If there are no referees looking, he could get away with murder. With more than 10 shots, six goals and four steals, he can do just about anything in the water.

Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) senior Robert Kldjian is the team captain on the three-time all-city championship water polo team at Birmingham Community Charter High School (BCCHS), which he has been a part of since his freshman year. Kldjian enjoys the strategy and crushing the other teams he plays.

“Water polo is about taking over individuals,” said Kldjian.

He also explained that it’s a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalie. The winner of the game is the team that scores the most goals with an inflated ball.

“As a team, we motivate each other and we understand each others strengths and weaknesses. We use that to our advantage to win games,” said Kldjian. 

As he gets more experienced in water polo, Kldjian sets goals for himself as the center position player. He’s like Dwight Howard, the center for the Orlando Florida Basketball team. The center is the biggest and strongest person on the team. They block players and once they get the ball, they make the shot to the goal for the point.

He wants to learn every aspect and skill of water polo to be the strongest possible player he can be. He wants to learn all the different plays and ball handling skills he can possibly learn.

Kldjian admires his coaches Chris Laidig and Daniel Parlato because they have been through the sacrifices of participating in a committed sport.

“I idolize anybody who is better than me because it just makes me want to work harder to get on their level,” said Kldjian. 

He loves the fast thinking and movement of the game and he’s not afraid of losing because he has confidence in his team. 

“A great team embraces their good times and works on their bad times,” said Kldjian.

Another goal that Kldjian has is to have all his city photos in the halls of DPMHS and  the walls of BCCHS. 

As his high school career is on its last leg, Kldjian is working hard for a scholarship. His main goal is to play for and attend University California of Los Angeles (UCLA). 

“UCLA is just beast at water polo,’’ said Kldjian.