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Tuesday, August 29, 2000
Water polo WHEN Yugoslavia beat the U.S. in overtime of the 1988 Olympic gold medal water polo match in Seoul, the moment left an indelible memory for Chris Duplanty.
coach packs plenty
of motivation
Chris Duplanty, a Punahou graduate
who played on a U.S. team that just
missed gold, now assists a
strong women's squadBy Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin
It was his first Olympic experience, and he saw things as they could have been.
He was a backup goalie in that game and didn't have a hand in the fate of his team in that final game.
As assistant coach to a red-hot U.S. women's water polo team heading to Sydney next week, Duplanty believes the gold is once again within reach. And this time, he can have a lot more to say about his team's fate.
"Absolutely," said the 34-year-old who two years ago ended a competitive career that spanned Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta.
Coming so close to gold in his first Olympics and then failing to earn even a bronze in either of his other two Olympics didn't discourage Duplanty.
"One's career is a journey and not a single event," he said in a phone interview from his adidas office in Beaverton, Ore., last week.
"As my coach at Punahou, Ken Smith, used to say, 'When you're through improving, you're through,' " said Duplanty, one of two water polo Olympians produced by Smith in the past 12 years.
OLYMPIC PROFILE
Chris Duplanty
"Perfection is unattainable but it sets a bar at a standard that constantly drives you. Even though I'm out of the water and on the deck, that drive still exists."
When water polo head coach Guy Baker asked Duplanty to be his assistant early in 1998, the ex-goalie admitted he was a bit hesitant.
But he adapted quickly.
"The game is the game, there's no difference whether it's men or women playing it," Duplanty said. "The tactics, the techniques, the X's and O's. Certainly there are some differences in communicating with women, which were enjoyable to learn."
The enjoyable part was Duplanty's discovery that the women were anxious to learn what he had to teach.
Duplanty said their eagerness was probably fueled by the fact this is the debut Olympics for women's water polo.
They're off to Sydney next week as possibly the best conditioned team in the six-nation tournament field, and fresh off victories this summer over each team they'll face in the Olympics.
Duplanty said he's excited about the progress of the U.S. women, who finished eighth in the world championships the year he joined the coaching staff.
Duplanty's promise actually goes far beyond the deck, according to one prominent former Olympian.
"He's possibly one of the new leaders in the Olympic movement," said Bill Toomey, secretary general of the World Olympians Association and 1968 decathlon gold medalist. "He's deeply devoted to it. Right now, he's worked himself into a valuable position as co-chairman of the USOC Athletes' Advisory Commission."
Duplanty can remember what ignited his fire for the Olympics.
"I was a senior in 1984 when the Olympics were in L.A., and I recall watching every second and taping all of the water polo coverage. Seeing the excitement of crowds, that sealed my dream."
Toomey said he admires water polo athletes because they have to thrive on something a lot deeper than a lust for media attention. There is little or none outside of Olympic years.
"I was passionate about the sport, blessed by great coaches and great people," Duplanty said. "Ultimately that was the most fulfilling part of being involved in water polo. Whether or not there was TV exposure was not so relevant."