Dive Into Water Polo: The Story of a Pioneer

From someone who loves being in the water to founder of a community dedicated to that passion, Le Anh Kiet, sophomore @MD, proved that you don’t have to be a professional swimmer to find ultimate joy in swimming.

It’s always inspirational to get to interview the people we often called “the first movers” - those who see a void somewhere and go to great lengths to fill it up. As humans, we often see and celebrate those with this first-mover advantage, but easily overlook the challenges behind being the first. And those challenges were more than clear when we finally talked to Le Anh Kiet, president of Dive Vin, the first and only swimming club at VinUni.

Although Kiet’s decision to establish Dive Vin was pretty expected (he was in love with swimming), his venture into Water Polo, a handball-like sport that is played in the water between two teams of 7 players, was more of a bolt out of the blue.

Dang Anh Quan, our vice president, once told us about his experience playing Water Polo during his time studying overseas and that made me wanna dive deeper into this sport. Such a perfect combination of speed, excitement and competition!

With the help of other club members, Kiet had successfully created a simplified version of Water Polo so that everyone could partake and enjoy on Green Sports Day. Yes, it is for everyone!

Things did not come that easy with Dive Vin, though. During the last academic year, Kiet admitted that the club’s short history coupled with the pool’s unfavorable opening time has made it difficult to attract a large number of participants. However, it did not stop Kiet from working harder to create a better club environment for his members. In the meantime, he is trying to maintain weekly training sessions on Monday and Tuesday in order to help members improve their swimming skills. Dive Vin’s participation in Green Sports Day, not only as a club but also as host for Water Polo matches, have been greatly commended by Student Affairs Management as well as students interested to know more about this foreign sport.

During our training, we have had our first Water Polo match together, which was super fun and exciting. Even though the rules have yet to be completed, I’m sure it was still the most unforgettable memory for every single club member. It was at this point that Kiet started to remind us of a kind of democratic or servant leader, one that is often embraced by VinUni Leadership Bootcamp, thanks to his constant consideration of his club members and the greater school community.

I believe that Green Sports Day would offer every of us the lively and inspiring experience that makes us rethink the importance of protecting our personal and environmental health. Besides, you can always see it as an opportunity to learn more and meet new people.

Looking further, Kiet also hoped that Dive Vin can be a source of motivation for those who seek enjoyment in swimming not only by training professionally but also by taking part in creative water games and competitions. (We’re sure he’s talking about Green Sports Day!)

With just 5 days away from VinUni’s Green Sports Day, we would like to wish Kiet and Dive Vin all the best. If you are interested in swimming or anything to do with water, why not Dive In now?

Sincerely,

VinUnians.