From Country to Captain: Former Australian Skipper Nathan Thomas Feature

Born and bred in Tamworth, dual Olympian Nathan Thomas has played over 300 matches for the Men’s national team as well as captaining the team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.  Nathan’s motivation for the sport will never wain and his passion continues to drive his involvement in the sport today; currently coaching L16’s for Balmain and playing for Sydney Uni M3’s.

“I’m more than happy to say that I will play Water Polo until the day I die. I will be playing 7^th or 8^th grade or whatever grade there is later in life,” he said.

“It is such a great community of people and such a wonderful thing to do to keep fit and healthy. I really enjoy catching up with old friends and rolling the shoulders over.”

Nathan played in the national teams for 12 years and in that time he compete in 2 Olympic Games, 2 World Cups, 4 World Championships, 2 World Student Games and 4 season for Spanish club Barcelona.

“It is a bit of a mind-blowing experience to be honest. You prepare for a long time to compete to the best of your ability in that sort of competition [Olympic Games],” he said.

“Athens was lovely cause it is the origin of the modern Olympic Games but to be able to play in front of your family and friends and other Water Polo community members you know in Sydney was absolutely incredible.”

Throughout his career, Nathan’s leadership has continued outside of the pool having been on the Australian Water Polo Athletes Commission, the board of Water Polo Australia and New South Wales, the Sydney University committee and being the founding coach of the WPNSW Academy program. Nathan was awarded the Harry Quitter Medal in 2007 for his outstanding service and commitment to Australian Water Polo. A well-deserved achievement as his expertise and appetite for the sport improves all members of our Water Polo community.

 “Whether it be as player, a coach or a member of a committee or board, I have always hoped to do the best I can to improve the sport and support athletes to be the best they can and hopefully enjoy the journey I’ve had,” he said.

“I hope that anyone who starts playing Water Polo enjoys the sport not just because of the physical benefits but the community and spirit that comes with a team sport and that to me is really important.”

Many regional athletes in Water Polo make sacrifices to leave their home towns to chase their dreams. It is this sacrifice that Nathan had to make at just 17 years old and with that sacrifice he developed into one of the best Australian Water Polo players that we have ever seen.

“For me it has provided so many opportunities in life, I left Tamworth as a 17-year-old boy and went to the AIS program in Canberra and through that program, I trained hard, travelled the world, gained selection into the national team and lived in Europe for many years,” he said.

“I also met my wife in Canberra and we now have two girls who also play and love Water Polo.”

It is Tamworth community where Nathan’s passion originates from and to him, this is prevalent in all of Tamworth’s Water Polo athletes especially when competing against them.

“As a coach, every time you are playing against Tamworth you know that they will bring the best they can and never give up.  It is a part of my origin and I know for a fact without those sorts of attributes I wouldn’t have been successful as an athlete.”

“Over the years, there has been many regional athletes competing on the world stage in various sports with great success. For Water Polo, our challenge is sustaining the connection to regional areas so our state and nation can achieve the best future results possible.”

“WPNSW constitutes over 50% of Australia’s Water Polo population, I’ve always said, if we can get it right in NSW than anything is possible” he said.

“In recent years, WPNSW has built a sustainable business and is continuing to do more and more to open up pathways for athletes, coaches and referees.  This will hopefully nurture those centres and the state as a whole continuing to bring the best athletes possible to state and national team programs.”