{"id":577421,"date":"2024-02-11T13:28:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T20:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=577421"},"modified":"2024-02-11T13:28:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T20:28:02","slug":"before-embarking-on-successful-nfl-career-ihmir-smith-marsette-flashed-talent-in-water-polo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/before-embarking-on-successful-nfl-career-ihmir-smith-marsette-flashed-talent-in-water-polo\/","title":{"rendered":"Before Embarking on Successful NFL Career, Ihmir Smith-Marsette Flashed Talent in Water Polo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Embarking on Successful NFL Career, Ihmir Smith-Marsette Flashed Talent in Water Polo<\/strong><\/p>\n

To make a roster in the National Football League, one of America\u2019s most elite and lucrative sports fraternities, takes superior talent, intense dedication and years of effort. Pro football is generally considered among the most physical and demanding of all sports.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But even NFL players are in awe of what it takes to play water polo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Case in point: <\/span>Ihmir Smith-Marsette<\/b>, currently a member of the Carolina Panthers. Smith-Marsette has paid his NFL dues. Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, he joined the Kansas City Chiefs last year\u2014and got a ring from being <\/span>on the winning side<\/span><\/a> of Super Bowl LVII. This season, traded to Carolina, he scored for the Panthers on an exhilarating 79-yard punt return.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ihmir

Courtesy: Glenn Cassidy<\/p><\/div>\n

For a two-year period while attending <\/span>St. Benedict\u2019s Prep<\/span><\/a>, a collegiate preparatory school in Newark, NJ, Smith-Marsette played water polo. When asked recently to compare water polo and football, he explained that: \u201cYou can\u2019t really compare (them). But just know in water polo, you\u2019re working every part of your body\u2014just being able to be gritty, being able to bounce back from getting hit and being smacked around.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stuff in water polo that not a lot of people see (and) actually hurts,\u201d Smith-Marsette added. \u201cBeing able to bounce back and take the physical punishment of it all.\u201d This statement comes from a veteran at the highest level of what is generally considered to be the most violent of team sports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith-Marsette certainly has what it takes to succeed in football. After his freshman year at St. Benedict\u2019s, he transferred to <\/span>Weequahic High School<\/span>. From there, Smith-Marsette earned an athletic scholarship to Iowa, where he played four seasons for the Hawkeyes, before moving on to the NFL.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>Glenn Cassidy<\/b>, his former St. Benedict\u2019s water polo coach, Smith-Marsette could have enjoyed a different, albeit equally successful, water polo career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the time he was young, his talent was unquestionable,\u201d Cassidy said in a recent phone call. \u201cI believe if Ihmir<\/span> had stayed in water polo he would have been an All-American\u2026 (he) had the same potential to go to the next level in water polo, in terms of international play, as he did in football.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly, Smith-Marsette made the best choice of athletic careers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, football\u2019s a much more lucrative place to be,\u201d said Cassidy, a <\/span>St. Benedict\u2019s lifer<\/span><\/a> who for decades has coached and refereed water polo. \u201cIt’s hard to be critical of the fact that he left water polo and got into track, where he was an All-American athlete, and then football, where of course \u2026he\u2019s gone on to play for a Super Bowl-winning team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Said Smith-Marsette: \u201cIt was incredible going to the Super Bowl, seeing the things that I\u2019ve seen and the people that I met\u2014and making memories with my teammates\u2026. It was beautiful, and I plan on getting back there one day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

New Jersey is clearly in his blood. During Smith-Marsette\u2019s time in Kansas City, he teamed up with <\/span>Isiah Pacheco<\/b><\/a>,<\/span> a Rutgers product, also from the Garden State, who has emerged as the Chief\u2019s top option out of the backfield.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI did know Pop; we went on the same recruitment trip to Rutgers,\u201d <\/span>Smith-Marsette said, then added about their year in Kansas City<\/span>: \u201cWe always talk about being in Jersey together. It\u2019s incredible to have somebody from your same state being able to live out their dreams, taking advantage of every opportunity given to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith-Marsette\u2019s life story is also a case study\u2014in brief\u2014of St. Benedict\u2019s success story.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ihmir

Courtesy: Glenn Cassidy<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAt St. Benedict\u2019s, we try to challenge our kids to perform at the highest levels,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cThat\u2019s true in the classroom, on the athletic field, in leadership positions. We push [our students] to perform at the highest levels.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to water polo, a sport that enjoys little of the recognition that football in America does, the St. Benedict\u2019s Gray Bees\u2019 success reflects the character of the athletes and the institution they play for.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we\u2019ve been about to take kids who don\u2019t know how to swim and know nothing about (water polo) and make them competitive with the best teams on the East Coast has been our badge of honor for many years,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cWhen we get an athlete like Ihmir, or <\/span>J.R. Smith<\/b><\/a> or <\/span>Precious Achiuwa<\/b><\/a>\u2014and so many others who have come through\u2014we do our best to hone their talent, make sure we\u2019re doing right by them\u2026 and provide them with the best opportunities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked to describe his switch to football after swimming and playing polo with the Gray Bees, Smith-Marsette was definitive about what came first.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite sport now is definitely football,\u201d he declared. \u201cI grew up a football fan; it\u2019s something I loved (watching) with my family on Sundays. Swimming and water polo are sports I played\u2026. I mean, I fell in love with them, but ultimately football will always be my number one love.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before Embarking on Successful NFL Career, Ihmir Smith-Marsette Flashed Talent in Water Polo To make a roster in the National Football League, one of America\u2019s most elite and lucrative sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":577418,"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":[3,122077,12],"tags":[133827,970,54416],"class_list":["post-577421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-americas","category-water-polo","tag-ihmir-smith-marsette","tag-nfl","tag-water-polo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nBefore NFL Career, Ihmir Smith-Marsette Shined In 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