Tradition never graduates.
But it can weigh you down.
In the pool, that can be deadly.
The St. Louis University High water polo team is the Great White Shark of the local water polo scene. The Junior Billikens are the biggest, baddest fish in a cap and Speedo. Winners of four of the last five state championships, SLUH finished fourth last season.
Its senior class was devastated.
Many teams would be satisfied or even ecstatic to be holding a fourth-place plaque. At SLUH the bar is set higher.
With the expectations pushing towards championship or bust, the pressure to succeed can become so intense it actually hinders performance.
“I think they put pressure on themselves,” SLUH coach Paul Baudendistel said. “It’s hard having that target on your back. They didn’t get complacent, they feel that tradition.”
The Junior Billikens continued their tradition of excellence this season with a 24-1 record and the top seed in next week’s Missouri Water Polo District Tournament, also known as the state tournament.
Led by an offense that scores an immense amount of goals and a defense that doesn’t yield much, SLUH spent the spring season thumping most of the competition that crossed its path. The lone loss the Junior Billikens suffered was to a team from Chicago.
No one here in town has managed to knock them off.
That, however, doesn’t give Baudendistel much comfort heading into the state tournament, scheduled to get underway Saturday. Sure SLUH is the top seed but there has been an exponential amount of growth in the sport over the last 20 years. This year, in particular, there is more talent spread around the region than ever before.
That means there are teams and players that can beat you on any given night, especially in the one-and-done postseason format.
“Typically there are two, three or four teams that go into the tournament with a legitimate shot at winning,” Baudendistel said. “I think it’s more than that this year. I think the talent is spread out, and there is more of it.”
SLUH scrapped its way to the Lindbergh Invitational title over the weekend, but it wasn’t easy. The Junior Billikens trailed both Ladue and Lindbergh at halftime of their matches. It took back-to-back dominating second halves for SLUH to complete its one-loss regular season.
But those types of tight matches are exactly what Baudendistel is talking about. There are a handful of players on both Ladue and Lindbergh that are among the best in the area. If you have a bad day and they have a good day, your tournament experience will be a short one.
What Baudendistel hopes he can convey to his team is that this season and this team will not be graded as a success or failure by whether or not it wins the state title.
“It’s an easier lesson for adults than adolescents,” he said. “What’s important is that we be our best. Their job is to show up, work hard, play hard and improve.”
SLUH will open its postseason at noon on Saturday at the St. Peters Rec-Plex against the winner of the Clayton-Parkway Central match.
