After a frenzy of activity over the past three weeks we get a chance for a breather and can start new, with more chalk talks, new gear, new athletes (we hope!) and a tournament on the near horizon.
New Goals
You’ll notice in the photo above some strange new water polo goals, the first since the club started playing. We’re very grateful to the Austin Aquatics and Sports Academy for donating them to us and we plan on putting them to very good use.
Chalk Talk(s)
As mentioned last week our Thursday chalk talks are now part of the practice regimen. They take place every Thursday at 7:30 PM (Zoom links are sent individually or via GroupMe). Athletes are expected to take their own notes during the sessions, or while watching archived videos. They will be tested! Take a look at our first session recorded last Thursday. And I’ll see you on Zoom tomorrow.
Texas Challenge Cup Roster Call
We have already signed up a 14u team for the Texas Challenge Cup on November 14-15 in Lewisville. Longhorn will be combining with us again for that roster and others, likely including 12u coed, 18u boys, 18u girls, and maybe 16u boys. To indicate your athlete’s interest in playing be sure to log on to your TeamUnify account and “Edit Commitment” for this event.
The 14u co-ed roster that I’ve submitted to USAWP is below. It does not commit any athlete to actually playing but it costs us nothing to keep an athlete on the roster in case they become available to play. I’ll share the other rosters when they are ready.
| Athlete | Cap |
|---|---|
| Aaron Gordon | 9 |
| Austin Kenton | 5 |
| Ava Chamas (tentative) | 20 |
| Cruz Crowley | 19 |
| Jacob Gerakos | 21 |
| James Strauss | 14 |
| Joey Bradford | 1 |
| Kelly Murphy | 16 |
| Luca de Araujo | 4 |
| Morgan Spooner | 18 |
| Riley Dixon | 13 |
| Tristan Chamas (tentative) | 19 |
| Matthew Blood | 17 |
Scorpions Ball
Our monthly Scorpions Ball session for newcomers age 5-11 is next on Thursday, October 22 at 6:30 PM. Be sure to sign up at USA Water Polo for the required “Splashball Pass Holder” membership if you have not already. Coach Hayley will be leading the session. Bring a friend!
Sunday Practices
We plan to add practice times on Sunday in order to take advantage of having the whole deep-water pool for training. It will tentatively begin in November (on Sundays that are not already occupied by other events) from noon to 2:00 PM.
Coach Shannon, Esq.
Austin College is featuring its water polo athletes in their “Meet the ROOs” series. Coach Shannon with the social media pub!
Meet the ROO’s series: Shannon Berry ’22 #RooNation #ScholarAthleteCulture @ACsports @AustinCollege @CWPAWaterPolo pic.twitter.com/8Lv96Tmuki
— AC Water Polo (@AustinCollegeWP) October 20, 2020
Have a great week everyone,
James
