By Daisy Costello Lake
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — From September 22-23, 62 of the top high school water polo squads in the Northeast descended upon eastern Pennsylvania pools to compete in the 2017 Beast of the East tournament.
Aptly named given the number of teams, the Beast of the East, which takes place over a two day span in five different locations, brings teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Ohio to compete against each other before delving into their conference play.
“Having the chance to compete against the very best in the Northeastern US is an opportunity to develop as a team and as individual athletes,” Pennsylvania State Water Polo Commissioner Dr. Rudy Ruth said.
What started in 1990 as a modest, eight-team tournament has expanded into the 62-team, two-day event that it is today. Much effort is dedicated to sorting through logistics to create a balanced schedule as well as assess different teams. Ruth explains that there is an intensive process that goes into scheduling a tournament of this magnitude.
“We are comparing teams that are tough to compare…different levels of competition in the various geographic areas…many of the teams do not play one another so it’s tough to compare.”
Ruth delved into the many issues the committee faces when creating the schedule for the event, which ranges from comparing different teams from different states to booking hotel rooms when a NASCAR event is in town.
“Keeping in mind all of the above the schedule becomes somewhat of a ‘Rubix cube’. The schedule will never be perfect but based upon many of the results achieved it appears that the majority of the teams experienced solid competition through Flight play on Saturday.”
Ruth, in addition to organizing Beast of the East, coaches the Wilson High School (Pa.) boys’ squad, which took first place this year in Flight 1. Ruth was particularly impressed with his own team’s effort during the busy weekend.
“The team works hard year-round to improve and is extremely supportive of one another. What has impressed me the most is their ability to stay after it no matter what the score or circumstance.”
Wilson was not the only Pennsylvania-based champion. Jason Grubb, head coach of the Flight 1 Champion North Penn High School Lady Knights (Pa.), believes this tournament is a great opportunity both for players to get noticed and for teams to prepare for state competition.
“There is not too many chances in season to be able to play 5 games on a weekend,” Grubb said. “To have to play 3 games on Saturday really prepares us for the state championship weekend.”
For the North Penn girls, they came into Beast of the East knowing they would be challenged. The Lady Knights were slated with a quarterfinal match against Cumberland Valley High School (Pa.), who they had suffered a tough overtime loss to the previous weekend. Grubb was impressed with what he had seen from his team the week leading up to Beast of the East, knowing this matchup was looming.
“The weekend prior we had a tough loss to Cumberland Valley in overtime and we were seeded to play them in the quarterfinals, so our girls had a great week of practice and determination to start Saturday off with a game against a very deep and well coached team. Their Ladies played a great game to start off the day and it continued on.”
Beast of the East offers more than just the opportunity for the best teams in the Northeast to compete against each other; it also allows student-athletes the opportunity to gain exposure to college programs. The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) makes it known to college coaches by way of online media the details of the event, and coaches in the Northeast will often scout Beast of the East and are admitted for free to the event to encourage recruiting efforts.
“It also allows college coaches the chance to see games in person or through tape that they normally would not have the chance to do as well as compare programs,” Ruth said.
As for Grubb, when it comes to attention from colleges, he encourages players to focus on being well-rounded student-athletes.
“Keep striving to be the best player and student you can be. We want to promote to our kids that being a well rounded student athlete is how you make it to the next level.”
The Beast of the East has changed in many ways since its inception in 1990, but Ruth knows that there is always room for improvement, seeking input from coaches along the way.
“We touch base with coaches each year after the tournament to gain insight into what went well and what can be improved and then implement changes into the following year. One area that we would like to explore is expanding the Varsity B tournament within the tournament for JV players.”
While always looking to improve, Ruth credits his team for working diligently to put together a balanced schedule and working around logistical roadblocks, leading to another successful year for the Beast of the East.
