When I was told I was going to do an article on a water polo player, I have to admit that I was a little nervous. Being from a small town in New Jersey where polo is played on horses and "water sport" is strictly synonymous with swimming, it was hard for me to envision what a typical water polo player would be like. However, I soon discovered that any preconceived notion I would have formed about water polo players would have been undermined after meeting this week's Athlete of the Week, Josh Kratz.
What I found interesting, sitting across from Josh during the interview, was how different he was from your stereotypical jock. On paper, he seems like a typical college male athlete. He likes watching baseball (his favorite team is the Phillies), his favorite food is chicken parms from Johnny D's in Towson, and after games, he likes to hang out at the water polo house with his teammates. Face to face, on the other hand, Kratz is very reserved, a fact that teammate Reid Fox prepared me for when I spoke with him the night before. Fox said, "It's pretty interesting. He's a pretty intense guy. He's really quiet, but at the same time he's really intense."
Kratz, a 5'10", 190 pound senior from Landsdale, Penn., has been playing water polo since the eighth grade. Like many water polo players, he began his career as a swimmer, which provided him with the strong swimming skills that are a necessity for a good water polo player. Ironically, although he seems to have a strong love for water polo, Kratz noted, "I didn't like swimming that much."
His inspiration to switch over to water polo came from his brother, who also played. Kratz played throughout high school, honing the skills that would one day set him apart as one of Hopkins's best water polo players.
Unlike many athletes, Kratz doesn't have a set pre-game ritual. He doesn't have a certain pre-game food he likes to eat or a particular thing that gets him pumped up to face off against another team. Instead, he notes that he is fueled by the energy and enthusiasm from his teammates, and the strategy appears to be working, as Kratz has consistently been an integral part of the team's success this year.
This past weekend at the Division III Eastern Championships, Kratz demonstrated just how much of an asset he was to the Blue Jays. In their first game against Connecticut College, he scored five goals and had three assists. He continued to play strongly against Penn State Behrend with three goals and one assist, ending his weekend with five goals and three assists against MIT, who Hopkins beat to win the tournament 20-15. It's no surprise that after his incredible weekend, the senior co-captain was also named the tournament's MVP.
Kratz has been posting impressive numbers all year. Since the start of the season, he has scored 51 of Hopkins's 301 goals. He has also posted 33 assists, making him responsible for 27 percent of the Jay's scores.
Defensively, Kratz has swiped 25 steals, making him just as much of an asset on defense as he is on offense. Teammate Peter Sauerhoff noted, "He's a playmaker, basically. If nothing's going on in the game, he's the one person you can count on to make an amazing play or get the goal that we need."
As a utility player, Kratz is all over the pool and is equally involved in both offensive and defensive plays. During practice, he swims a lot to maintain his stamina and prepare himself for the games, usually played in larger pools than the one the team practices in at Hopkins. During games, he is able to focus on the many positions he has to fill and provide leadership to his teammates as a captain.
"Josh leads us by example. He's a hard worker in practice and in games and is an inspiration to all of us," Sauerhoff said. "He's very cool and collected. He's a source of calmness in the middle of a game that could get very intense. He's a very level-headed player."
When talking to his teammates, there seems to be a level of camaraderie and respect that emanates through the other players' words about Kratz, and the feeling is mutual. When reflecting on his last four years, he noted that the thing he loves most about playing water polo is "the team, by far. It's just a lot of fun. Probably the most fun I've ever had in my life, just playing on the team with the other guys."
As a senior, Kratz is nearing the end of his career as a Hopkins water polo player. He hopes to put his public health major to good use, noting that he would like to go into clinical research and work for a pharmaceutical company. After graduating to the real world of jobs and bills, Kratz believes that the thing he will miss most about his Hopkins experience will be "the guys on the team. I made a lot of friends playing water polo."
Kratz will be equally missed. Teammate Davis said, "It's been fun playing with Josh the last four years. He's a great guy and a great captain."
Sauerhoff added, "I'm definitely going to miss him next year, in the pool and out."
Kratz returns to the pool next week, Nov. 8 to Nov. 9, at the CWPA Southern Championships, hosted by Princeton University.
