Water Polo Team Revives 'Lake Swim' Tradition to Seattle — and Runs Back

The ended its first week of practice yesterday with an old tradition: the Lake Swim. The team took to Lake Washington for one lap between Seattle and the east side of Mercer Island — swimming across, and then jogged back along the I-90 floating bridge in their Speedos and running shoes.

It was a festive site as athletes entered the water early Sunday morning near the new pumphouse under I-90 to the encouragement of family, friends and the cheerleading squad. In addition, the players were accompanied across the lake by a flotilla of paddle boards, boats and kayaks.

New head coach John Jacobson, a former MIHS water polo stand out goalie, said the tradition had been dormant for years but now was the time to revive it.

“The I-90 lake swim and run gives the guys a pretty big challenge to work towards and is great for team bonding and confidence after a grueling first week of practice known as 'hell' week.”

The first week of practice consists of three-a-day-workouts that begin with swimming 4500 yards in the morning session followed by an afternoon dry land session of running, sprinting and core drills. That's followed by an evening workout of 3,000 yards in the pool and 35-45 minutes of leg and conditioning drills. Under Jacobson's instructions, all the swimming during the week is done while wearing shoes and board shorts adding extra resistance.

"By the end of the week, these guys know they can accomplish anything,” he said.

All 30 athletes on the water polo team roster completed “hell” week and the coach said this is the first time in his association with the team as either player or coach that no one dropped out.

“This bodes well for the upcoming season and shows the level of commitment our guys are willing to make,” Jacobson said.

Yesterday was also a family affair as Jacobson’s father and two of his siblings participated in the prepping of the team. His brother Adam, a Mercer Island JV soccer coach, ran dry land practice during the week and Adam, father Louis and sister Naomi all swam with the team across the lake for encouragement and safety.

“It’s exciting to come in as a first year coach and have a group of guys who are willing to work hard and unify toward one team goal,” said Jacobson.

Both the Varsity and JV schedules will be announced soon.