{"id":340965,"date":"2018-12-07T04:39:10","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T11:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=340965"},"modified":"2018-12-07T04:39:10","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T11:39:10","slug":"on-the-record-with-sean-morphy-former-head-coach-for-gannon-mens-and-womens-polo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/on-the-record-with-sean-morphy-former-head-coach-for-gannon-mens-and-womens-polo\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Record with Sean Morphy, Former Head Coach for Gannon Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Polo"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

A story deserving far more attention than it received was the impressive 2018 campaign enjoyed by Gannon men\u2019s water polo. The Golden Knights<\/a> reeled off twenty-straight wins to open the season, gaining recognition as one of the top Division II programs in the country. Not even a deflating loss to McKendree in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-West<\/a> semifinals could strip the luster off a 20-1 season,<\/p>\n

\"gannon\"<\/p>\n

In the midst of all this success, Sean Morphy<\/strong>, Gannon men\u2019s and women\u2019s head coach, made an unexpected change: after six years on the Golden Knights staff, including four years leading the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams, he will step down to focus on his family and his teaching career.<\/p>\n

It was a tough decision for a Gannon-lifer; until senior goalie Brett Rehrer<\/strong> broke the record this year, Morphy\u2014who played from 2001-04\u2014was the program\u2019s career leader in saves. He and his brother Brian, an assistant who also played at Gannon, and Marko Sadikovic<\/strong>, a former Golden Knight standout turned volunteer assistant whose brother Zarko led the team this season with 72 goals, created a true \u201cband of brothers\u201d atmosphere in Erie that translated into unprecedented success.<\/p>\n

Prior to the recent announcement by Gannon Athletics of the hiring of Shane Unger<\/strong>, Socal Water Polo Club age group coach, as his replacement, Morphy spoke about his team\u2019s thrilling 2018 campaign, the incredibly fertile environment for polo in Northwest Pennsylvania, and how the sport continues to thrive outside its presumptive home of California.<\/p>\n

– Talk about your background playing polo in Northwestern PA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m from Erie, grew up here, played in a local private high school [at Cathedral Prep].<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t call [Erie] a hotbed but there\u2019s a lot of teams; four or five high school teams and three college teams, all in a city of 200,000 people. Outside of California, I don’t know that there\u2019s that many teams in such a small area.<\/p>\n

The pool at my high school was four lanes [and] 20 yards\u2014that\u2019s what we were practicing in. Not a great situation to learn water polo in.<\/p>\n

I graduated and went to Penn State for a year. Gannon had started their varsity program and were able to offer a scholarship. I literally walked into the coach\u2019s office at the Gannon rec center one summer day after my freshman year and said: I played in high school and I\u2019d love to play again in college.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what started my collegiate water polo career. I played four years, graduated, left, did some stuff, then came back as a teacher. I\u2019m now back in that position on staff as a teacher at the university.<\/p>\n

\"rehrer-gannon-dec18\"

Golden Knights goalie Brett Rehrer. Photo Courtesy: Gannon Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

[Don Sherman<\/strong>, former head coach] retired; I was his assistant for two years. When he retired I took over, and actually this was my last season. I started teaching again full-time; the men\u2019s and women\u2019s program is being taken over [Shane Unger], who will be on campus next week.<\/p>\n

– You\u2019ve had a great season and a great run at Gannon\u2014and now you\u2019re leaving!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The men\u2019s program is in such good shape, we actually played this season with a starter essentially on the bench recovering from shoulder surgery. And our seventh man from last year was on the bench as well.<\/p>\n

[Gannon University Hires Shane Unger as New Head Water Polo Coach]<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

For the program going forward we\u2019re essentially graduating three starters but that\u2019s because we had two [players] riding injuries, and they\u2019re ready to take those spots over. Our freshman [Robert Bolmanski]<\/strong> started essentially the entire season so he\u2019s ready to take over the guard position and run the point.<\/p>\n

So, the program is in such good shape that [all that\u2019s needed is] recruiting a solid goalie and a couple of offensive players. But the goals next year are already built in the program, including who\u2019s going to scoring next year. We need to solidify a couple of spots; I\u2019ve been working with students, hopefully pushing back campus visits a bit.<\/p>\n

The program is in great shape, especially for Shane coming in.<\/p>\n

– So why leave at this moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don’t know how it\u2019s going to sound but coaching was something\u2014when I took over it was because the program is what was important. I had been there, been the assistant, gone through it, knew what the potential was.<\/p>\n

When Coach Sherman retired, I was worried for what was going to happen to the program. I put my hat in the ring and wanted to make sure that the way Gannon had been was the way it was going to continue\u2014that the family of the university and the family of the program was going to stay true to the way it had been.<\/p>\n

It was never a long-term goal of mine to be a head water polo coach. I\u2019m a teacher and video editor by trade and that\u2019s what I do and that\u2019s what I love.<\/p>\n

I have a son at home going into high school next year, so spending those weekends at home seeing his basketball and soccer games was something that was super important to me. When the business I had with the university prior [to coaching] opened back up, it was a transition that I did not take lightly but it was something I knew I was ready to do.<\/p>\n

– If this season was your swan song\u2013and apparently you knew beforehand this was going to happen\u2014you and the Golden Knights made it a memorable finish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We built up to that. The last couple of years we had a roster that was cobbled together over the years. We only had one true four-year starter in our goal\u2014Brett. He was the foundation around how we built this program. His freshman year was my first as the coach.<\/p>\n

We got a couple of great transfers\u2014his brother Jake transferred in, he\u2019s our other senior. [<\/strong>Zarko] Sadikovic<\/strong> is the brother of another player who graduated; my volunteer assistant Marko. We had this team of brothers; the senior class essentially had two brothers and a twin from a former graduate. My brother and I were the coaches, and then we had a class of a junior and a sophomore [Thomas<\/strong> and Anthony Squeglia<\/strong>] who came from the high school that me and my brother came from.<\/p>\n

The last two years the guys had gone through the Mid-Atlantic [West] side of the conference undefeated; came up a little bit short two years ago. I don’t remember what our record was but we\u2019d only lost to Hopkins, Salem and Mercyhurst once\u2014and it all happened in the games that seemed to matter in DIIs and Mid-Atlantic.<\/p>\n

\"zarko_sadikovic-gannon-dec18\"

Zarko Sadikovic Photo Courtesy: Gannon Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

Last year they finally put it all together. They went through DIIs, they went through the Mid-Atlantic regular season undefeated and got what they needed to make it to the conference championship. We had a good showing there\u2014we only won our final game, good for seventh place\u2014but against George Washington we lost by three or four.<\/p>\n

I said at the beginning of this year: if we want to be a top-twenty team in the country, it\u2019s going to take something special. We\u2019d have to go undefeated for the season. The guys bought in; every practice and every single time we went anywhere, we knew that when we walked on deck we could be the best team there.<\/p>\n

It was something\u2014just the magic of the season\u2014and a senior team that put it all together and they just really believe it through and through.<\/p>\n

– Given what you were accomplishing\u2014this season and in the past\u2014how were your players able to deal with the pressure that everyone is gunning for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knowing that we\u2019ve had that kind of target on our back, the guys know that when it comes to conference games, they’ve got to really play hard because everyone like to beat us. We’re the team everyone really wants to take down.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think anyone realized how it was going until we were in Connecticut\u2014it was week three or four\u2014and we ended up playing MIT and Cal [Lutheran] and squeaking those game out. We had a comeback win against MIT\u2014I think we were down 5-1 at one point\u2014and then these guys realized: We can really do this.<\/p>\n

Once we got through that weekend in Connecticut we knew we could do it but it was going to get harder every weekend with everyone game-planning for us.<\/p>\n

– You\u2019re playing that game that mattered the most in your season against McKendree in the MAWPC-West semifinals\u2014and the Bearcats end your streak.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any time you play a team multiple times in a season, it gets harder and harder to beat them. We came across that with a couple of teams we ended up playing in our conference\u2014we beat each other up a little bit\u2014especially on the DII side with Mercyhurst and Salem.<\/p>\n

We ended up playing Salem four or five times this year; it gets tougher and sometimes it depends where you\u2019re playing. The game can be rough or it can be smooth where everything gets called. We tend to do better when things go quickly and more stylistic\u2014that\u2019s our style of play.<\/p>\n

That wasn’t what the [McKendree] game was; it was rough and tough and they came out on top because they were ready for it. They went after everything and we were a little bit short on a couple of our shots.<\/p>\n

[McKendree ends Gannon’s 20 match win streak in MAWPC-West semifinal]<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

We had a couple of good weeks of practice but a couple of injuries\u2014we were missing a guy [<\/strong>Drago Marjanovic]<\/strong> that had been a big part of our season, our first guy off the bench. He\u2019d been out for a couple of weeks so when we put him back in he was just a little bit off.<\/p>\n

We might have hit the crossbar 10 or 15 times; we were just coming up short on finishing shots. And that\u2019s where it mattered.<\/p>\n

– After such a great season, how does this change your attitude about a DII program that aspires to be the best at any level in the country?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That was our goal at the beginning of the season. That\u2019s why [our team] got to that point\u201420-0\u2014and looked to become a top 20 team, not just DII-wise but in the country. That\u2019s the best part about water polo. I can\u2019t imagine another sport, when you\u2019re saying to these kids: We play Bucknell, Princeton, the top 20 teams on this side of the country. So, you\u2019re still playing the best kids. Just because we\u2019re a DII program doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re any less than what\u2019s being offered anywhere else.<\/p>\n

– Talk about the selection process for a new coach. You\u2019re a local guy and many of your players come from the area\u2014and now they\u2019ll be coached by someone who has spent his entire life in California.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That was our main worry when they were looking at new coaches\u2014[finding] somebody who would respect that the roster of both programs [contains] 30% local kids. When you\u2019re thinking about the national level of water polo and trying to be a top-20 team, that doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense. But we literally started three kids from [our] area and our first player off the bench was an Erie kid. And we were good!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something that Shane realized the second that he came in, because a lot of people will say he came in from California and has connections back there\u2014it will be so much better. The local kids around us have more California teams than we do and we were beating them.<\/p>\n

\"unger-minnis-dec18\"

Harvard’s Ted Minnis and Shane Unger. Photo Courtesy: S. Unger<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s not that; it\u2019s finding the right pieces for your team and coaching them in a way so that they\u2019re all playing together. Whether these kids are from Erie or from California, all of them bought in. They were a family, they all lived together\u2014we literally have three sets of brothers on the team who were coached by brothers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worked itself out that this team is bigger than being from any particular part of the country or [one player\u2019s] high school is better than anybody else\u2019s high school. You\u2019re here, you\u2019re part of Gannon, you want to win and you want to do it with these guys.<\/p>\n

– Your brother Bryan was your assistant coach last season. Will a Morphy remain involved with Golden Knights water polo?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every assistant coach that we have has been a volunteer. He has said that he\u2019s interested in being a part of the program. I\u2019m still going to be on campus, still around [but] the idea of giving up cold turkey is not something I like. I\u2019ve talked to him and we\u2019re going to step away from the program for a year or to so that Shane can identify this team as his and do what he needs to do.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll answer questions and help out if anything is needed but I want to make sure that he\u2019s got an identity that is his own and still part of what Gannon is because we\u2019ve got a good core of guys who can make that happen.<\/p>\n

Maybe in a year or two once this class is cleaned up and everybody he has recruited has come in, then we can start helping out.<\/p>\n

– There\u2019s a lot of changes going on in the sport; Austin\u2019s men and women come on line this year, McKendree is new, LIU Brooklyn is starting a women\u2019s team next year and now <\/strong>Millikin University <\/strong>in Illinois will add men\u2019s and women\u2019s polo in 2020 \u2013 21. What do you make of all this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the DII level, what I think would be fantastic is have that three or four Midwestern and Eastern teams that would play for a true DII championship, the way they do DIIIs, as opposed to just our CWPA championship.<\/p>\n

The more teams the better. The talent pool at the high school level is going underserved in that, we are giving kids who can compete at a top-20 level for DI through DIII programs. There are kids there at this level that may not be because they\u2019re not being recruited.<\/p>\n

We have all this East Coast talent\u2014especially around Pennsylvania\u2014the Michigan and the Great Lakes area has a high school situation where these kids just assume they can\u2019t play because Cal\u2019s not calling them to join the team.<\/p>\n

\"lischwe-coaches-nov18\"

Colleen Lischwe flanked by coaches Jen Liu and Jeff Passwater. Photo Courtesy: CWPA<\/p><\/div>\n

And if DII schools are able to offer scholarships that can help their collegiate careers, it\u2019s fantastic for the student athletes and for the sport as a whole.<\/p>\n

– Colleen Lischwe, the McKendree head coach is one of the few women coaching men at the collegiate level. She\u2019s adamant that she be judge on her results, not her gender\u2014and the results are pretty good so far.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That program has come a long way and she\u2019s been there the whole time. They started from club [two years ago] and turned it around so quickly. It took programs like ours and Mercyhurst years and years to get to that level. That speaks to the ability to recruit and to high school players who are ready\u2014and what water polo at the high school level has done at finding those kids.<\/p>\n

[On The Record with Colleen Lischwe, Head Coach of McKendree Men’s and Women’s Water Polo]<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

I think she\u2019s done a great job with the program; any time a DII team finds success at any level it\u2019s good for all of us.<\/p>\n

– What is the thing you\u2019re going to miss the most about your time coaching the Golden Knights?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting to know these kids on the level that you do when you\u2019re spending weekends with them and on long bus rides\u2014the conversations that you get to have.<\/p>\n

As a teacher, you see them for two \u2013 three hours a week, and they\u2019re gone and live their lives. When you\u2019re a coach, you\u2019re with them, eating meals with them, and spending hours and hours on the bus, doing homework; play[ing] board games on the bus or watch[ing] movies together.<\/p>\n

You get a sense of how good they are and their passion for their sport and their school. It\u2019s refreshing; if you do this five or six years\u2014and some coaches have been doing this for ten or twenty years\u2014it\u2019s a struggle to keep the energy all the time. Then you see this freshman or sophomore coming in and he\u2019s signed his NLI and bought the shirt from the bookstore\u2014and is excited to own a shirt that says: Gannon Water Polo.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an excitement in every one of these kids that\u2019s so much fun to watch and to remember that we\u2019re all here for the same reason, and that\u2019s to play water polo at this university and to make ours a winning program.<\/p>\n

The seniors this year really embodied that [spirit] and took the whole team with them on a fantastic journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor A story deserving far more attention than it received was the impressive 2018 campaign enjoyed by Gannon men\u2019s water polo. 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