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Faces off the field: McCallum's Andrew Wong on the wonders of water polo, teams and Legos

rick cantu, austin american-statesman
·3 min read

All about Andrew: Bring on the Legos

Tell something about you that most people don't know.

Most people don’t know that I’m a nerdy kid. I love building Legos and model kits, but most people assume I’m more of a jock than I am.

If you could visit any state in the country, where would you go?

After graduating from college I will get my dream car and do a road trip to every state in the U.S. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the rest of the world, but I need to see more of America.

Andrew Wong is a water polo player from McCallum. He compared the sport to basketball because there is always someone impeding your way. For fun, he still likes to build with Legos.
Andrew Wong is a water polo player from McCallum. He compared the sport to basketball because there is always someone impeding your way. For fun, he still likes to build with Legos.

Water polo's a UIL sport, but what about college?

How did you get started playing water polo?

I’ve been a swimmer since before I was in elementary school, but I started water polo my sophomore year at 16. Before that I had never seen or played water polo. However, when my friends told me how fun it was to play a team sport, I had to see what water polo was about.

Is water polo becoming more popular in the Austin area?

I had played on club teams like Zilla and McCallum at the time because it wasn’t recognized as a UIL sport yet. It never bothered me to play in clubs because I was exposed to the small but tight-knit water polo community.

What is the most challenging part of playing water polo?

I like to describe water polo as a mix of wrestling and basketball in the water. You’re constantly moving up and down the court with a defender always impeding your progress. When you see two players seemingly not moving on the surface, there’s likely an intense struggle beneath the surface.

Tell me about conditioning. What do you do to prepare for a season?

Over the summer I started doing dry-land workouts with weights and body-weight exercise. I basically did everything but cardio because my philosophy is that you’re either a good swimmer or a good runner. I focused on swimming for my cardio.

What makes water polo fun for you? 

Although I love the individual challenge of swimming, it’s great to have the camaraderie that comes with team sports. Even when competing against other teams, I find myself joking around with the other team.

McCallum water polo player Andrew Wong has been swimming since elementary school but did not take up water polo until his sophomore year of high school. He said he enjoys the camaraderie part of playing in a team sport.
McCallum water polo player Andrew Wong has been swimming since elementary school but did not take up water polo until his sophomore year of high school. He said he enjoys the camaraderie part of playing in a team sport.

Are there opportunities to play water polo in college?

Because water polo is such a niche sport, few colleges offer scholarships. However, If you just want to play on a club team, schools like UT offer the Longhorn Aquatics program for all ages to get better at swimming and water polo.

Dream dinner: Rocking with Stevie Ray and The Rock

If you could invite four people to dinner from the history of the world, who would they be?

I would have The Rock, Jackie Chan, Yuki Tsanoda and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Yuki Tsanoda?

If you don’t know, Yuki Tsanoda is a Formula One driver for AlphaTaurie. The reason I want to eat with Yuki is because I think our personalities could get along well.

Faces off the field interviews

This is the second Faces off the field Q&A we've ever done, and the second this season: Westwood's Freddy Browarski

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Faces off the field: Meet Andrew Wong, McCallum water polo player