Born in Sportamente Belluno, he began training with the first team of Trieste
Dyesterday morning Nicola Levis is a Serie A1 player. The first from Belluno to set foot in the Italian water polo championship. Born in 2004, Pontalpino in the Casan district, Levis was included in the squad list to start training with the first team of the Trieste Waterpolo, a company of which Nicola (born and raised in Sportivo Belluno with whom he made his debut in Serie C at the age of 12 yet to be completed) has been in it for three seasons already.
«I started playing water polo in Belluno at the age of eleven and a half, not exactly young. I spent two full seasons in Belluno, with Sportamente. I made my debut in Serie C with Stefano Fratoni who launched me after a few months. I was not yet twelve years old… The following year we restarted from the Promotion and I was permanently in the first team. We won promotion to Serie C but it was then that, also thanks to the Venetian representative, I was noticed by the Trieste water polo ».
So the transfer to the capital of Friuli Venezia Giulia took place …
«I have played in Trieste the last three seasons. And now I’m going to start the fourth. For the first time I was called up to be part of the A1 team with which we started training yesterday. In the last championship I had played with the Under 18 and Under 20 ».
Trieste is one of the most prestigious squares on the Italian scene.
«The Northeast is certainly the most important team, even if the homeland of water polo, in Italy, is Liguria. In Belluno, water polo is not a very popular sport. In fact, it was a good leap for me, the one I made when I left my province to move here. I arrived in Trieste as soon as I finished middle school. Here I attend the scientific high school ».
Several years have passed since the time of Sportamente Belluno (and of the debut in the first team). Not yet of age, you are preparing to be the first from Belluno in the A1 of water polo.
«For me it represents a first small goal. Let me be clear, for the moment I have been added to the team, it is not said if and how much I will play. But I see it as a starting point. I hope this is the beginning of a possible career. We will have to put a lot of effort into it ».
When did your first contact with this sport go back?
«I was a child when I took part in a course in the swimming pool with Simone Buratto (later captain of Sportamente) with one lesson a week. He told me I had two options: water polo or competitive swimming. He also told me that he preferred the former, but he didn’t want to influence me. In any case, I chose water polo. And from there it all started ».
The A1 should start the first weekend of October (but it could be preceded by the Italian Cup, already in mid-September).
“I would be very keen to thank my parents for the support they have always given me”, concludes Levis, “and Waterpolo Trieste for the opportunities it is offering me”.NICOLA PASUCH
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