Athletes of the Week: Charlie Venci & Milo Walshe

At the end of the Andover pool, senior and co-captain Milo Walshe winds up to shoot the ball in the midst of a nervous silence. The moment the ball flies into the net and the whistle blows, Big Red erupts into thunderous cheers over confused shouts from the Andover stands. No one cheers louder than senior and co-captain Charlie Venci, who triumphantly swims over to congratulate his four-year teammate and best friend on his fifth overtime golden goal.

Milo Walshe took up the sport of water polo in eighth grade after his older brother Taylor Walshe ’18 began playing. By prep year, Walshe was playing alongside his older brother T. Walshe, the captain at the time. Now, Walshe himself is leading Bear Polo through one of the most electric and victorious seasons seen in the past years. The team’s phenomenal win against Andover that broke the record for longest water polo game in NEPSAC history, remains as a highlight out of many this season.

In addition to the valuable skill set Walshe adds to the team, his inspiring sense of teamwork serves as a helpful source of motivation for his teammates both in the pool and out. In the words of Walshe, “What really gets me fired up about Bear Polo is when I see a teammate make a big stop on defense or score a clutch goal. When we win, we win as a team.”

Of all the memorable experiences with Big Red water polo, Walshe picked one particular memory with the team as his personal favorite. “One tradition we have is called GLOPO, which is when Coach Mills shuts off the lights for one practice a year and we scrimmage with a glow-in-the-dark ball,” he explained.

For Charlie “Chazz” Venci, water polo was introduced to him his prep year after a push from Head Coach Mills. “I’ve been swimming since I was about four or five years old, so swimming was always my main sport. When I came to Exeter, Coach Mills persuaded me to give Polo a try in order to stay in shape for swim season in the fall,” Venci explained.

Starting water polo his prep year, Venci came a long way in his four years playing for Big Red. Venci stated, “I’ll be honest, it took some time for me to develop both a skill set and a liking for the sport, but, by lower year, I was a starter on varsity. Water polo was right up there with swimming in my book.”

With his upbeat personality and talkative nature, Venci is known both by his teammates and friends to bring a high level of energy and fun with him at all times. When asked to describe Venci in two words, upper teammate Cooper Walshe said: “Super loud. He gives off a lot of his energy that’s translated to the rest of the team.”

While Venci and Walshe share their title of co-captains of the water polo team, their close friendship that is attributed by their several years of playing together helps to create a tighter-knit bond for the whole varsity team. C. Walshe said, “They’ve both been playing Water Polo with each other for four years and out of the pool [they] are best friends. Their friendship spreads to the rest of the team and creates a very friendly environment.”

A major factor that plays into the co-captains’ excellent leadership is their ability to carry the team through any situation. Upper David Mancini credited Walshe and Venci for their responsibility over the team, saying that they “both embrace the challenges we are given head on and lead the team on the right path with great spirit and dedication.” Similarly, upper Adam Tuchler praised the co-captains’ shared sense of leadership, saying, “They do what any good captain should do: they lead by example.”

Leading by example is exactly what Venci and Walshe do day in and day out: each works hard to strengthen the entire team. Head Coach Mills stated that both co-captains “have a tremendous work ethic and strong engines.” He then expanded on each of their individual strengths, “Charlie is indefatigable and adds speed and tenacity. Milo brings strong defense and a wicked left-hand shot.”

Apart from their outstanding skill sets, Walshe and Venci prove to be vital players in terms of motivating the team. Upper Nick Garey explained, “Chazz fires the team up by giving inspiring speeches and getting fast breaks on offense. Milo isn’t in the spotlight as often, but [he] is one of the most reliable and consistent players on the team.”

All captains are expected to push the team to form a closer camaraderie and ensure every teammate feels welcome, and both Venci and Walshe certainly stepped up to fill this role. In particular, both Venci and Walshe welcomed the new additions to the team this season, expressing excitement for the opportunity to guide them and to see where they take Bear Polo in the future. Venci said, “We have two very strong preps on the team this year and I can’t wait to see how they develop in the second half of our season.” Walshe shared similar sentiments, saying that based on the impressive performances by the younger players so far, he believes “the future is bright for Bear Polo.”

Overall, co-captains Venci and Walshe look forward to spending the rest of their final season with Bear Polo. Venci reflected, “My time with Bear Polo has been wildly fun. We lost a few, we won a lot more, we scored some nice goals and we’re not even close to done yet.”