No Pain, No Gain for SSP

Tough training, tie-up with S'pore Aquatics help them retain B Division water polo title

- Kimberly Kwek

Six years ago, the Singapore Sports School (SSP) did not have a water polo team. Two years ago, they had a combined team with Meridian Secondary School who finished fifth in the B Division competition of the National School Games (NSG).

And in 2024, they claimed their maiden B Division title, before retaining it on Feb 19 with a 14-8 victory over Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) in the final.

From starting its water polo programme to back-to-back titles in just five years, SSP's achievements in water polo have created a splash.

Ng Kok Wei, SSP's individual programme senior general manager, said the school's dominance in the past two years is due to various factors.

One key initiative was their collaboration with Singapore Aquatics aimed at developing up-and-coming water polo talent. Under the partnership, players have had the opportunity to spar with those in the national youth development squad.

Having national men's assistant coach Rio Shirahama as the SSP coach has also accelerated the growth of the team, with Ng saying "there's an environment of discipline that coach Rio emphasises".