Water Polo Club, a 22-year-old former Carleton Ravens player.
“The first meeting, the coaches asked us what we expect from this tournament, and we said we can win this thing,” recounts Gardijan. “We have a home crowd, and we have a strong generation.”
Gardijan played several different positions throughout the tournament, including hole check, and on the 1 and 2 wing side.
“I’ve been playing every position since I started water polo,” notes the self-described utility player. “So it’s not a big deal for me to play wherever the coaches wanted me to play.”
The water polo player of 10 years scored six goals in total during the six matches he played for Canada. To reach the tournament final, the Canadians won matches over Trinidad & Tobago, Columbia, Puerto Rico and Argentina (on two occasions, including the semi-final), and also had losses to Brazil and USA in the preliminary round.
Throughout the event, the Canadian team focused on having a defence-first mentality, Gardijan highlights. Losing focus on their strategy was what caused the team to fall to the U.S. in preliminary round play, he adds, but sticking to the system was what allowed them to be successful in the gold medal rematch with the Americans.
“We were happy when we won semis, and we were like, ‘We can’t lose because it would be such a disappointment after all this,” reflects Gardijan, who scored a goal in the gold medal game that came down to the final possession and finished 17-16 in favour of the host Canadians. “We savoured the moment when we won.”