speaker-0: Welcome to this

speaker-1: podcast.

speaker-1: you Water Polo Expert Talk. Get the insights. you

speaker-1: Welcome back to the WaterPolo Experts Talk Podcast. Today we are joined by again one great player of the WaterPolo community, Olympic champion, silver medalist, world champion, European champion. And above all of that, career going from several Olympic Games. today I would like to highlight and bring us some more insights about this great career. And so we are joined by Mauo Jokovic today. So, Mauo, thanks for joining us today. And it's good to have you in the podcast today.

speaker-0: thank you for calling me. We had some problems in the few days a few days back. I was a bit busy with all this world championships that took place in Dubronic, this new format, four on four. But I'm sure we'll have a lot of different topics to to talk about and I'm looking forward to it.

speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. So we will definitely have some topics about that after all the other topics. to be honest, I'm not really sure where to start with all the career points here. So maybe you already mentioned the tournament about the last week, the 4-4 in Dubrovnik and you raced up in this area, coming in touch, I would say, for the first time in Bordepolo. in this area of Dubrovnik. So maybe we start at the very beginning. So how hard is it not to play water polo in a town like Dubrovnik at the very beginning of such a girl career?

speaker-0: Well yeah, that's a good point how hard it is n not to play. the Brownie has has a has has a long tradition of water polo, that dates all the way back to the beginning of nineteen twenties. And Yug, the Warpolo Club Yug has been has had the leading role in this because over the last two, even three decades we have become one of the leading sports societies in Croatia and from from from this little town so many great Olympians have emerged and this is something we are extremely proud of. I as most of the boys from from from the area, we all started playing water polo at the beach because We are blessed to be situated next to the i at the Adriatic coast, next to the sea. So most of the fields or pitches are are basically in local area are in the sea. And just like you know, out of curiosity as a young boy I started with my friends attending these practices and I fell in love rather quickly because I started it it it just went under my skin and I started when I was what six six seven years so more than three decades I'm I'm I'm actively participating in in this with so many practices, games, trophies, medals, and the the story still goes on. fortunately I I'm still active, I'm still playing for for Whirlpool Club Yog Ug. we are trying to raise new generations, new boys that have that have seen me play when when when they were younger and that's we all fell in love in this sport in the same way, playing it on the beach with our friends and then step by step it became something more more professional and now this is where we are where we are at the moment. we also have yeah.

speaker-1: So you...

speaker-0: I mean one of the one of the biggest things we are re really proud of is also the the famous Wild League, which is basically the competition of of of beaches. So each beach, let's say, has its own amateur team. I have to point out that these teams are mostly made of amateurs, so players who don't who do not play. Warpole professionally. So that gives this charm, i even greater charm to this competition because every summer we have between fifteen and twenty teams competing for the trophy. The trophy is not is not it's a matter of prestige to win the Wild League. We we call it Wild League. And basically it's played with in in little tournaments the at that every every Two or three days you have another beach hosting this tournament. And then the tournament goes through through groups, quarterfinals, semifinals, and in the in the in the end, they play finals in the in the old port in the old town. I I I'm sure you must have seen so many great videos with drones and in the last few years and with old supporters, with all the fireworks and all this a crowd cheering for their team. So it i it's it's something that a young boy cannot just not to see because you are we are all part of this. We are a small town with population let's say less than thirty five thousand and you just cannot skip the the Wild League and with that all the all the beauties the sea, the sun, summer and the beach bring. That means Warpolit.

speaker-1: Yeah, so I think at this point you have to stop because everybody is really looking forward to go to Croatia then.

speaker-0: To to invite everyone to come and to try to experience this kind of tournament, this kind of because this is more of a i they should be like a friendly matches, but of course during a match you forget about your friends, about your family, or you have your opponents. But after the match it all it all comes back to the hanging out with with the with the people you love, with with your friends. There's also barbecues, b boats are anchored along the the field and you know there are also supporters from all around the world and it's really the festival festival of water polling those two or three weeks.

speaker-1: Yes, it sounds really like a festival. So it's like a festival here in Germany, for example, or across Europe for music. And you have your water polo festival then with these kind of beach games.

speaker-0: Yes, exactly. And and of course it all comes it it's a prestige. whoever wins this will not gain any financial benefit or but it's just a matter of prestige to to win the the the wild league and to be highlighted in the winner of of that year's additions.

speaker-1: Yeah, so as a dedicated point, it's not really necessary to say, it's about, I don't know, money or whatever. So it's really then the prestige, as you said, yeah. So that it's more to win the game for the district or for the beach, for his beach. And for the pleasure. Absolutely, absolutely. So you already mentioned your club, Juke. So maybe at this point, a very warm welcome and thank you to Vieco, who's really arranging the connection between the two of us just to have the podcast possible. So thanks for that connection. you already mentioned the young players you try to include in your current team at Juke. I'm really seeing you playing all around your career. how is it? Is it some kind of, or what was it the feelings for you to play with these young guys saying, okay, I saw you in, I don't know, in Tokyo and Beijing. It's so long ago, but you're still here. You're my, I don't know, role model for in some kind of ways. Is it what is the situation for you?

speaker-0: Well the best way to put this into perspective is I was talking to Andrew Bushle, my a teammate of mine that I've been playing with him for the last twenty plus years throughout the national teams and with the club. we were playing two thousand seven World Championships in Melbourne when some of these boys weren't even born. So now imagine how the the this age gap is between between two of us and some of the players we are playing with now. Of course, new new generations require new approach to to to coaching, to training. It's not the same way we were taught to play World Apollo back when when we were young. So new new models have have emerged and we have to update And we have to go alongside their new new era motivations and and all the instruments we we could use. But in general they're very good guys because they're patient, they listen, they want to learn, and that's something that really makes me happy because if I've encountered a few few players, young players, so w when you try to pass your knowledge to them, they don't i it sometimes it's hard to reach them and then you're basically talking to a wall. Fortunately we don't have this kind of situation because all these boys understand the situation, they understand the club they're playing at and it brings a certain level of of responsibility And they are willing to learn, really. They are learning day day by day and they are improving their skills, their physical abilities, and these things can be seen because they can be measured. Most of these boys are also playing for the US national teams and this summer as you as you may know, has been the most successful

speaker-0: summer in the history of creation world policy all our all of our three generations under sixteen, under eighteen and under twenty have won gold medals on the on the youth competitions. And most of these boys are also part of yuk, they're also part of the senior team. And we all play together. So they are evolving, learning. They want to learn and we are just helping them on their on their path to be ga to become good players and the bearers of of of future games of n in the national team but also in the club.

speaker-1: And you already mentioned the responsibility to play for a club like Juke, for example. When you say responsibility, based on the history you already mentioned, all the successes and success stories of the club in the past. Is there another level of responsibility? Also, let's say, normal for the players or for the young guys coming to the club.

speaker-0: Well y I mean waterplug club Ug has always aimed on the highest trophies, highest performances, and it's something that since I know f was since I played, since I started playing, this hasn't changed. So whether we are talking about the early two thousands or we are talking about the present time the the appetite for for good performances and for the trophies hasn't changed. So when I'm talking about responsibility, that means that all of them who come to the senior team they know that they are not here by accident, that they are have been chosen by someone, either coach or the group of coaches, and that they are highlighted as as a as a prospective player who might earn the cap of this club and to improve and to be the the the future leader of this club.

speaker-1: Yeah, so I could imagine that it's not maybe the easiest situation for young athletes to come then in this situation to get this responsibility. But you already mentioned that they are already part of the senior team in most of the cases and they are used to have these kinds of responsibility, pressure. Yeah, so that they are used to it, yeah, right now. So it's not really new to them or to most of them. So it's not really... showstopper, the development of the guys then. have the view on the first Olympic Games for you personally, which was Beijing 2008, right? So this was the first Olympic Games, Yeah, exactly. So it sounds like a so far away, right?

speaker-0: Well, it is. It is nearly twenty years, twenty years ago. Yeah. And now

speaker-1: Do you have any special memories on on the first week?

speaker-0: I mean I was only I was only nineteen. it was my I think it was my second year in the in the national team. And we already had we all had we already have won the world championships a few few months before that in in in Melbourne two thousand seven. And we had great expectations since we we went to the d this Olympics with the same team like the year before. But in the end, I mean f for me it was it was something amazing, you know just to be part of this Olympic community and the Olympic family was was a big thing because once you arrive to the Olympic village you suddenly become aware of that's that all these pla all these athletes in the village are fighting for the same thing, for the for the gold, for the medal. And to be just to be a part of this was a big thing for me. And then I mean Olympics are different like like no other, when it comes to organization and and and the stress it brings also. And we were on a good path half of the tournament, but one one goal in the end decided for us to go in in a different direction and when it mattered the most we weren't on the level we were expected we we could be. so we ended up sixth in the end and I r I'll remember it I will try not to remember it by by a bad result but by all the beautiful things I've experienced as a young athlete that gave me only i encouragement and and more more power to work on myself, to work on my on my my game. And to invest in myself to to become better. And finally, I mean, only four years after that, in 2012 in London, all the things paid off, all the hard work paid off, and we won the the Olympic gold medal, which is still and it will be for always our biggest success and something that we are extremely proud of and that we highlight and emphasize every every time we have the chance to. So

speaker-0: it's a proof for for for us that the hard work in the end really pays off and that's something that every every young athlete should be aware of whether he's water polo or any other sport that without hard work there isn't there isn't success and that's the universal rule in life. So it's just we can transfer it to let's say to water polo and The whole period before the between two Olympics, you know, this four years gap, we had so many ups and downs within the team, with personal, with health problems, with so many things, but you know, once you win a a trophy this big you forget for about all the problems you had and you're just trying to soak up as much as you can of the emotions and and the situation that you're you you're in and just really enjoy it.

speaker-1: Yeah, so what is interesting is that you said, okay, during the first Olympic Games there was some, let's say, one goal sent you in another direction. Also, other things are not really working out at the end, maybe. And that you say, okay, between this Olympic Games and the next, you are working really on the differences and on all the things we are not really working. so good maybe during the first Olympic Games that it's really saying, okay, it's not a negative event for you, yes, from a mental point of view. So because it's really then only the starting point of a development and the next Olympic Games may come or hopefully come. And then during these three or four years, I'm working really on the gaps and have the Olympic Games in Beijing then as... not as a bad experience, but as a good experience where you can learn something from. Of course, especially like

speaker-0: When you turn your bad moments it in it into good ones in in in a way that you're aware of the the things where you went wrong and you basically when you w as we always say in life, w when you fall down you just have to get up and and continue working and that's exactly what we did. We we we were aware of the all the bad bad things that happened to us and we were working on them for four years. We were building our ourselves, our careers, but also we grew up as a team and in in the end it it it paid off.

speaker-1: So just come back for a minute or some minutes to the London 2012 and you already mentioned that you won the gold medal at the end. So maybe you can bring us a little bit in your, let's say, word of emotions and experiences during these kind of games. But it's not really usual for the most of us reaching the Olympic Games and then also reaching the the gold medal match, medal round, whatever. what is it for a feeling to have a gold medal match, I don't know, in two days? For example, first the semi-finals first, and then maybe this is also the pressure on this semi-finalist, maybe the same one like for the gold medal match, but what are the feelings from a player's perspective before the semi-final or even before a gold medal match.

speaker-0: Well, when when I look now at at the Olympics in London, I was also talking to a lot of our o opponents back then, who who played the same tournament. And what else can you when these players told us that we were the best team on the tournament from day one, the last day, that really means something because We truly played the whole tournament on a level that none of us expected that we could do. And we didn't encounter a single problem on our way to the to the final. We were facing great teams as Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Spain and in every single game we were growing mo more and more as a team. I will I also has must mentioned the the great organization of the of the of the Olympics, the Olympic Village and the Olympic Park that were right next to each other. So the whole atmosphere was positive, it was cozy and we were enjoying every minute of it. Now when you play the semifinals it's always the goal is of course to win and to reach the finals because with the finals you have basically accomplished, you have won the Olympic medal. but once you do that now you need to put an extra effort, especially mentally, because the you know that the job is not done. I know few Olympics back one of the finalists were basically were happy with the situation they were in. They they were at the final so and from there celebration after the semifinals you could see that they would not do do good in the finals because you cannot be satisfied with only reaching the final you have to be down to earth enough to be mentally stable to restart and to do one more game on a high level to finally reach all the all you you have ever dreamed of. So now after the Olympics after winning the the gold medal I can

speaker-0: say not not for myself but also for the for my teammates. You know how we all have dreams, we all have expectations and we are very f lucky to fulfill all of our sports dreams to be fulfilled in every single i i in every situation possible because we have reached the top and We have basically become immortal by winning this this medal. And as I said before, we cannot be more proud of and we are very we are all always trying to emphasize all the soul tournament, the the importance of winning the medals, participating participating at the Olympics, but also winning the the gold medal. So the emotions that run through you after after that, I mean In creation we don't have the word for this, I'm sure. I I I don't think I will I can remember it also in English. But the emotions just that go through you, through your head are are beyond beyond imaginable. And that's something I would wish for everyone to experience, but we all know that it's not possible unfortunately for everyone, and that brings this. this medal to to whole new different metaphysic level, let's say. Yeah.

speaker-1: You already mentioned that you have to be mentally stable and able to be in a situation where you restart your mind during Olympic Games.