SPRINGVILLE, Utah, June 10, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A teenager drowned during water polo practice in Springville on Monday night.
The incident occurred at the Clyde Recreation Center, at 717 S. 1200 West in Springville, sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., Springville City Administration Director Patrick Monney told Gephardt Daily. The teen was either 13 or 14, Monney said.
“During the warmup portion of water polo practice, he had gone down to the bottom of the pool, which is not uncommon for kids that age, who play water polo,” Monney said. When the teen did not come back up, two of his team members went down to check on him, and found him unresponsive.
“Of course immediately the coaches jumped in, pulled him out and started immediately with CPR,” Monney said. An ambulance arrived within six minutes and transported the teen to the Spanish Fork Intermountain Healthcare facility. He was then taken to Primary Children’s Hospital, where he passed away that night.
The exact cause of the teen’s death is under investigation; it’s not clear at this time if he suffered a medical incident while in the pool. “There was no horseplay or anything,” Monney said.
He added that grief counseling is available for those who were on scene. Monney said a couple of grief counseling sessions have already been held with young people who are on the water polo team, parents, lifeguards and staff. Around 80 people attended a session Wednesday night at the Springville Library, he said.
The teen’s identity has not been released.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this story if information is made available.
