{"id":333629,"date":"2018-10-18T07:30:58","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T14:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=333629"},"modified":"2018-10-18T09:58:28","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T16:58:28","slug":"on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor<\/em><\/p>\n

BALTIMORE, MD. Those who don\u2019t know\u00a0Mike Schofield<\/strong>\u00a0cannot appreciate the rich history of East Coast water polo. From 1985 to 2013 Schofield led the U.S. Naval Academy\u2019s men\u2019s water polo program to an impressive 13 NCAA appearances and 630 wins\u2014still the most victories by any coach in Navy Athletics history. After stepping down\u00a0from the Middies mid-season in 2013, Schofield returned to the sport relatively quickly as a referee. It was a surprising turn of events; Scofield\u2014like many coaches, possessor of a fiery temperament\u2014was not known to be a friend of the men in white.<\/p>\n

What there is no disputing is the success that he achieved over an illustrious career in Annapolis. When Schofield, a 1979 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, arrived in Annapolis in 1982, Navy had just elevated its men\u2019s water polo program to varsity status. As an assistant to Lee Lawrence<\/strong> for two years, Schofield helped lay the foundation for the great Middies teams he then coached to nine NCAA tournaments in 11 years (1984-1994), only missing out in 1985 and 1989. For his efforts, in 2014 Schofield was inducted<\/a> into the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\"Oct

Mike Schofield recently on the Johns Hopkins pool deck. Photo Courtesy: Greg Bartram<\/p><\/div>\n

Five years after his unexpected departure from coaching, Swimming World<\/em> caught up with Schofield, who was refereeing the 2018 Division III Eastern Championships<\/a> held October 13 and 14 at Johns Hopkins University. Appearing entirely at ease, he spoke about his contentment with his new role in polo,\u00a0Luis Nicolao<\/strong> and Tom Popp<\/strong>\u2014two of the best athletes to ever don Navy\u2019s blue and gold\u2014return to Annapolis this year as Middies\u2019 head coach and top assistant, and how the sport in America is greatly in need of inspirational leaders to fulfill its promise.<\/p>\n

– Is there life after Navy, where you are still the winningest coach in U.S. Naval Academy history?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, absolutely (laughs). I\u2019m actually refereeing way more than I need to or should be. [But] it\u2019s still fun to see a lot of the same people I enjoy spending time with.<\/p>\n

– How often do you don your referee whites?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A ton in the fall, a ton in the spring but not a whole lot in the summer. Men\u2019s season, women\u2019s season, NCAA, a lot of local club stuff. Some high school stuff in Baltimore. Every now and then I get out west to San Diego to go to Randy [Burgess\u2019]<\/strong> thing [Polo in Paradise<\/a> water polo camps].<\/p>\n

– It seems hard to believe that you are totally out of coaching.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t done much coaching at all, believe it or not. Probably the first time I\u2019ve coached in two years, I went in last week and did a ninety-minute ball handling session with a bunch of 18U [players] at Navy. I may do a little more of that going forward, I don\u2019t know. I still like doing all that.<\/p>\n

I miss the people but I don\u2019t miss the work. Generally, when you put your white stuff on and referee, when you walk out of the building you take a lot less emotional baggage with you.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 There are some who might suggest it\u2019s ironic that you went from demonstrative coach to calming referee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of people have found great humor in it! (Laughs). I actually refereed before I got to Navy. When I got out of college I refereed in what\u2019s now the CWPA, but back then it was set up a lot differently. I refereed the Eastern Championships in 1980 and 1981 before going to Navy.<\/p>\n

\"Nicalao_Luis\"

A young Luis Nicolao. Photo Courtesy: Naval Academy Athletic Association<\/p><\/div>\n

– Two of the more accomplished players you coached at Navy are now back there leading your old program. What are your thoughts about Luis Nicolao and Tom Popp together again as the head and assistant coaches for the Middies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The common denominator is it was always a lot of fun to be around Louie. And that hasn\u2019t changed. It\u2019s inbreeding at its best when two guys\u2014Louie and Tom, who went to the same high school, played for Larry Rogers<\/strong> at Bellarmine, came here, had four great years at [Navy] as players\u2014that they ended up together again.<\/p>\n

– Which only seems right because a strong Navy is essential for healthy competition in the East.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think so. You want everyone to be as competitive as possible. But Navy probably has the best combination of facilities\u2014and a good location. Over the years their facilities have probably hosted more water polo than everyone else in the East put together. it\u2019s nice to have that hub that not only serves the collegiate community but age group and high school. They\u2019ve done a lot of international stuff there [and] national team stuff there.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a cornerstone facility in a cornerstone location for a lot of [water polo] stuff. And, you obviously want that.<\/p>\n

– The challenge with recruiting athletes to any of the service academies is that the expectations are so high, it seems like there\u2019s no time for fun and games.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019d be surprised at how much fun they\u2019re able to have. And that\u2019s a good thing. We don\u2019t want to bring in anybody who\u2019s going to be miserable. They find ways to enjoy themselves, and that\u2019s part of the dynamic that I was most proud of\u2014not that I had anything to do with it. Like any other team and any other sport, that\u2019s their gang, that\u2019s their clan. They spend time together and find stuff to do and get in trouble together\u2014[and] try to stay out of trouble together.<\/p>\n

Kids wouldn\u2019t have stayed at Navy at a high graduation percentage if they weren\u2019t enjoying it. The key is: when they would get in trouble and they were maybe on the bubble to get kicked out for some sort of conduct issue, the first question is: What do I need to do to stay? I\u2019ll take my punishment; what do I need to do to keep on fighting?<\/p>\n

If they didn\u2019t want to be there that wouldn\u2019t be the first question.<\/p>\n

– Of course, when those who attend Navy are not there for just an education, they come to Annapolis out of a sense of duty to their country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They always try to instill that right away with the plebes from Day One; you\u2019re there to serve something bigger than yourself. That\u2019s the mantra.<\/p>\n

You have the opportunity for a life-changing experience over four years that will put you in position to do so many things that nobody else gets to do. The old commercial [that aired in 2002]: \u201cAccelerate Your Life<\/a>\u201d \u2026 it\u2019s unbelievably true. I had two younger brothers who went [to the Academy], there are umpteen hundreds of kids that I coached there, and to watch what they do from the time they graduate\u2014not to mention the four years they\u2019re with us\u2014what some of these guys have done since they graduated five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, almost thirty-five years [later]; some of these people are doing things that you can\u2019t even get your head around.<\/p>\n

\"schofield-navy02-oct18\"

How some might remember Coach Schofield. Photo Courtesy: Phil Hoffmann<\/p><\/div>\n

In the military, out of the military, in terms of some of the corporate work they do, the work they do for veteran. A couple of my alums are doing phenomenal things for Wounded Warriors, running charities.<\/p>\n

It blows my mind. These were guys who were 18 and didn\u2019t know that a 6-on-5 was when they got there.<\/p>\n

We have our 35th anniversary of our first varsity team next weekend [in Annapolis]. It\u2019s 35 years since that first class and there will actually be some guys from the year or two prior to 1982, when the varsity program started.<\/p>\n

It’s going to be a fun weekend.<\/p>\n

– \u201cBand of Brothers\u201d is an oft-used term for the bonds between soldiers\u2014but it seems apt for polo because of the need to work together in the water.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBand of Brothers,\u201d and the whole brotherhood things, it\u2019s overused by a lot of organizations. But the concept\u2026 it might even be a job where you have a great group of co-workers and a good work environment. Everybody wants to be part of something greater than themselves, and when you can help create an environment where the vast majority of the people who are with you feel that way, that lasts a lifetime.<\/p>\n

You hear about people that win championships\u2014that\u2019s something you remember for the rest of your life. And water polo\u2019s no different.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just been the blessing of my life to have been around people like that who have been able to do some things. The other great thing now is we\u2019ve got 35 years of graduates who are interested now in helping the current players and program be successful in and out of the pool and once they finish at the academy and find success in the Navy or the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n

– There\u2019s a lot being discussed about changing the rules of water polo. You\u2019ve been both a coach and a referee; what is your take on these discussions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes we do ourselves a disservice by overemphasizing change like the ones we\u2019re making now, and making a bigger deal of it than maybe we need to. Kind of making a mountain out of a molehill.<\/p>\n

When I went to the referees\u2019 school they had the week before the season started, the first fifteen minutes of that session were\u2014Bob [Corb]<\/strong> got up and the had 6 – 8 of the evaluation people there, with about 50 referees in the room, not to mention a bunch in Long Beach and a bunch in Stanford who were telecommuting with us.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore like basketball; less like wrestling.\u201d Period. If somebody\u2019s trying to move, and you impede their ability to do so, you get penalized. If you\u2019re holding someone with two hands who\u2019s not holding the ball, you get penalized.<\/p>\n

The written words haven\u2019t changed. The attention is to calling the rules as they\u2019re written\u2014rather than having a whole bunch of [interpretive] concepts such as: \u201cThat was a bad pass so I\u2019m not calling that guy for holding him.\u201d That\u2019s out the window which I think is good.<\/p>\n

More movement; less like wrestling, more like basketball. Other than soccer\u2014and you can\u2019t play water polo just with your feet\u2014basketball is the most popular sport in the world. The more we can make our sport look like basketball, the better off we\u2019re gonna be.<\/p>\n

– Better off to a point, but water polo isn\u2019t basketball. There\u2019s a physical component that appears to be essential to the way the game is contested\u2014and it will be hard to just whistle this aspect away.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re never going to get rid of that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll keep it simple. We need better leadership. Our leadership is stuck in the present, and we have too many little fiefdoms and no overarching vision that\u2019s been put out there by the leadership by our college\/NCAA programs, USA Water Polo\u2014it\u2019s like a bunch of little tribes all worried about their own lands. There\u2019s no master plan that puts us in a position to double our membership or have money to do things that we couldn\u2019t do before.<\/p>\n

Lacrosse is the opposite of that. All you have to do is look at 35 \u2013 40 years ago; we were lacrosse. They were the same as us. Now, they\u2019ve got professional leagues and they\u2019re on TV, they\u2019ve got endorsements. They play lacrosse everywhere in the world now.<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t had that kind of leadership, we haven\u2019t had that kind of vision\u2014until we do, we\u2019re mom and pop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor BALTIMORE, MD. Those who don\u2019t know\u00a0Mike Schofield\u00a0cannot appreciate the rich history of East Coast water polo. From 1985 to 2013 Schofield led the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":333647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1367,71517,65028,3028,52039,17157,21323,60192,22776,63201,65161,70467,1309],"class_list":["post-333629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-water-polo","tag-annapolis","tag-band-of-brothers","tag-bob-corb","tag-collegiate-water-polo-association","tag-larry-rogers","tag-lee-lawrence","tag-luis-nicolao","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-mike-schofield","tag-navy-water-polo","tag-polo-in-paradise","tag-tom-popp","tag-u-s-naval-academy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nOn The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee - Swimming World<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mike Schofield, with 630 wins the top coach in any sport at Navy, talks to Swimming world about his new life in NCAA water polo\u2014as a referee.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mike Schofield, with 630 wins the top coach in any sport at Navy, talks to Swimming world about his new life in NCAA water polo\u2014as a referee.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-18T14:30:58+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-10-18T16:58:28+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18-1024x819.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"819\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\"},\"headline\":\"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-18T14:30:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-18T16:58:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/\"},\"wordCount\":2047,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Annapolis\",\"Band of Brothers\",\"Bob Corb\",\"Collegiate Water Polo Association\",\"Larry Rogers\",\"Lee Lawrence\",\"Luis Nicolao\",\"Michael Randazzo\",\"Mike Schofield\",\"Navy Water Polo\",\"Polo in Paradise\",\"Tom Popp\",\"U.S. Naval Academy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"Water Polo\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/\",\"name\":\"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee - Swimming World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-18T14:30:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-18T16:58:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"Mike Schofield, with 630 wins the top coach in any sport at Navy, talks to Swimming world about his new life in NCAA water polo\u2014as a referee.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg\",\"width\":2200,\"height\":1760,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Phil Hoffmann\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\",\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Michael Randazzo\"},\"description\":\"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee - Swimming World","description":"Mike Schofield, with 630 wins the top coach in any sport at Navy, talks to Swimming world about his new life in NCAA water polo\u2014as a referee.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee","og_description":"Mike Schofield, with 630 wins the top coach in any sport at Navy, talks to Swimming world about his new life in NCAA water polo\u2014as a referee.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2018-10-18T14:30:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-10-18T16:58:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":819,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18-1024x819.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Randazzo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Randazzo","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Randazzo","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb"},"headline":"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee","datePublished":"2018-10-18T14:30:58+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-18T16:58:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/"},"wordCount":2047,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg","keywords":["Annapolis","Band of Brothers","Bob Corb","Collegiate Water Polo Association","Larry Rogers","Lee Lawrence","Luis Nicolao","Michael Randazzo","Mike Schofield","Navy Water Polo","Polo in Paradise","Tom Popp","U.S. Naval Academy"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","Water Polo"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/","name":"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee - Swimming World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg","datePublished":"2018-10-18T14:30:58+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-18T16:58:28+00:00","description":"Mike Schofield, with 630 wins the top coach in any sport at Navy, talks to Swimming world about his new life in NCAA water polo\u2014as a referee.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg","width":2200,"height":1760,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Phil Hoffmann"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-mike-schofield-legendary-navy-water-polo-coach-turned-referee\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On The Record with Mike Schofield, Legendary Navy Water Polo Coach Turned Referee"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb","name":"Michael Randazzo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Michael Randazzo"},"description":"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Former Navy men's water polo head coach Mike Schofield. Photo Courtesy: Phil Hoffmann","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/schofield-navy-oct18.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-1oN7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4875"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}