Leading a sports team as a head coach can be a daunting task. But none could claim to have had a more difficult lead-up to an international competition than our own Zoli Boros.
Zoli is in the People team as a talent acquisition advisor at LPC, while also representing the country as head coach for the Under-18 women’s New Zealand water polo.
The FINA World Women’s Youth Water Polo Championships 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia played host to Zoli’s team, who were able to achieve some outstanding results while there. Especially considering the lead-up to the tournament consisted of just three days together as a team.
That doesn’t leave much time for building team chemistry, morale, cohesion or understanding in what you’re going out there to achieve. All of these are vital in a sporting environment, no matter the level of competition.
“We played in the Under-21s national competition in Auckland three days before we got on the plane,” Zoli said.
“Before that, the girls had never played a full game together as a team.”
His team, with no expectations set by the national body, managed to finish eighth of the 16 national teams in Belgrade. This included some notable victories over home team Serbia and Croatia, as well as a top-eight-qualifying win over Canada.
“We treated (Canada) as our final, really. There were no expectations – only what I had for the team, it was a completely unknown tournament for us,” Zoli said.
“We haven’t travelled as a team before either, so it was totally unknown what we could do. Deep down when I saw the draw, I thought to myself, there’s an opportunity. When we beat Canada, it was unbelievable,” he said.
Zoli has a rich history in the game, which started in his hometown of Szolnok in central Hungary at the tender age of 12 in his local pool.
“I was always able to swim well, but I didn’t have the ball skills others did at my age and I was quite uncoordinated,” Zoli laughed.
“The older I got, the better I became with the ball. It came to me that I had a real skill when it came to throwing and shooting the ball. After the initial year of training and age group squads in my hometown, I felt like, ‘I could be good at this’.
“I was 15 when I made my debut in the Hungarian top division. I was the youngest in the team then, and I was terrified to be playing in front of 1500 people – I just remember shivering and thinking ‘God, I hope they don’t put me in’,” Zoli said.
He was a professional water polo athlete until 2005 when he moved to New Zealand, at which point – once he was naturalised – his Kiwi citizenship was fast-tracked to allow him to represent the country in the pool.
“Playing for New Zealand in 2007 in Melbourne was a huge highlight. We achieved the men’s team’s first and last victory in a world championship – every other time they’ve gone, they’ve come home with no victory.
“But we beat Japan when we were there and finished 15th in the world. Later in the year I became captain and led the team against Australia in a three-test series to qualify for the Beijing Olympics,” Zoli explained.
As a naturalised Kiwi he quickly found himself a coach’s whistle for the St Margaret’s College team, where he coached for 11 seasons. Rangi Ruru came calling in 2019, where Zoli has remained until the present.
“Throughout that time, I also coached Canterbury men’s age group sides. But I’ve got that connection to the women’s game because my stepdaughters are playing women’s age grade, so it was a logical step to move into that space,” Zoli said.
He said the most rewarding part of coaching at an international level is the strategy behind every decision.
“(The most rewarding part) is finding the opponent’s weaknesses and putting together a plan and capitalising on our strengths. Seeing the analysis come together, that’s the best bit,” he said.