Johnno is currently playing in his first year of professional water polo in Spain at a club called CN Sant Andreu.He managed to take some time out of his schedule to  have a chat about his water polo thus far.

How old were you when you started playing water polo?   
Started playing Polo at about 10 at club, and dead set haven’t looked back since.

What’s your highlight to date in water polo?
Been fortunate enough to experience a lot in my years of playing but the two that definitely stand out are World Champs in Melbourne this year, playing my first international tournament in-front of a home crowd was unbelievable. And also World Juniors this year, it was something that a group of us had worked toward for so long, through youth and junior ranks, and we’d developed a pretty bond.

What’s your typical week like?
Usually consists of about 3 or 4 gym sessions, 6 or 7 water sessions, which includes 3 specific swim sets. Plus at least 1 training game a week. Then on Saturdays we play League games.

How do you find the language barrier? Are you learning the local lingo?
The language has been a bit hard to adapt to, trying to juggle uni, training and learning the language was a bit hard, but now that I have finished uni I don’t have an excuse not to learn it. I have been attending Spanish school with a few of the other Aussies and its definitely improving, slowly but surely. I have been working pretty hard on it of late, so hopefully in a few months I will have more than just the foods down-packed.

What do you do in your down time?
I have taken pretty kindly to the Siesta, so not minding the occasional sleep here and there. Other than that have been keeping in contact with friends and family over the net. Also my team has started a table tennis comp, so that has been getting pretty heated and intense.

You were a new cap to the Australian team at Worlds in Melbourne; explain the feeling of that occasion?
World Champs in Melbourne was a surreal, unbelievable experience. You probably couldn’t ask for much more than to have your first major international tournament in your home country, and the support we received was awesome as well, which just added to the experience. As much as I enjoyed the opportunity, it was also one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, and I won’t lie I was extremely nervous before every game, especially the first one. In the first anthem I have to admit I was a bit of a nervous-mess, but that is all part of it I suppose. It was a great honour to play.

You left your mark at junior Worlds by being named in the All–Star team. Can you comment on this honour?
Our result in Long Beach was encouraging and made many people stand-up and look at us, but nothing can really make up for losing only one game (to the eventual winners), in a shoot-out, and only getting 5th. The award was definitely a great honour and something I will treasure forever, however, it doesn’t make up for not medalling in the tournament which we were so competitive in. But this honour was definitely a nice, very unexpected surprise.

Is it difficult being away from friends and family for so long?
I have actually surprised myself by coping quite well with being away from my mates and family. Certainly some of this could be attributed to having spent 2 years at the institute. However, at times it has been hard, and I think over Christmas I may struggle a bit, having always spent Chrissy time with family. But thankfully it’s very easy to contact everyone, and the internet has served me well.

What would your words of inspiration be to up and coming juniors here in Australia?
Water Polo has provided me with so many amazing things in my very short career, that I consider myself very fortunate. Through polo I have experienced so many things that I will never forget, and would never have experienced without it. Not just the opportunity to travel, but the friends I have made, and the links I have developed, are things that will always be there for me and serve me for life. Water polo is a sport where there is enjoyment at every level and kids, and older players alike, should always take time to smell the roses along the way, because all in all this is why we play the sport. Basically water polo can provide juniors, and is still providing me, with awesome opportunities and experiences that can be savoured for life.

Who would you rate as the,” best player you have ever played against/with?”   
This is a difficult question. In the last 12months alone I have been lucky enough to play with and against so many players that I consider to fulfil certain criteria as being the best in certain ways. And I have savoured the opportunity to play them, and hopefully I will get more opportunities in the future.  However the player whom I have a great deal of respect for, and indeed to me is the most natural, fluent player I have played against is Denes Varga (Hungary). Obviously it is difficult to compare him to the likes of Kasas, Sapic, Perez, Perrone, Whalan etc., but he is someone who just has the ability to make it happen when and pretty much how he wants to, in a way that is just so natural and free-flowing.

How long do you see yourself playing water polo for as a career?   
Water Polo is something that has been part of my life for a fair while, and is something that I can’t fathom out of my life. For that reason I hope to play water polo, as a career, until I am no longer enjoying playing at a high level, barring any injuries etc. Hopefully during this time I can develop another career out of the pool, but putting a time-span on water polo is pretty difficult.

Who was your inspiration to achieving so much in Water polo so far?   
My family has played a pretty big role in my water polo career, and without their support I’d definitely struggle to be where I am. But a lot has to be attributed to my coaches and also team-mates and previous players who have set the benchmark.

Olympics are just around the corner what are you predictions?
The Olympics is something that whenever I seem to have a spare moment it comes to mind. Last year we had some very good and encouraging results and we proved in patches how good we can be. I think whatever team competes at the Olympics will be treated with a lot of respect by the other teams and will definitely cause some surprises regardless of who they play. Hopefully I will be part of it.