2023 Endless Summer Classic
Endless Summer Classic – 2023
June 24 – 25, 2023
Location TBD – North Texas (Hosted by Thunder)
18U, 16U, 14U, 12U, 10U Divisions, More info coming soon.
14u
2023 Texas Challenge Cup
From the Hosts
This is a Thunder Water Polo hosted event in North Texas the weekend of March 4th and 5th.
All teams will receive a minimum of four games with the top 3 teams in each division receiving 1st – 3rd place medals.
All participants must have a minimum of a USA Water Polo Bronze membership with picture and age verification completed. ID checks will be administered on deck.
Divisions – 10U Coed, 12U Coed, 14U Coed, 16U Boys, 18U Girls and 18U Boys
Details
Locations
Northwest ISD Aquatics Center 1976 Texas Dr Justin TX· ( 10u, 12u, 14u )
Carroll ISD Aquatics Center 1501 W Southlake Blvd, Southlake, TX ( 16u, 18u)
Approximate Time: Saturday 8:00am – 7:00pm and Sunday 7:00 am – 4:00pm.
Age as of Date: August 1, 2023
Entry Fee: $600 per team. Payments will be collected when completing the online registration. Link to Register
Registration Deadline: Friday Feb 17th 9:00pm (PT)
Admissions – $5 per day or $10 for the weekend
Roster Deadline: Monday, February 27th at 9pm (PT)
Schedule: An online schedule will be sent to everyone on Monday February 27th
Team Hotel
https://group.trubyhilton.com/edo7wk
The reservation cut-off date is 2/17/23. (We will release any rooms not used at that date and the rate will no longer be available. If we sell all rooms in the block, the rate may not be available prior to this date).
The Tru Northlake is 4 miles, 5 minutes from the NISD Aquatic Center in Justin and 10 miles, 15 minutes from the Carroll ISD Aquatic Center in Southlake.
The Tru by Hilton offers a complimentary breakfast 6am-9am. It includes hot items, bacon and eggs and other items, freshly made pancakes, cereal, breakfast breads, yogurts, fruit and all the toppings
We offer:
Work, play, lounge, or eat in our 2880 square-foot lobby-with Pool Table
24/7 Market with local gourmet snacks & drinks
Large bathrooms with tons of counter space & glass
55inch TVs with in-room entertainment system-Netflix and huge selection of premium channels
24/7 complimentary LaVazza coffee
Tech Forward with Free Fast Wi-Fi and easy to reach charging outlets
Modern Fitness center
Partenza Partita! 2022 AQTX/Longhorn December Game Day
Copied from our October Game Day, except that this one is a farewell to Stefano who will be returning to Italy in a couple weeks and missing out on the Cowtown Stampede. Tentative schedule below.
***
A few notes about Sunday’s game day since there have been questions.
- If you have not signed up for the event using TeamUnify, and you are currently registered with AquaTex, just show up if you want to play. We are trying to get everyone accustomed to using TeamUnify to indicate their commitment to events but there’s some wiggle room for our game day
- The start times are tentative though we are going to try to stick to them within reason. It is possible, for example, that we’ll combine 12u and 14u in to one game depending on our numbers
- High school athletes:
- come early to run the clocks, which we will do for each game (6 minute quarters)
- those currently registered (not suspended) with AquaTex or Longhorn can participate
- Games will be refereed by coaches
- The game day takes the place of practice in case you wondered. There will be no training on Sunday, just games.
***
AquaTex members, indicate your intent to play via your TeamUnify portal.
We’ll be hosting a game day with our friends from Longhorn including high school and age group athletes (we hope to have enough for a 10u game as well).
We will attempt to create games with AquaTex vs. Longhorn but will adjust as necessary depending on the turnout.
The tentative schedule is:
9:00 AM pool open for warmup
9:30 AM 12u Coed Game
10:15 AM 14u Coed Game (High School girls should expect to play at this time)
11:00 High School Game
noon Masters Game
Masters athletes who are not AquaTex members will pay the usual $10 walk-in fee.
2022 AQTX/Longhorn October Game Day
A few notes about Sunday’s game day since there have been questions.
- If you have not signed up for the event using TeamUnify, and you are currently registered with AquaTex, just show up if you want to play. We are trying to get everyone accustomed to using TeamUnify to indicate their commitment to events but there’s some wiggle room for our game day
- The start times are tentative though we are going to try to stick to them within reason. It is possible, for example, that we’ll combine 12u and 14u in to one game depending on our numbers
- High school athletes:
- come early to run the clocks, which we will do for each game (6 minute quarters)
- those currently registered (not suspended) with AquaTex or Longhorn can participate
- Games will be refereed by coaches
- The game day takes the place of practice in case you wondered. There will be no training on Sunday, just games.
***
AquaTex members, indicate your intent to play via your TeamUnify portal.
We’ll be hosting a game day with our friends from Longhorn including high school and age group athletes (we hope to have enough for a 10u game as well).
We will attempt to create games with AquaTex vs. Longhorn but will adjust as necessary depending on the turnout.
The tentative schedule is:
9:00 AM pool open for warmup
9:30 AM 12u Coed Game
10:15 AM 14u Coed Game
11:00 High School Game
noon Masters Game
Masters athletes who are not AquaTex members will pay the usual $10 walk-in fee.
2022 Alamo (Fall) Classic (14, 12, 10u)
Athlete Fees
Each athlete will pay $75 for participating in this tournament payable directly to Coach James via Venmo.
Schedule/Results
Schedule/ResultsRoster
For our Athletes & Families
We very gladly have a lot of new athletes attending this tournament. Welcome to all of you, and of course to all our experienced families as well. Here are a few things to cover for newcomers and oldsters alike:
- Always plan on being ready to meet together one hour before our first game of the day. That is an AquaTex policy. Please schedule your time accordingly. For any following games on the same day plan on meeting 40 minutes before game time.
- Wear your team suit every game of the tournament, and your team t-shirt on Saturday (Sunday too if you feel like recycling!).
- Expect three games per day even if we only end up playing two. That means, be prepared: extra towel, goggles for warmup, eye drops, snacks, water, an extra suit is always a good idea. Be ready.
- Food. Between games we encourage our athletes to eat lean protein, fruit, simple carbohydrates (not just candy!), water. After our last game of the day you can eat what you want… within reason.
- AquaTex doesn’t organize team hotels or meals but definitely appreciates parents who take the lead in finding hotel blocks to share and/or organizing team meals. That is mostly done via our GroupMe so please do communicate amongst each other there.
From the Hosts
Alamo Area Water Polo will be hosting the Alamo Classic on October 8-9, 2022 at the Alamo Heights Natatorium in San Antonio for 14U/12U/10U athletes (divisions are grade based). This is a two-day sanctioned USAWP event with divisions for 8th Grade & Younger Boys/Mixed, 8th Grade & Younger Girls, 6th Grade & Younger Mixed, and 4th Grade & Younger Mixed. Games will be played in two courses running simultaneously and begin on Saturday morning and ending around 3:00-4:00 pm on Sunday. Games will be 4 x 6:00 minute quarters. All teams will be guaranteed four games. To register, please complete the online registration (no cost) and bring entry fee checks to the pool the weekend of the tournament (check made payable to “AHISD”). Below is all the tournament info. Online Team Registration: Alamo Classic (must be logged in at USAWP website to register).
Alamo Classic – October 8-9, 2022:
Date: October 8-9, 2022. Games will be played in two courses running simultaneously and begin on Saturday morning and ending around 3:00-4:00 pm on Sunday.
Location: Alamo Heights Natatorium, 705 Trafalgar Rd., San Antonio, TX 78216
Divisions: 8th Grade & Younger Boys/Mixed, 8th Grade & Younger Girls, 6th Grade & Younger Mixed, and 4th Grade & Younger Mixed
Entry Fee: $550 per team. Please bring checks made payable to “AHISD” to the pool the day of the event.
Format: Games will be 4 x 6:00 minute quarters. All teams will receive at least 4 games.
Online Team Registration: Alamo Classic (must be logged in at USAWP website to register).
Registration Deadline: Sunday, October 2, 2022
Roster Deadline: Friday, October 7, 2022
Schedule: An online schedule will be sent to everyone on Monday, October 3, 2022
Not Enough Players: If your club has athletes that would like to play in a specific division, but you do not have enough players for your own team, please email and I will attempt to help facilitate partnering up clubs as needed.
2022 Armadillo Classic Tournament
Schedule/Results
Note that the age groups are grade-based. Unfortunately, our 14u athletes who are in 9th grade cannot compete at this tournament.
For our Athletes & Families
We very gladly have a lot of new athletes attending this tournament. Welcome to all of you, and of course to all our experienced families as well. Here are a few things to cover for newcomers and oldsters alike:
- Always plan on being ready to meet together one hour before our first game of the day. That is an AquaTex policy. Please schedule your time accordingly.
- BUT, given the 7.30 start time on Saturday the facility may not even be open an hour before game time so plan on meeting at 6:45 AM. We need to talk before we get in and warm up.
- AquaTex doesn’t organize team hotels or meals but definitely appreciates parents who take the lead in finding hotel blocks to share and/or organizing team meals. That is mostly done via our GroupMe so please do communicate amongst each other there.
- Wear your team suit every game of the tournament, and your team t-shirt on Saturday (Sunday too if you feel like recycling!).
- Expect three games per day even if we only end up playing two. That means, be prepared: extra towel, goggles for warmup, eye drops, snacks, water, an extra suit is always a good idea. Be ready.
- Food. Between games we encourage our athletes to eat lean protein, fruit, simple carbohydrates (not just candy!), water. After our last game of the day you can eat what you want… within reason.
There may be more added here so stay tuned.
Working Rosters
| 4th | 6th grade & under | 8th grade & under |
|---|---|---|
| Claire | Laird | Pierce Green |
| Silas | Tristan Chamas | |
| Robert | Landon Vickery | |
| Jackson | John "Wes" Kelly | |
| Sawyer | Isabelle Morrison | |
| Claire | William Pemberton | |
| Jackson "JP" Place | ||
| Chase Wadley | ||
| Kenneth "Cash" Brown | ||
| Rudy-Matheo Garcia | ||
| Diego Suarez-Quiroga |
From the Hosts
Thank you for registering for the Armadillo Classic on September 10-11, 2022 at the LISD Eastside Aquatic Center. Teams will need to print out and bring their own score sheets and member cards to the pool. Give a score sheet to the table before each game. Additionally, teams will need to supply their own warm-up balls.. There will not be warm-up space available. Teams will need to warm-up in between quarters and/or immediately before the game.
Admissions: $5 for the weekend
Rosters/Scoresheets: Referees will be doing ID checks this weekend. Teams will need to print out and bring their own score sheets and member cards to the pool. Give a score sheet to the score table before each game.
- Schedule
- Dates: September 10 – 11, 2022
- 6:00 quarters
- 2 timeouts
- Shootout to decide a tie
- Location: LISD Eastside Aquatic Center, 5729 Memorial Dr, The Colony, TX 75056
- Divisions: 8th Grade & Younger Mixed, 8th Grade & Younger Girls, 6th Grade & Younger Mixed, 4th Grade & Younger Mixed
- Host Club: Mavericks Water Polo
2022 South Texas Spring Champs
Schedule/Results
Working Rosters
| 4th Grade/U (5v5) Only 1 Game | 6th Grade/U (6v6) | 6th Grade/U (6v6) | 8th Grade/U (7v7) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric | Longhorn Orange | Longhorn White (AquaHorns) | Laird |
| Claire | Eliza | Izzy | Nick |
| Avi | Laird | Wes | Pierce |
| Ryan | Zephyr | Aaron | Zeke |
| Grey | Jackson | Eric | Landon |
| Dan | Claire | Cruz | |
| Robert | Avi | Flora | |
| Ryan W | Maddox | ||
| Grey? | Tomas | ||
| Ryan W. | |||
The day after West Region High School Championships are complete, Alamo Area Aquatics Association plans to host a Game Day for middle school and younger athletes. It will take place on April 24 at the AHISD Natatorium. Age groups are determined by grade. AquaTex will plan on combining with Longhorn when necessary as we did for the Alamo Classic a few weeks ago.
The event will take place all day Sunday.
Currently, plans are for all 4th grade and under athletes who are interested in playing to be divided up equally among 2-3 teams and will NOT compete for any particular club.
From the Host
There will be two divisions: 8th Grade & Younger Mixed and 6th Grade & younger Mixed. Additionally, we will be playing two exhibition games: 8th Grade & Younger Girls and 4th Grade & Younger Mixed. The 8th grade & Younger Mixed division will be playing first thing in the morning, then the two exhibition games, and finishing with the 6th Grade & Younger Mixed division playing late morning/early afternoon. This event will have a championship format with awards and played in two courses running simultaneously. All teams will be guaranteed two games with the games being back to back or with one game break (no waiting around all day for games).
Welcome Coach Barbara, Thunder Tourney, Spring Festival, HS Season
Welcome Coach Barbara
The newest addition to our coaching staff is Barbara Lanier, a former varsity player at the University of Michigan, one of the top ranked programs in the nation, and at Acalanes High School in Northern California. She also has significant coaching experience working with Saline High School in Michigan and Diablo Alliance Water Polo in California, where she enjoyed both polo and summer league swim coaching. She will immediately fit with our Swim2Score program, which she’ll run on Sunday, Feb 20. You can expect to see her doing more than that since she has experience working with all age groups. This as we round out our staff and increase the number of athletes at AquaTex. Welcome, Coach Barbara!
Thunder Spring Invite
We’re all set with our (Longhorn) teams participating at the Thunder Spring Invite. I’ll be up there along with Coaches Tom and Becca of Longhorn. There are lots of hotels nearby for those traveling to the very nice Lewisville ISD Westside Aquatic Center. Feel free to use the GroupMe among our families to organize before and during the tournament. Stoked for our young AquaTexans!
Spring Festival Approaches
We’re two weeks away from hosting our last ever Spring high school tournament. Current AquaTex members should have received an email on Thursday introducing many to our volunteer needs for the event. We have more members than we ever have so we should have plenty to cover all our volunteer needs and more. High school teams have until Feb 25 to register after which we’ll publish a schedule as soon as possible. Expect to see more about volunteering soon, and let’s keep this one of the best-run high school tournaments in our area.
High School Polo Sessions
AquaTex is working on creating extra training for high school-only athletes beginning on or around February 28 and ending around May 1. Details are forthcoming but sessions are likely to be on multiple weekday mornings from 7-9 AM and are available to any registered AquaTex water polo athlete currently in high school. There will be no changes to our Monday and Wednesday evening training sessions, to which all high school athletes will also have access. Middle school athletes will remain on their Monday, Wednesday evening, and Saturday/Sunday morning schedules.
Lake Creek
‘Tis the season to decamp to the lovely, wonderful Lake Creek pool. That move will take place after we host our tournament, March 4-5. More details to come as usual but… be prepared.
See you on the deck.
STX Winter Champs, Thunder Tourney, Spring Festival and More
Catching up on a lot of stuff so here we go.
South Texas Champs Re-cap
Big thanks to Coach Alon for spending all Sunday the 30th in San Antonio watching our teams perform well at the South Texas Winter Championships. Here’s his recap of the day:
18 u Mixed
The AquaHorns fought hard bright and early to start the day against Zilla. Aaron Gordon won all 4 swim offs and led the team counter attack. Jacob Gerakos and Jake Roberts alternated in center and the team, especially Luca de Araujo from the 4/5 side, did a great job working the ball into center. Kendall Strauss and Cruz Crowley both had several stellar defensive plays throughout the game. The team ultimately lost to ZIlla in a shootout.
Next, the team matched up with Alamo Area. While the team executed defensively, they were unable to convert a number of key offensive opportunities that cost them the game in an 8-6 loss.
14 U AquaHorns
Our 14-U AquaHorns played some real water polo this weekend. It was a great opportunity for some younger players to get some solid game experience and playing time. We opened with a strong win against Zilla, followed by a 1 goal loss to Longhorn, and finished with another strong effort against Zilla. Gavin Hantelman scored his first tournament goal in the first game. Tomas Bellavia had a notable defensive performance throughout the three games. Jacob continue to impress out of center with some quick shots under pressure. Kelly Murphy was a big defensive help for the team, as well as a leader on the counter attack with James Strauss. Overall, it was an impressive effort for a team of various experience levels.
12 U AquaTex
Our 12-U showed up ready to fight—almost at bedtime—Sunday night. Despite missing some key offensive players, the AquaTex team was able to put 10 goals up on Alamo Area. Rudy suffered from a ball to the nose, taking him out for part of the 2nd quarter of the 1st game with a bloody nose. Not easily shaken, he was right back in the water at the start of the 3rd quarter! Isabelle Morrison scored an excellent high corner goal on the counter attack. Silas and Tomas alternated in goal and the field, each taking a leadership role both offensively and defensively for the AquaTex team. Wes (John) Kelly and Ryan White played reliable press defense, each proving they are picking up on the fundamentals we teach them in practice.
We we also part of some very strong Longhorn teams including our usual 16u boys team, which went undefeated, and our awesome Swim2Score athletes Ryan and Ashton playing on Longhorn White 10u. It was a very good Sunday for the club.
Thunder Spring Invite
Roster call for the next USAWP tournament of the spring season up in Lewisville February 26-27. Check out the event page and mark your commitment on the sheet we shared in GroupMe. Note that it is only for athletes age 14u and that the age is determined as of August 1, 2022. As usual we will partner with Longhorn if necessary. Let’s go!
Spin Lob
Coaches Alon and Matthew are playing for Longhorn Masters this weekend at the Spin Lob Classic at UT. It’s one of the premier masters tournaments in the US and features a lot of US Olympians and other extremely talented players. If you’re in Austin on Sunday in particular (prior to the Super Bowl) watch the final matches, likely to feature Olympic Club and/or New York Athletic Club, both of which are loaded with Olympians. Pegasus Dallas Masters has also emerged as one of the best teams in the US. Don’t miss practice but if you’re near UT go check it out.
Also, a team from Barbados Water Polo will be loosening up, scrimmaging at Micki on Friday at 8:00 PM with Coaches Alon and Matthew. All our high school athletes are encouraged to hop in with them and get some good game experience.
AQTX Spring Festival Tournament
We’re just a few weeks away from our final Spring Festival, a high school tournament we’ve hosted for several years. Families can expect to see a volunteer sheet soon, and athletes will be assigned to work the desk during our matches. Jobs include concessions, course setup and breakdown, managing hospitality for referees and coaches, and more. As a member of our club all our families are expected to contribute to hosting efforts so thank you in advance.
Camps and Clinics
The number of clinics available to our athletes is ever increasing and we’re getting questions about which ones are best suited to our athletes. One that is relatively nearby and that will feature one of the best coaches in Europe is the Pegasus Spring Break Camp at SMU with sessions stretching between March 12-19. We definitely recommend that one, but know there are many others in California too. Give us a shout if you want our input about who’s running these clinics. Stoked that so many of us are interested in getting better at one or more of these events.
Other Stuff
Swim2Score
With the weather improving (finally!) we’re putting the call out there to give our Swim2Score program a try. For young athletes age 5-11 who want to learn both good swim technique AND throw a ball around in the water. One-hour sessions with our creative and fun coaches, Sundays at 10:30 AM. Contact us for more info and come give it a try twice for free.
Zumo Gear
My old friends from Zumo are having a gigantic blowout sale. If you’re looking for water polo OR swim training suits at half cost (including the ones already on sale – high quality women’s water polo suits for less than $30!) I strongly suggest you check them out. I just ordered a bunch of balls from them and may do even more.