Dare to Dream

2022UILRegionalsTrophies

Training Changes, Roster Call, LISD

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Schedule Change

As we just emailed to all our active members our training schedule is changing immediately. A quick note to our Novice and Age Group families. We’d like you to begin your Tuesday/Thursday schedule right away so plan on coming tomorrow and not tonight, Monday.

Given the sheer number of athletes we now have we’re running out of pool space. So we’re changing the schedule to accommodate more bodies and give each group the attention it deserves. This includes the addition of a Tuesday practice and staggered start times on the weekends. (I haven’t yet updated it on the calendar but will).

  • Monday and Wednesday
    • High School Waterpolo, 7-9 PM
  • Tuesday and Thursday
    • Novice Waterpolo, 7-8 PM
    • Age Group Waterpolo, 7-9 PM
  • Saturday
    • Novice Waterpolo, 10-11 AM
    • Age Group Waterpolo, 10 AM – noon
    • High School Waterpolo, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
    • Swim2Score, 11:00 AM – noon
  • Sunday
    • Novice Waterpolo, 9 – 10 AM
    • Age Group Waterpolo, 9 – 11 AM
    • High School Waterpolo, 10 AM – noon
    • Masters Waterpolo, 11:30 AM – 1 PM

Welcome

Speaking of growth, welcome to all the athletes – and their families – we’ve added in the last few weeks: Rein, William, Parker, Colton, Noelle, Elliot, Alyssa, Erica, Keegan, Remy, and Emeric. Did I miss anyone?!

LISD Water Polo

There’s a serious effort by parents, athletes, supporters, and coaches to convince the Leander ISD to reverse it’s decision to drop varsity water polo after just one season. Anyone who’s interested in supporting that cause can start by visiting saveleanderwaterpolo.org.

My opinion:

I have on- and 0ff-the-record opinions of their decision. I’ll reserve the pithier, more annoyed off-the-record one for more personal discussions. Regardless, the LISD decision is short-sighted. And anyone involved in the sport locally knows there are solutions to the problems sited by the District in their decision.

Yes, you can find coaches (they don’t need to be swim coaches).

Yes, you may need to be creative but there is pool time.

Yes, we understand that it would be optimal for every school in your district to support water polo programs, but that simply doesn’t exist in ANY other district in Texas.

We all know these things (and more) to be true.

I admire those who are putting together plans for how parents and students can address these issues positively, offering actual solutions rather than simply bemoaning the decision. Well done. You have my support.

I also have faith that there will come a change of plans by the District. We may not yet be close to that but there appear to be positive forces working toward that end.

And I have strong opinions about what’s going on but feel that as a club coach I need to lend my voice sparingly. Of course I support maintaining UIL water polo, especially at our local schools, for all kinds of reasons. But I could also see how my input might be counterproductive, so I will defer to those of you leading this effort and contribute just about any way you think will help.

Tourneys

Dare to Dream

The rosters are set for this weekend’s Dare to Dream tournament in College Station. AquaTex has entered its first ever 10u team to be led by Coach Babs. It includes Ryan, Grey, Neel, Ilay, Emeric, and a youngster from San Antonio we’ll meet when we’re there. Meanwhile, Clayton and William will play for Longhorn’s 12u team. Such an exciting start for so many of our new players. Make sure you have fun and learn something! We have lots of newcomers so please be sure to join our GroupMe if you haven’t already so Babs can communicate with all our Dare to Dream families. Good luck!

South TX Winter Champs

It’s a one-day championship bonanza in San Antonio on Sunday, Feb 5 for all ages and featuring teams exclusively from Central Texas. AquaTex intends to enter 18u boys, 18u girls, 16u boys, 14u boys, 10u mixed. If you haven’t already indicated your commitment go here and click on the “attend/decline” button. Each roster will play two games but anyone who qualifies for two rosters (those who play on 16u and 18u, for example) can expect four games. Then you can go to Cabo Bobs.

See you on the deck,

handsparkler

New Year Sale, Scrimmage Day, Roster Calls, Parent Meeting

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Here’s wishing all our families, athletes, coaches, and supporters a prosperous 2023. We’ve been dormant for only a couple weeks but it seems like a lifetime so we’re excited to resume activities in the coming days.

Training Update

We return in full force on Saturday, January 7, 10:00 AM. Then on Sunday the 8th we’ll host a controlled scrimmage day with Longhorn. The schedule will resemble our game days but we will be a bit flexible. Controlled scrimmage means that coaches will manage the scrimmage with specific goals in mind and likely have an agenda (press vs. Zone defense and 6 on 5 come to mind).

Updated, 2 January 2023

  • 9:00-10:00ish AM, Age Group (12u/14u) Coed scrimmage
  • 10:00-11:00ish AM High School scrimmage
  • 11:00-noonish, Masters

Roster Call(s)

We’re not attending the Cowtown Stampede the weekend of January 7-8 but there’s the Dare to Dream tournament, which takes place on January 28-29, already on our calendar. This tournament is geared entirely toward 12u and 10u athletes. So we want as many of our Novices and Swim2Score athletes taking part. And this season it is being held at Texas A&M.

Also, I have good info that there should be a one-day event in San Antonio for all ages before the end of January. Stay tuned.

Gear: New Year Sale!

To say thanks for your support of the club and to boost our gear wearage (?) we’re having a sale! Use the coupon code NYear23 for a 23% discount on any purchase of Printful gear from the AquaTex Waterpolo Shop. The discount does not apply to RYTE suits. The sale ends on January 16 so order soon.

Finances

I’m way behind on tournament finances (someone kindly gave me a kick in the pants about it.) I’ll have specific charges for families who still owe me for participating at one of the three tournaments below soon. But if you notice via your Venmo records that you haven’t paid me for any or all of these, feel free! My Venmo handle is @sadhuminstrels. And for those who may be newer to our program, I do pay for tournaments myself (entry fees, coaches’ lodging, fuel per diem), thus the request for Venmo payments to directly reimburse me. Please remember, the charge is per roster, meaning that if your athlete played both 16u and 18u games they owe the fee below times two.

  • Alamo Classic (18u/16u), Nov 5-6, $65
  • TAGS, Nov 19-20, $75
  • Jingle Bells Festival, Dec 17-18, $61

Parent Meeting for JOs

That’s right. The start of 2023 means we have to start planning for JOs. On January 10 at 7:00 PM I’ll be hosting an online meeting where I’ll share our current plans for Junior Olympics in the summer of 2023 and ask for you feedback about expectations. The biggest question for each team: do we want to qualify to go to California or do we want to play in North Texas? Our friends from Longhorn will be having a similar discussion and our coaching staffs will coordinate as much as necessary. Look for a link to the meeting via GroupMe as that date approaches.

International AquaTex

Given the very serious and fantastic international flavor of our club we’re making a multi-lingual tee-shirt on which we’ll print “waterpolo” in as many languages that are spoken within our families. That includes, but is not at all limited to: Spanish, Italian, Korean, Hebrew, Russian, Ukrainian, Swedish, Nepali, Hindi, Cantonese, Vietnamese, French, English… Surely there are more so please contact me if your family actively speaks a language at home that’s missing from this list.

Happy New Year.

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2023 Dare to Dream Festival

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Schedule/Results

For our Athletes & Families

Admissions

Parents/Spectators can pre-pay before they arrive at the facility or scan a QR Code/pay at the admissions desk on the Second Level. Parents/Spectators will receive a wristband depending on what they purchase. Dare to Dream – Texas Festival Admissions: $10 Day Pass, $15 Weekend Pass. Children 5 & Younger will not be charged admission.

Click here for the Admissions Link

USA Water Polo IDs

2023 AquaTex Dare to Dream IDs

Texas A&M Waivers

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dn-92fRn8TFQIdHEYx1d8RqoprdZIOlb/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ef7lZ8K_vpMAX8czrC-6Tn2psgnJfdj0/view

Tournament Expectations

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:

  • Plan on being ready to meet together 30-40 minutes minimum before our first game of the day. Coach Babs will let you know via GroupMe.
  • Athletes, wear your team suit every game of the tournament, and your team t-shirt on Saturday at least. And, of course, we encourage our families to don the black, orange, and blue while attending.
  • 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.
  • We expect all our athletes to work hard, to be their best, when we compete. Winning and losing are important but not nearly as much as effort, being the best you can be, being there for your teammates, communicating, executing the skills you learned at practice. That’s what we as a club and your coaches expect.

Athlete Fees

Each athlete will pay for participating in this tournament payable directly to Coach James via Venmo. Fees are nearly always estimated to be approximately $95 per athlete per roster. The final fee will be calculated after the tournament and takes in to account tournament entry fees, coaches’ travel expenses, per diem, etc.

Working Rosters

AQTX 10uPlaying for Longhorn 12u
Ryan BensonClayton Waterbury
Ashton BensonWilliam Pemberton
Neel Ramanathan
Ilay Lev
Emeric Colegrove
(2 San Antonio players)

From the Host

This is a friendly reminder of the USA Water Polo Dare to Dream – Texas Festival on January 28-29, 2023 at Texas A&M University in College Station. This event is for our youngest athletes and is designed to be a fun, developmental tournament (no qualification required, no club affiliation required). The divisions for this year’s event will be 12U Mixed, 12U Girls, and 10U Mixed (Age as of Date is January 28, 2023…first day of the tournament). The 12U Divisions will play 6 on 6 (5 field players, 1 goalie) with junior size goals and size 3 balls. The 10U Mixed will play 5 on 5 (4 x field players, 1 goalie) with a shorter course, 10U size goals, and size 2 balls. The hope is all clubs throughout the Southwest Zone will enter/support this event and join in on the fun. Developing confidence and having fun will be the focus. Teams are invited to come to Texas A&M/College Station ready to play, grow and enjoy the game. This tournament will truly be a great experience for all teams/athletes/clubs/coaches involved!

Online Team Registration/Payment: USAWP Dare to Dream – Texas Festival (must be logged in at USAWP website to register).

USA Water Polo – Dare to Dream – Texas Festival:
Dates: January 28-29, 2023
Location: Texas A&M Student Recreation Center, 187 Corrington Dr, College Station, Texas, 77843 (two courses, plus separate 10U course)
Divisions: 12U Mixed, 12U Girls, and 10U Mixed
Age as of Date: January 28, 2023…first day of the tournament
Entry Fee: $550 per team. Payments will be collected when completing the online team registration process.
Online Team Registration/Payment: USAWP Dare to Dream – Texas Festival (must be logged in at USAWP website to register).
Registration Deadline: Friday, January 20, 2023
Roster Deadline: Monday, January 23, 2023
Schedule: An online schedule will be sent to everyone on Monday, January 23, 2023
Tournament Details:
Age as of Date: January 28, 2023…first day of the tournament
Bronze level membership and birth date verification is required for all athletes
There is no club affiliation rule for this national event
There is no qualification required for this tournament
Teams will play no more than 3 games per day
Athletes can only play on one roster in a single division (athletes can play in multiple divisions)
The 12U Divisions will play 6 on 6 (5 field players, 1 goalie) with junior size goals and size 3 balls
10U Playing Rules for 2023 Dare to Dream – Texas Festival:
5 on 5 (4 field players, 1 goalie)
15 yard course length
10U Goals/Size 2 Balls

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Firsts and Lasts at Dare to Dream, South TX Champs Upcoming

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Dare to Dream Success

An AquaTex-only 12u roster went 3-1 at the Dare to Dream Festival in Cypress over the past weekend, beating Pegasus Red, CFWPC, and Alamo Area while falling to the Thunder 12u girls (they’re good!). It’s the first 12u team made up exclusively of full time AquaTex members in some time and bodes well for the future, especially since we were missing a few 12u athletes who had other commitments.

A particular shout-out to Tristan and Tomas who have now graduated to the 14u level of play after showing their prodigious skills against the four opponents (one opposing coach was particularly impressed). Wes was the anchor in goal and also got significant playing time in the field; Izzy continues her one-on-one defensive onslaught; William was relentless in attacking the cage and scoring; Rudy continues to shoot the ball hard and increasingly accurately; and Silas is an old veteran, steady hand, making few mistakes and plenty of smart passes and decisions (while also dominating at the 10u level).

Two dominant wins, one tight contest with Alamo, and a challenging but close loss to Thunder: it was a very good weekend for AquaTex.

Meanwhile, Silas, Ryan, and Ash (repping our Swim2Score program) went 2-2 with their Longhorn White 10u team, including a six-goal comeback to beat Viper Pigeon 24-22 in their tourney opener. Silas was dominant, the leading scorer and distributor while Ash improved even over the course of four matches in the goal. And Ryan (age 7!) participated in every game contributing a key pass in her last game. It was such a fun tournament for our youngest athletes. Longhorn was the only program that entered two 10u teams, a great sign for both our club and the ‘Horns.

South Texas Winter Championships Roster Call

On Sunday, January 30 we’ll return to the new Alamo Heights pool to participate in the South Texas Championships. This one-day festival is another great chance for all our age groups to get together before the high school season begins. For our oldest athletes, our preference is to create at least one 18u coed team made up only of AquaTex athletes led by Coach Alon. Even better would be separate 18u boys and 18u girls teams that would include anyone of high school age. If that doesn’t work out we will happily compete as AquaHorns, boys and girls. Those are details yet to come but given the return of several of our 18/16u athletes it’s possible we could field exclusively AquaTex teams. Sign up!

The same holds true for every other age group though it is far more likely we’ll combine with Longhorn for those, maybe excepting an AquaTex 12u coed team (six AquaTex 12u athletes are already signed up). If you need the link to our commitment sheet just let us know. Deadline is Thursday the 20th.

That’s all for now. See you on the deck.

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2022 Dare to Dream Festival

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Schedule/Results

AQTX/Longhorn Game Schedule

DayPoolTimeWhite CapsScore WhiteScore DarkDark Caps
AQTX 12u
Saturday311:00 AMAquaTex 12u115Pegasus Red
Saturday35:00 PMAquaTex 12u1217Thunder Girls
Sunday27:30 AMAquaTex 12u175CFWPC
Sunday210:30 AMAlamo Area1518AquaTex 12u
Longhorn White 10u
Saturday12:00 PMLonghorn White 10u2422Viper Pigeons
Saturday16:00 PMAlamo Area2119Longhorn White 10u
Sunday19:30 AMLonghorn White 10u1215Pegasus
Sunday111:30 AMCowtown/Southside1621Longhorn White 10u
Longhorn Orange 10u
Saturday112:00 PMCowtown/Southside716Longhorn Orange 10u
Saturday13:00 PMAlamo Area2410Longhorn Orange 10u
Sunday17:30 AMLonghorn Orange 10u1216Viper Pigeons
Sunday110:30 AMLonghorn Orange 10u1413Zilla

Rosters

LH 10U OrangeLH 10U WhiteAQTX 12uLH 12u
Avi SinghalAshton Benson7 - William PembertonEliza Burkhart
Claire GreenRobert Roth8 - Isabelle MorrisonDaniel Armendariz
Sawyer JayasuriyaLaird Green6 - Rudy-Matheo GarciaPierce Green
Eric CrockettRyan Benson2 - John KellyFinnley May
Claire GreenLennon Beavers4 - Silas ChamasRobert Roth
Joe HobsonSilas Chamas5 - Tristan ChamasJoe Hobson
Calder May3 - Tomas BellaviaEric Crockett
Lennon Beavers

Strongly encouraged for ALL our 12u and 10u athletes, including Swim2Score. Important to note:

  • 10u competition will take place with four field players and a goalie
  • 12u competition will take place with five field players and a goalie

From the Host

last updated 11 January 2022

Schedule and Results | Official Rules | Event Procedures

The USA Water Polo Dare to Dream – Texas Festival will be on January 15-16, 2022 at the CFISD Natatorium in Northwest Houston (over the MLK Holiday Weekend). This event is for our youngest athletes and is designed to be a fun, developmental tournament (no qualification required, no club affiliation required). The divisions for this year’s event will be 12U Mixed, 12U Girls, and 10U Mixed (Age as of Date is August 1, 2021). The 12U Divisions will play 6 on 6 (5 field players, 1 goalie) with junior size goals. The 10U Mixed will play 5 on 5 (4 x field players, 1 goalie) with a shorter course and Splashball size balls/goals The hope is all clubs throughout the Southwest Zone will enter/support this event and join in on the fun. Developing confidence and having fun will be the focus. Teams are invited to come to Northwest Houston ready to play, grow and enjoy the game. This tournament will truly be a great experience for all teams/athletes/clubs/coaches involved!!! NOTE: Online Team Registration for the event is currently not available. Everyone will receive emails once this is available.

  • Dates: January 15-16, 2022
  • Location: CFISD Natatorium, 12550 Windfern Rd B, Houston, TX 77064 (two courses, plus separate 10U course)
  • Divisions: 12U Mixed, 12U Girls, and 10U Mixed
  • Age as of Date: August 1, 2021
  • Entry Fee: $450 per team. Payments will be collected when completing the online team registration process.
  • Team Registration: Online Team Registration for the event is currently not available. Everyone will receive emails once this is available.
  • Registration Deadline: Coming Soon
  • Roster Deadline: Coming Soon
  • Schedule: Coming Soon
  • Tournament Hotel: HOMEWOOD SUITES – NW HOUSTON AT BELTWAY 8, 8950 Fallbrook Dr, Houston, TX (832) 648-4700. 109 per night for Double Rooms, $99 per night for King Room (Friday and/or Saturday). Reserve Rooms by Monday, January 3, 2021. Free Breakfast, Parking, Wifi. Booking Link
  • Age as of Date: August 1, 2021
  • Bronze level membership and birth date verification is required for all athletes
  • There is no club affiliation rule for this national event
  • There is no qualification required for this tournament
  • Teams will play no more than 3 games per day
  • Athletes can only play on one roster in a single division (athletes can play in multiple divisions)
  • The 12U Divisions will play 6 on 6 (5 field players, 1 goalie) with junior size goals.
  • 10U Playing Rules for 2022 Dare to Dream – Texas Festival:
    • 5 on 5 (4 field players, 1 goalie)
    • 15 yard course length
    • Splashball Goals/Balls