After a number of international achievements with the Hungarian and New Zealand national women’s water polo teams, Peter Szilagyi is settled into Australian lifestyle and into his role at WAIS as head of the women’s program.
In his fourth year at WAIS, Szilagyi has continued to work closely with the state’s best female water polo players in a position he sees as strengthening the national system.
“My role is to develop athletes to an international standard,” Szilagyi explains. “(As a WAIS squad) we have only one competition a year called the Institute Challenge which goes a long way towards selecting the national sides which we prepare for,” he said.
The WAIS scholarship holders also compete over the summer months in the Australian National Water Polo League, with strong representation in both the Fremantle Marlin and UWA Torpedoes squads.
Two WAIS athletes were part of the Australian Stingers team that recently competed in Shanghai at the FINA World Championships.
For Szilagyi, it was rewarding to see Gemma Beadsworth and Glencora Ralph perform well on the international stage following their continued development through the WAIS program.
“Both of them are world class athletes and have a really good chance to make the team for London, I’m very proud of them,” Szilagyi said.
The 2012 London Olympic Games are a goal for many athletes and he is confident that several WAIS players can not only make the side, but lead Australia towards success.
“They’re definitely a good chance for a medal, the institute programs are very well planned overall in this country,” Szilagyi said.
“The girls are improving month by month and year by year, and I believe we have one of the best women’s programs in the world here in Australia,” Szilagyi added.
Originally from Eger, Hungary, Szilagyi has spent his entire life consumed by water polo and his experiences have no doubt been a benefit to the women training in his WAIS program.
“Ever since I was young it has always been water polo,I played in Europe in Hungary when I was younger and from my mid-20’s I started to coach different age groups in Hungary at a national level from under 14’s to under 20’s for boys,” he said.
Combined with coaching, his love for water polo has also produced a University degree in Physical Education.
Water polo appears to be in the genes however, with both of Szilagyi’s daughters playing at club level and youngest, Dorothy, a part of the WAIS women’s water polo squad.
“She grew up in a pool basically, because I have been coaching for more than 20 years now,” he said.
“She’s one of the most talented girls for her age group but I keep telling her she has to do a lot of hard work to do before she is up to the international standard,” Szilagyi said.
After a coaching maze across three different continents at the highest level, Szilagyi has seen the game develop, but he is confident the essence of the game is still reflected in his work with the girls.
“The philosophy of the game is something that I always try to explain to the athletes and to develop their knowledge,” he said.
“I do all of the pool sessions and really enjoy improving their shooting techniques and ball skills, as these are the most important areas of the sport.”
While keeping a close eye on the progress of his WAIS athletes, Szilagyi is also busy at present as the coach of the Australian women’s U20 squad who are soon to compete against the world’s best.
“My main focus now is for the under-20 world championships in Italy,” Szilagyi said. “I’m working with the girls to bring the gold medal back to Australia.”
– Beau Pearson
