Junior Olympics

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WTTS, Junior Olympics, Summer Training Schedule

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There’s a lot to cover. First, big thanks to all our coaches who are taking care of business while I’m overseas with the family. I’ll return on June 3 and am (obviously) still in communication with y’all.

WTTS

The schedule is out. Coaches Matt and Savvy will be updating all our participants via GroupMe. Good luck and have a great weekend in San Antonio.

Summer Schedule

May 27-28 Weekend

Keep an eye on GroupMe for announcements from Coach Alon about practice this weekend. It’s entirely possible we’ll cancel since most will be in San Antonio or out of town for the holiday.

Summer Schedule

The summer training schedule is here:

High School Waterpolo Training Group
– Tuesday 7 – 9 PM
– Friday 7:15 – 9:15 PM
– Saturday (select): 10 AM – noon
– Sunday: 10 AM – noon

Age Group Waterpolo Training Group
– Tuesday 6-8 PM
– Friday 7:15 – 9:15 PM
– Saturday (select): 9 AM – 11 AM
– Sunday: 9 AM – 11 AM

Novice Waterpolo Training Group
– Tuesday 6-7 PM
– Friday 7:15 – 8:15 PM
– Saturday (select): 9 AM – 10 AM
– Sunday: 9 AM – 10 AM

Swim2Score
– Sunday 10 AM – 11 AM

Masters Waterpolo
– TBD

Regarding our Tuesday practices, we may consolidate them on occasion and start only at 7PM to accommodate coaches’ schedules. A reminder that our goofy summer schedule is meant to maximize the amount of deep-water training we get during the pool’s busiest time of year.

Junior Olympics Update

By Junior Olympics I mean the JOs Qualifier Tournament, The Southwest Zone Festival, and then Sessions 1-3 of Junior Olympics themselves. Here’s an update, and some task items for those of you participating.

First, if you haven’t done so already all participants must have Gold USAWP membership and have submitted valid Date of Birth verification.

If you are playing for a non-AquaTex Team (Longhorn, Alamo Area) you need to change your club affiliation. If you are not in communication with Longhorn or Alamo Area let me know.

14u boys

14u boys are paid and registered for the JOs Qualifier/JOs Session 1. A couple reminders:

Qualifier games will begin on Friday, June 9 itself so prepare for early Friday morning games (I’ll be checking in on Thursday afternoon). The location in Cypress again with our games likely to all be at the CFISD Natatorium next to Pridgeon Stadium.

Our aim is to place top six in the category which would earn us a trip to California! If we don’t achieve that we will most definitely play at Session 3 JOs in North Texas at the end of July instead of at Session 1. I personally won’t be making California travel plans until after the Qualifer tournament but advise our families to at least begin looking for or even booking refundable flights and hotels near Irvine, CA for for Session 1.

18u boys

18u boys are registered and paid for Session 3 of JOs and will be registered and paid for the SWZ Festival on or before May 31. Remember that these two tournaments are basically separate: one does not affect the other. There is no qualifier for Session 3. The Festival is a great warmup tournament for our team and we will enter it, but athletes are not required to be on the SWZ Festival roster to play at Session 3.

Plans are already afoot among parents for traveling to Session 3. Keep an eye on GroupMe for hotel suggestions, etc.

Also, we’re very pleased to have Kaden from Longhorn joining our roster as a goalie. Thanks to him and his family! We’ll make introductions very soon.

10u mixed, 12u mixed, 14u girls, 18u girls

  • 10u mixed: Ryan, Grey, and Emeric are all on Longhorn’s 10u roster and will attempt to qualify for Session 2
  • 12u mixed: Ilay and Neel are on Longhorn’s 12u mixed team attempting to qualify for Session 2
  • 14u girls: Izzy is on board with Alamo Area, which will play at Session 3
  • 18u girls: We have until May 31 to assemble an AquaTex 18u girls team. If that doesn’t work out then any AquaTex 18u girl who wants to play at JOs will be placed on Longhorn’s Session 3 roster. Let Coach James know what your plans are as soon as possible.

Session 3 Team Dinner

For those headed to Session 3 plan on a team dinner on July 26 tentatively set for 6:30 PM at the Black Walnut Cafe in Coppell. We’ll both celebrate our participation at JOs and (unfortunately) say farewell to Coach Alon.

Gear

I see that some have ordered our new backpack and it looks great. For JOs in particular it would be great to see our athletes donning that gear. You can see our Arena collection here.

A JOs t-shirt is coming. Promise!

CenTex Consolidated High School Team

A reminder that we’re going to attempt to field a team of high schoolers this fall who do not have a UIL team to play for. And, the good news is that Houston will also be fielding a consolidated team in addition to the one in Dallas. So there’s competition to be had for those who want it. If you haven’t already, fill out this form to show your interest, and please do share it with anyone you know who wants to play high school water polo this fall.

See you on the deck (soon).

 

PoloMickiSunset

SWZ Spring Champs Schedule, JOs Registration, Milestones and More

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Let’s get right in to it.

Junior Olympics Registration

A quick reminder and update regarding our plans for Junior Olympics this summer. As of today we are fielding two teams: 14u boys, who will attempt to qualify for Session 1 of the tournament in Southern California, and 18u boys who will forego qualifying and directly enter Session 3 of the tournament to be held in North Texas. As of today all other AquaTex athletes who want to play at JOs will be placed on Longhorn rosters, specifically 10u mixed, 12u mixed, and 18u girls. There is some chance that Longhorn will also field a 14u girls team. But if not, then we’ll partner with AAAA.

If there are enough athletes committed to any age group then our strong preference is to take AquaTex teams to JOs. We love our relationship with Longhorn but want to field our own teams as much as possible.

All four JOs-related tournaments are now open for registration via TeamUnify so go ahead and indicate whether you plan to attend via that.

This is a subject that probably deserves another Zoom meeting so plan on one in the next couple weeks.

Tee-shirt Design

Each year we produce an AquaTex Junior Olympics tee-shirt. Who wants to design this summer’s? The competition is wide open. We’ll set a deadline for submissions but feel free to get working on one (or more) design ideas now. Make sure you follow Printful’s design rules and file guidelines.

Gear

Speaking of team tee-shirts, we now have four items in our shop from Arena, including a customizable team backpack (would be sweet to show up at JOs, everyone wearing one of them!), parka, warmup jacket, and polo shirt. Check out the Arena collection here.

Oh, and your hard work volunteering at SpinLob has paid off: new caps!

Southwest Zone Spring Champs

The schedule is out. A 10am start on Saturday is downright civilized! The team will be led by Coaches James and Savvy unless Babs’ travel schedule miraculously frees her up for the weekend. We’ll see you (again) in Cypress, one hour before the first game.

Training Schedule Update

May 6-7

Coaches Alon and Matt will run practices this weekend, May 6-7. All athletes will practice together for two hours: Saturday 10-noon, Sunday 9-11. No staggered practices.

Summer Schedule

Beginning on May 27 our summer schedule will go in to effect. As of today the summer schedule will be:

High School Waterpolo Training Group
– Tuesday 7 – 9 PM
– Friday 7:15 – 9:15 PM
– Saturday (select): 10 AM – noon
– Sunday: 10 AM – noon

Age Group Waterpolo Training Group
– Tuesday 6-8 PM
– Friday 7:15 – 9:15 PM
– Saturday (select): 9 AM – 11 AM
– Sunday: 9 AM – 11 AM

Novice Waterpolo Training Group
– Tuesday 6-7 PM
– Friday 7:15 – 8:15 PM
– Saturday (select): 9 AM – 10 AM
– Sunday: 9 AM – 10 AM

Swim2Score
– Sunday 10 AM – 11 AM

Masters Waterpolo
– TBD

Also note that there may be schedule changes coming for the month of May itself as Round Rock Dolphins begin their swim season next week.

CenTex Consolidated High School Team

We’re going to attempt to field a team of high schoolers this fall who do not have a UIL team to play for. And, the good news is that Houston will also be fielding a consolidated team in addition to the one in Dallas. So there’s competition to be had for those who want it. If you haven’t already, fill out this form to show your interest, and please do share it with anyone you know who wants to play high school water polo this fall.

Milestones

There are a ton! First, congratulations to Colton for earning the coaches’ April Player of the Month honors. Well done.

Look how many AquaTexans have May birthdays!

William, May 8
Isabelle, May 3
Reinhold, May 21
Josh D., May 19
Colton, May 13
Parker, May 13
Adrian, May 7
Ethan, May 17
Ryan, May 8
Kailee, May 24

Happy birthday to all of you.

And welcome to Devin and Imran. Devin gave us a try a couple weeks ago and we’re looking forward to having him back. Imran is jumping in with us this weekend. Welcome aboard to both of them.

Requests for Services

It would be nice to rehabilitate the goals that we own (actually, two goals are Coach James’ and the other older goals are, basically, Round Rock High School’s, kinda) so we’re looking for potential vendors who could do several things with them, including but not at all limited to:

  • Stripping and repainting or powder coating the metal frame
  • Replace the current nets and ropes
  • Replace any screws, eyelets, etc that are missing
  • Replace broken plastic hinges with something more durable
  • Re-attach the foam in a way that actually floats the cages and doesn’t fall out

The stripping and repainting are by far the most important but we figured we’d ask for everything. If anyone has advice about someone who would do that kind of work at a reasonable price please contact Coach James.

2023 Southwest Zone JO Qualifier Tournament & Festival

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Rosters

AQTX18ubSWZFestScoresheet

AQTX14ubSWZQualsScoresheet

From the Hosts

Below is all the updated info for the upcoming SWZ JO Quals and SWZ Festival on June 9-11, 2023 in Northwest Houston (including current team entries). Please be sure to double check team entries/team names, and let me know TODAY if anything needs to be changed. The SWZ JO Quals will be for those teams trying to qualify for Session #1 or Session #2 and will be played on June 9-11 (Friday-Sunday). The SWZ Festival will be played on June 11-12 for all other clubs/teams. The primary location is the CFISD Natatorium with secondary locations at Cy Ranch HS, Bridgeland HS, and Cy Park HS (and Campbell MS if we have a 10U Division). Below is all the info on both events. A schedule of games for both events will be emailed out to everyone on Monday, June 5th (tomorrow).

SWZ NJO Quals – 2023

Dates: June 9-11, 2023. Games will begin on Friday morning, run all day on Friday/Saturday/Sunday morning, and then end around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon.
Primary Location: CFISD Natatorium, 12550 Windfern Rd, Houston, TX 77064. Three all deep courses running simultaneously.
Secondary Locations: Cy Ranch HS, Bridgeland HS, and Cy Park HS. These are single course facilities.
Divisions: 18UG, 18UB, 16UG, 16UB, 14UG, 14UB, 12UG, 12UB, 12UM, 10UM
Schedule: An online schedule will be sent to everyone on Monday, June 5th.
Admissions: There will be an admission charge at all locations.
Current Team Entries:
*12U Girls (1): Viper Pigeons (Playing only Saturday-Sunday as part of SWZ Festival)
*14U Girls (2): Thunder, Viper Pigeons (Playing JO Quals on Friday, SWZ Festival Saturday-Sunday)
16U Girls (4): Longhorn, Viper Pigeons Pink, Viper Pigeons Black, Thunder (Playing JO Quals Friday-Sunday)
*18U Girls (3): Mavericks, Thunder, Viper Pigeons (Playing JO Quals on Friday, SWZ Festival Saturday-Sunday)
*12U Boys (2): Pegasus, Viper Pigeons (Playing JO Quals on Friday, SWZ Festival Saturday-Sunday)
14U Boys (6): AquaTex, Longhorn, Pegasus, Thunder, Viper Pigeons Blue, Viper Pigeons Green (Playing JO Quals Friday-Sunday)
16U Boys (6): Longhorn, Mavericks, Pegasus, Thunder, Viper Pigeons Blue, Viper Pigeons Green (Playing JO Quals Friday-Sunday)
18U Boys (6): Longhorn, Pegasus, Southside, Thunder, Viper Pigeons Blue, Viper Pigeons Green (Playing JO Quals Friday-Sunday)
*12U Mixed (1): Longhorn (Playing only Saturday-Sunday as part of SWZ Festival)
*NOTE: The teams in these divisions need to make sure they complete their team entry for the SWZ Festival (all clubs/teams were sent a discount code previously to enter the SWZ Festival). Additionally, these teams will need to do team rosters for both SWZ JO Quals and SWZ Festival.

SWZ Festival – 2023

Dates: June 10-11, 2023. Games will begin on Saturday morning, run all day on Saturday/Sunday morning, and then end around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon.
Primary Location: CFISD Natatorium, 12550 Windfern Rd, Houston, TX 77064. Three all deep courses running simultaneously.
Secondary Locations: Cy Ranch HS, Bridgeland HS, and Cy Park HS. These are single course facilities.
Divisions: 18UG, 18UB, 16UG, 16UB, 14UG, 14UB, 12UG, 12UM, 10UM
Entry Fee: $650 per team. Payments will be collected when completing the online registration.
Registration Deadline: Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 11 pm (CT)
Online Team Registration: SWZ Festival
Roster Deadline: Friday, June 9, 2023 at 11 pm (CT)
Schedule: An online schedule will be sent to everyone on Monday, June 5th.
Admissions: There will be an admission charge at all locations.
Current Team Entries:
10U Mixed: Pegasus, Longhorn
12U Mixed: **Alamo Area, Houston Hydra Kraken, Longhorn, Mavericks, Pegasus Pink, Pegasus Red, Thunder Black, Thunder Silver, *Southside,
14U Girls: **Alamo Area, Thunder
14U Boys/Mixed: **Alamo Area, Houston Hydra, Mavericks, Pegasus Red, Pegasus White, **Southside,
16U Girls: **Alamo Area, CFWPC, Houston Hydra Artemis, Houston Hydra Athena, **Southside,
16U Boys: **Alamo Area, Houston Hydra, Pegasus Red, **Southside Navy, **Southside Silver, **Storm
18U Girls: **Alamo Area, CFWPC, Longhorn, Mavericks, **Storm, Thunder, Viper Pigeons White,
18U Boys: **Alamo Area, AquaTex, CFWPC, Houston Hydra Zeus, Mavericks, Mavericks Silver, Pegasus Red, **Storm, Thunder Silver, Viper Pigeons Orange, Viper Pigeons Yellow
**NOTE: The teams with an asterisk (*) still need to finalize/pay for their team entries.

Junior Olympics Deadlines

Session OneSession TwoSession Three
DivisionsBoys 12U, 14U, 16U, & 18UGirls 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U. Mixed 10U, 12UGirls & Boys 14U, 16U, 18U, Mixed 10U, 12U
Play DatesJuly 15-18July 20-23July 27-30
LocationOrange County, CA (Irvine)Orange County, CA (Irvine)North Texas
ZonesAll Zones. Qualification RequiredAll Zones. Qualification RequiredAll Zones. Qualification NOT Required
JO Expo7/14/20237/19/20237/26/2023
Team Registration DeadlineJune 1 or 15 days prior to JO Qualifier, whichever comes first: May 24June 1 or 15 days prior to JO Qualifier, whichever comes first: May 24June 1, Registration will re-open for teams that Do Not Qualify for Sessions 1 or 2
AquaTex (LH) Registration DeadlineMay 24May 24June 1
Roster Deadline / LockdownJuly 1 / July 7
($100 fee incurred for roster changes between 7/1 & 7/8. NO changes after 7/8)		July 5 / July 12
($100 fee incurred for roster changes between 7/7 & 7/13. NO changes after 7/13)		July 12 / July 19
($100 fee incurred for roster changes between 7/12 & 7/19. NO changes after 7/19)
Coaches Check In/Packet Pick Up*Friday July 14 from 12:00PM - 5:00 PMWednesday July 19 from 12:00PM - 5:00 PMWednesday July 26 from 12:00PM - 5:00 PM

2023 USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics Session 3

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From the Hosts

The USA Water Polo Junior Olympic Championships is the largest age group water polo tournament in the Nation. Athletes and teams come from across the country to compete on the national stage. The Junior Olympics Tournament consists of three divisions, the Championship Division, Classic Division and Invitational Division (tentative) dependent upon the number of teams wishing to compete in that age group. Teams compete over a 4-day period within their respective age category.

Session 1 – July 15 – 18, 2023

Orange County, CA

Boys 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U

Session 2 – July 20 – 23, 2023

Orange County, CA
Girls 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U
Mixed 10U, 12U

Session 3 – July 27 – 30, 2023

North Texas
Girls & Boys 12U 14U, 16U, 18U
Mixed 10U, 12U
Girls 10U

2023 USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics Session 2

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From the Hosts

The USA Water Polo Junior Olympic Championships is the largest age group water polo tournament in the Nation. Athletes and teams come from across the country to compete on the national stage. The Junior Olympics Tournament consists of three divisions, the Championship Division, Classic Division and Invitational Division (tentative) dependent upon the number of teams wishing to compete in that age group. Teams compete over a 4-day period within their respective age category.

Session 1 – July 15 – 18, 2023

Orange County, CA

Boys 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U

Session 2 – July 20 – 23, 2023

Orange County, CA
Girls 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U
Mixed 10U, 12U

Session 3 – July 27 – 30, 2023
North Texas
Girls & Boys 12U 14U, 16U, 18U
Mixed 10U, 12U
Girls 10U

2023 USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics Session 1

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For our Families

Congratulations to our 14u boys team. They have qualified to be the first ever AquaTex team to play at a California-based Junior Olympics Tournament. We will share a lot of information here on this event page so be sure to consult with it if you ever have questions about our travel plans, etc.

Coaches

Coaches Babs and Savvy will lead this team during the SoCal adventure.

 

From the Hosts

The USA Water Polo Junior Olympic Championships is the largest age group water polo tournament in the Nation. Athletes and teams come from across the country to compete on the national stage. The Junior Olympics Tournament consists of three divisions, the Championship Division, Classic Division and Invitational Division (tentative) dependent upon the number of teams wishing to compete in that age group. Teams compete over a 4-day period within their respective age category.

Working Rosters

Updated 27 April
Age Group/Gender18u boys18u girls14u boys14u girls12u mixed10u mixed
Qualification PlansSession 3 TXSession 3 TXSession 1 CASession 3 TXSession 2 CASession 2 CA
ClubAQTXAQTXAQTXAAAALHLH
CoachesAlon/JamesBabs/JamesBabs/JamesTBDTBDTBD
Roster Tally104002
Committed AthletesJames StraussRudy-Matheo GarciaRyan Benson
Jackson PlaceAshton Benson
Colton Nealis
Parker Nealis
Eligible Tally12617137
Eligible AthletesAaron GordonCorina NunziataAaron BielikIsabelle MorrissonClayton WaterburyMelia Beckon
Adlee ColegroveDarby DeVoreAdrian HerreraIlay LevAlan Ni
Connor KnightKailee SetoAntonio FalceNeel RamanathanEmeric Colegrove
Declan GravesMolly ArredondoChase WadleyOliver Witten
Gavin HantelmanMorgan SpoonerDiego Suarez-QuirogaTristan Miller
Jacob GerakosRachel DelkElliot Bronstheyn
Liam GravesJacob Bice
Luca De AraujoJohn Kelly
Riley DixonJoshua Delk
Vitalii PavlenkoKenneth Brown
William LunsfordReinhold Karvenz
Remy Lievens
William Pemberton

Session 1 – July 15 – 18, 2023

Orange County, CA

Boys 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U

Historic Junior Olympics Recap, Fall Programming

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2022 Junior Olympics Recap

It was an historic week for AquaTex. In past years we’ve happily partnered with Longhorn to send all our athletes to JOs. This year we sent two AquaTex teams and plan on doing more of it in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Longhorn 10u coed team, featuring AquaTex’s Grey and Ryan Benson, won a full-on Gold Medal, beating Thunder in the final match. It’s been a spectacular summer for our 10u and 12u athletes.

16u Boys

Our 16u boys improved four places over the Longhorn team that competed in 2021, finishing ninth in the Gold bracket and with a 5-4 record. The boys were the only Gold bracket team to beat Colorado, the club that won the bracket championship.

Any mention of individual players risks leaving others out of the conversation, but particular credit to Declan, who was a defensive monster all tournament, and “Waco” Will, who provided us with the goalkeeping stability we needed. Luca and Max locked down that left-hander side producing the bulk of our non-counterattack goals. Riley showed center skills that surprised both our opponents and this coach (I’m still not sure how a couple of those goals happened). Gavin was a dynamo, improving his defense throughout the event. James, Adlee, and David gained truly important experience and showed improvement, especially defensively, as the games progressed. Jacob was our super-sub center who knocked the defense off balance and showed tremendous effort all week. Matthew showed huge potential and great instincts for a newcomer, while Finn (still in middle school!) was fearless, especially defensively, against a lot of larger, older dudes.

We played a good variety of teams from throughout the US. You can see our final results below, a roller coaster of wins and losses, with an extremely memorable end to the tournament: a penalty goal by Riley with zero seconds left in the game vs. Raider from Miami, Florida. It’s so great to end JOs with a memorable finale. And now we look forward to 2023…

Results

  • WCAC (Pennsylvania), 9-13
  • Cowtown, 19-5
  • Kraken (Atlanta), 7-9
  • Southside, 7-9
  • Colorado, 10-8
  • Great Lakes (Michigan), 11-5
  • Zilla, 11-14
  • Texas Mavericks, 21-11
  • Raider (Miami), 12-11

18u Girls

By Coaches Kendall and Alon

Right out the gate, our young team had the opportunity to experience both the Florida and Chicago style of play in their first two games against Orlando and Chicago WP. Though we fell to both teams, Morgan  led our team with multiple steals and a goal in each game.

During day two the ladies faced off against the Southside Honey Badgers from Houston TX, where they held the team to a one goal game until the second half where a few players had to sit out due to penalties. Nichole Wood put the team in a great position at the start of each quarter by winning three out of the four sprints. Corina Nunziata led the offense with 4 goals that game, and stepped up to the role of being the team’s primary center for the first two days of the tournament.

The second game the ladies took on another team from Florida called Raider. Kendall Strauss entered the playing field (with a broken finger on her shooting hand!) and put a couple of goals on the board for her team while Katya Ortiz shut down the middle of the pool on defense.Day three took the AquaTex girls all the way to the Northwest ISD Aquatics Center where they played the Texas team Maverick. Though the team didn’t see a win that game, we did see our goalie, Addison, make some key blocks and Akirti helped the team’s defense by putting her player under major pressure. The ladies found victory later that day against New Mexico’s Duke City, with goals from Morgan, Corina, Nichole and Kendall. Molly never gave up any goals on defense and Kailee showed major defensive improvements. Kelsie kept the defense on their toes with drives and post ups.

The last day the ladies ended with meeting Southside in the pool again and fell to the team’s strong offense and counter attack strategies.

All in all, our young players saw much improvement in the short course of 4 days. Coaches Kendall and Alon look forward to seeing the girls take what they learned from this tournament into the first UIL high school season, and wish Kendall Strauss the best of luck in her first year as a collegiate water polo player!

10u Longhorns

By Coach Tom

Return of the Champs!

Let’s kick off the email with a huge shout out to our 10 and under team who successfully defended their 2021 title and secured a gold medal finish in the Platinum division of Junior Olympics Session 3! The 10Us capped off their title run with an impressive 11-6 victory over Thunder in the championship game. Congrats to all our athletes, coaches, and parents that worked hard all year to bring the gold back to Austin!

Other Stuff

Fall Training

We’ve gotten a TON of new interest in water polo and the club (thanks and welcome to you all). One of the most common questions is, when’s practice? So here you go:

Until August 16

Middle School and High School

  • Tuesday, 6-8 PM
  • Friday, 7:15-9 PM
  • Saturday, 9-11 AM
  • Sunday, 8-10 AM

Swim2Score

  • Saturday, 10-11 AM

Masters

  • Sunday, 9:30-11 AM

August 16-Sept. 1

Age Group and High School (including 10u athletes approved by coaches)

  • Monday & Wednesday, 7-9 PM
  • Saturday & Sunday, 9-11 AM

Swim2Score

  • Saturday, 10-11 AM

Masters

  • Sunday, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

Beginning September 1

With our new programming that includes age group training for 10u, 12u, and 14u athletes, plus plans for a Novice group for those who need a little extra attention before “graduating” to Age Group training, we’ll be working out the schedule a bit as we go. For now, the schedule will remain nearly identical to the August 16 – September 1 schedule above. But we may need to increase the number of practice days to accommodate our new young, and novice athletes. It’s a very good problem to have and we’ll address it based on the numbers that register with the club. We’re fortunate to have access to more time at Micki, and we’ll take it if necessary.

Competition

Our focus is entirely on Age Group water polo this fall. There is no club competition for high school-age athletes until November. So, we ask all our 14u, 12u, and 10u families to put these tournaments on the calendar. We will try to send teams to each one of those events (with Longhorn if necessary but preferably as AquaTex). Our key aim this fall is to prepare for and compete at TAGS on November 19-20. That’s the goal. Everything we do this fall is geared to being as good a team as we can be at TAGS (the unofficial “middle school” championship, BTW).

Obviously, after the high school season is complete we’ll ramp up competition for those athletes too. Can we win the Cowtown Stampede in December again?

We’re really excited to have so many newcomers in those younger age groups. So get ready to compete because that’s what we’re going to train you for as quickly as possible! #OneTeamOneDream

Registration

That’s right, it’s August, which means that if you were a club member on July 31 and haven’t gone back in to TeamUnify to re-register, then technically you’re not a member of the club! Please do it prior to your next practice. And if you’re a newcomer, please do the same. All water polo athletes must be registered with the club and with USA Water Polo in order to train with us.

Team Suits

The Turbo store is open again until September 18. After it closes on the 18th is when the products will be ordered and shipped. Identical suits from RYTE are available at any time and ship within weeks (I love Turbo but the RYTE suits are cheaper, more available, and high quality. I think you know my preference…). Now is the time to order a new suit if you don’t already have one. All registered AquaTex youth athletes (not masters or Swim2Score) are required to have an official team suit and now’s the time to do it. Grab a shirt while you’re at it cuz it’s also required. Oh, and Coach Alon, you should get one of these (I ordered one).

Coaches

You’ve already read about our programming plans. Well we need more coaches – always. If you are aware of anyone, a high school or college graduate who aspires to get in to coaching, please steer them my way. Water polo experience is preferred but not entirely necessary (we can teach you!). Again, it’s a good problem to have but we can use your help finding new coaching talent.

DeclanShotblockJOs2021Empire

JOs are Here, and Fall Programming Update

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Training Schedule

All training between Friday and Sunday, July 29 through 31, is cancelled. That includes high school, middle school, masters waterpolo, and Swim2Score. We’ll resume training on August 16. [Nope. We’ll continue training throughout with a change of schedule beginning on the 16th. Read the latest.]

The schedule after August 16 will likely revert to one similar to that of the fall of 2021. Plans are for four practices a week if not more, including Saturdays and Sundays whenever possible in order to take advantage of the deep water (Saturdays may be quite busy given the first ever UIL high school season).

Fall Programming

We are planning some exciting changes in programming beginning this fall. Details need to be hashed out so nothing is written in stone, but the tentative plans are:

  • Create our first ever 10 and under training/competition group. The athletes in this group would train 3-4 times a week for two hours each just like the other Age Groups.
  • Create “Age Groups:” 10 and under, 12 and under, and 14 and under. Like our current “Middle School” group, all those Age Groups are still likely to train together. But, the aim over time is to grow each age group so that there are enough athletes to have their own training sessions. Plus, the individual Age Groups are a better reflection of how teams compete at USA Water Polo events. “High school” will remain its own training group. Two-hour practices four times a week.
  • Create a “Novice” training group for anyone under 14 who is brand new to the sport and requires entry-level training. Athletes in this group will “graduate” to their appropriate Age Group upon coaches’ approval. Training sessions would last for one hour four times a week.
  • Swim2Score remains in place and we are exploring some changes in emphasis so we’re better preparing our athletes for competition. Obviously, some of our current Swim2Score athletes are ready for either the new Novice group or our 10u Age Group. More to come.

Club Registration

A reminder that EVERY member of the club is required to re-register via our TeamUnify site on August 1 of each year. It is an annual thing for all our families, swim and waterpolo. Registration is currently closed but please don’t delay once August 1 arrives. This goes for current families and those who have joined us in just the past couple weeks (thanks for that!).

Junior Olympics

So, this awesome thing happened in case you didn’t already know.

Session 3 is basically here. The main schedule, ticket info, and lots of other stuff (including a link to the official USAWP JOs page) are available throughout the tournament on our event page. Bookmark it!

  • On Thursday our 16u boys kick off the tournament vs. WCAC (Pennsylvania, I believe) at 10:00 AM at the CISD Aquatic Center on the campus of Southlake Carroll High School.
  • 18u girls face Orlando United (FL) at 11:00 AM on Thursday at the Garland ISD Natatorium. Their next game is against Chicago at 2PM.
  • The Longhorn 10u team faces some team called Pegasus at 11:00 AM on Thursday at the LISD Westside Aquatic Center in Lewisville. Next game vs. Zilla at 2PM.
  • 18u and 16u athletes are expected to meet with the team one hour before their first game each day. 10u families, consult with Coach Tom about when you’re expected to meet on Thursday morning.

I’m excited. Lots to look forward to. See you on the deck.

Longhorn12uGoldMedalJOs2022

Champions! Our Longhorns Win Gold at Junior Olympics

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William Pemberton, Isabelle Morrison, Rudy-Matheo Garcia, 2022 National Junior Olympics Gold Medalists

The Longhorn 12u Coed Team won a gold medal at the 2022 National Junior Olympics at Stanford University today. Three AquaTexans were key members of the team that won five straight tournament matches to bring home the championship trophy from the tournament’s Gold Bracket.


The win comes one year after the Longhorn 10u team, comprised of several athletes from this season’s 12u roster, earned a championship at the 2021 National Junior Olympics in North Texas.

The club is enormously proud of the entire Longhorn effort and grateful to Coach Tom for leading the team to victory. But special congratulations to AquaTexans William, Isabelle, Rudy-Matheo, and Wes who helped them earn their spot at JO Quals. Congratulations to all of them.

Here’s the entire roster for those who played at JO Quals and/or NJOs in California:

  • Daniel Armendariz
  • Laird Green
  • Sawyer Jayasuriya
  • Silas Chamas
  • Lennon Beavers
  • Avi Singhal
  • Robert Roth
  • Rudy-Matheo Garcia
  • Isabelle Morrison
  • Alex Catterson
  • William Pemberton
  • John “Wes” Kelly
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JOs Session 2, Heading to Dallas, Team Registration

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Training Schedule

The training calendar remains the same until August 16. The exception is the weekend of Aug 29-31 when a good chunk of us, coaches especially, will be in Dallas for JOs. Currently the calendar shows Swim2Score and Masters taking place that weekend but those will likely be cancelled due to a lack of coaches. Stay tuned.

The schedule after August 16 will likely revert to one similar to that of the fall of 2021. Plans are for four practices a week if not more, including Saturdays and Sundays whenever possible in order to take advantage of the deep water (Saturdays may be quite busy given the first ever UIL high school season).

The High School Season

We’re aware of other clubs in Texas that will shut down their training of high school age athletes until November, after UIL State Championships take place. Our current plans are to continue training high school age athletes and adjusting our expectations based on demand. We will have more on that Mid-August approaches.

Given the time demands of high school water polo, our focus this fall, and those going forward, will be on our middle school and younger athletes, which is truly exciting for us as a club. We are growing more quickly than any time in club history and our middle school athletes will have the chance to compete at USA Water Polo events throughout the fall (expect us to be very active that way!).

Club Registration

A reminder that EVERY member of the club is required to re-register via our TeamUnify site on August 1 of each year. It is an annual thing for all our families, swim and waterpolo. Registration is currently closed but please don’t delay once August 1 arrives.

Junior Olympics

What else?!

Session 2 begins today with three of our athletes competing for Longhorn beginning early Thursday morning against TPCM Sharks from the Marin area. Of course we wish the best of luck to all the Longhorns competing but with a special huge shout out to our AquaTexans: Izzy, Rudy, and William. We’re so excited for them and will be following their progress online. Have a great time in California everyone. (It’s been 10 years since I lived there but I still have advice about places to go to, eat, drink wine, etc. Could be a GroupMe thing).

And then, Session 3 will be here in a week. A couple notes for those families heading to North Texas:

  • There is no “team” hotel as far as I can tell. I’ll personally be staying in a hotel in Coppell near Lewisville, which seems to be reasonably central to all 13 facilities. If you haven’t booked anything yet I know some of our coaches found plenty of AirBnB properties for not much money.
  • On Wednesday the 27th, the day of the Expo, we’d like to have a team meal with all our athletes and coaches, including our awesome 10u Longhorn team. Expect a separate email and/or GroupMe asking who would be interested in doing that just so we have a headcount. But we’d love to see y’all there.
  • I told our athletes at Tuesday practice to watch some of the highest competition from Junior Olympics to see how the best teams move in the water, pass the ball, etc. Game On Live Studio has streamed hours of action so far and will continue to do so at Sessions 2 and 3. Athletes, go watch 20 minutes worth of 14, 16, or 18u action. Pick one player and watch him/her that entire time. Notice how they execute the stuff that our coaches are teaching you. That’s a good technique.
  • It’s too late to order any team suits prior to JOs competition. If you have one you are expected to wear it throughout the tournament. If you don’t (you should), and have multiple suits, wear the PLAINEST, darkest one you have (Longhorn suits are fine). We are trying to promote the club and our community over your high school or ODP team. Wear your team gear!
  • Swim caps. For those who wear them, you are required to wear a white swim cap under white water polo cap, and dark swim cap under our dark water polo caps. Please be sure you have white and dark swim caps before you compete. Those are the rules and we don’t want you to be kept out of a game because you lack the correct color cap.

Collegiate Recruiting

Following on similar comments in an earlier post, there will be collegiate coaches at the JOs Expo on the 227th. I still don’t have a list of who’s coming but you can always check to see if a coach from a school in which you’re interested is going by contacting them directly.

In addition, if you are interested in playing varsity collegiate water polo then you should be starting to work on that as early as high school freshman age. One thing to do that is free and that the club is part of is FieldLevel, which matches athletes and coaches to water polo programs throughout the US. Sign up today.

See you on the deck… in Dallas.

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