By Henry Lyon ’19
Dominick Kirk ’19 has been one of the main staples of Bellarmine’s water polo team for the past four years. Growing up in his big brother footsteps, another standout who played water polo at Bellarmine, Dominick entered Bellarmine prepared to play for Bell’s water polo team. He started swimming at the young age of 5 and began his water polo career at age eight. He played for a local club team and excelled in the pool. His experience with water polo allowed Dominick to make the varsity team as a freshman. Even though he was the youngest player on the team, he received lots of playing time thanks to his powerful shot and understanding of the game.
On Bellarmine’s varsity water polo team, he plays a position called the utility, which according to him, “means I do a little bit of everything. I am an attacker from up top and can play set or guard if needed.” Essentially, Dominick’s role is to play at whatever position is needed to win games.
In his first year playing for the Bellarmine water polo team, Dominick felt “very nervous, but it helped that my brother was on the team.” It did not take long for Dominick to make his mark on the team and become a starter his sophomore year. Dominick continued to improve his game by playing for the Bellarmine club water polo team and swimming for Bell in the off-season.
Every year he pushed himself in the pool and at the gym to become stronger and better. Coming into junior year, Dominick became an important part of the team and made a name for himself. All of the hard work paid off as this year he was selected to be one of the captains for Bellarmine’s varsity water polo team.
As a captain, Dominick said, “ I hope to improve as a leader and help my teammates improve as best as I can.” Dominick has high expectations and goals for himself and his teammates. “[I want to see] major improvement on the mistakes we’ve been making and win WCAL and CCS.”
When asked about why he loves the game he gave a simple response, “Playing with my best friends.” Dominick Kirk ’19 hopes to continue playing water polo at Loyola Marymount University, Pitzer, University of California San Diego, or Santa Clara.