North Texas Thunder
2022 Armadillo Classic Tournament
jamesesmith 12u, 14u, North Texas Thunder
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 Endless Summer Classic
jamesesmith 12u, 14u, 16u, 18u, Endless Summer Classic, North Texas Thunder
AquaTex and Longhorn are not attending this tournament.

2022 Thunder Spring Invite
jamesesmith 12u, 14u, North Texas Thunder, Thunder Spring Invite
Working Roster(s)
12u | 14u |
---|---|
Eliza | Maddox |
Pierce | Flora |
Robert | Nick |
Tito | Jake |
Daniel | Tristan |
Rudy | Zeke |
Wes | |
Lennon | |
William | Pierce |
Eric | Robert |
Laird | Tito |
Claire | Daniel |
From the Hosts
This is a Thunder Water Polo hosted event in North Texas the weekend of February 26-27.
We will be utilizing the LISD Westside Aquatics Center
All teams will receive a minimum of four games with the top 3 teams in each division receiving 1st – 3rd place medals. Games will be played on the hour to give teams plenty of time to transition safely between games.
This tournament is open to all USA Water Polo member clubs and registration will be closed once a division reaches capacity. 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 Mixed, 12U Girls, 12U Mixed, 14U Girls and 14U Mixed
Details
- Location: LISD Westside Aquatics Center, 1750 Duncan Ln, Lewisville, TX 75067
- Approximate Time: Saturday 8:00am – 8:00pm and Sunday 7:00 am – 4:00pm
- Age as of Date: August 1, 2022
- Entry Fee: $600 per team. Payments will be collected when completing the online registration.
- Registration Deadline: Sunday February 13th
- Roster Deadline: Tuesday, February 22
- Schedule: An online schedule will be sent to everyone on Tuesday, February 22
- Admissions: Free. There will be no admission costs for spectators for this event

Tournament Results from North Texas, New Coach, Thanksgiving Schedule
jamesesmith News, Schedule/Results Coaches, Cowtown, Holidays, North Texas Thunder, Results, Schedule, Texas Challenge Cup, Tournaments, Weekly Update
A flurry of activity as the year winds down, we return from a jam-packed weekend of games in North Texas, find ourselves a new coach, and get pumped for the final two tournaments of 2020. Plus, Tony Azevedo is coming our way.
Texas Challenge Cup
Our 14u coed team went (almost) ironman for its four-game schedule at last weekend’s Texas Challenge. With eight total athletes, a 2-2 record felt about right and earned the team a fourth-place finish after a tough game against Thunder Black, their “A” team. The weekend also featured AquaTex’s first ever shootout, which it won over the very feisty Pegasus team. History! All the live streams of every game are online, linked on our TCC event page. Well done in particular to James for playing in his first ever travel tournament and Riley for becoming the deadly ninja goalie Coach Matthew has been hoping for. Congratulations to them, Jacob, Morgan (7 games!), Kelly, Cruz, Austin, and Luca. Go check out their game highlights linked above.
Meanwhile, despite never having played in a USAWP travel tournament, Kendall, Cammi, and Morgan turned out to be among the most productive and reliable members of the Lonestar/Mavericks 18u girls team that ended the tournament with a well-rested Sunday afternoon win over Cowtown. Kendall is starting to show off that shooting skill she displays at practice, Cammi ended the tournament with a two-goal outing vs. Cowtown after showing off her speed on defense all weekend, and Morgan continues to be one of the most aggressive attackers on the entire club and showed some real progress in becoming a killer driver/post-up player. Very proud of all three of them
Welcome Coach Alon
Meanwhile, as we continue to improve and grow we have another new coach helping us out. Coach Alon Yoeli is from Carmel, CA and played his collegiate water polo at Fordham University in New York City (the Bronx to be precise). He also played for one of Italy’s best clubs. He recently moved to Austin, contacted AquaTex about masters water polo and ended up getting roped in to coaching! Welcome aboard, Alon.
Thanksgiving Week Schedule
The practice schedule is updated for Thanksgiving week. Check it out on the calendar. Coaches Kendall and Shannon will be back along with Matthew and Alon to keep us moving forward. That includes Scorpion Ball with Coach Shannon on the 21st!
Upcoming Events
Tournament Roster Calls
TAGS and the Cowtown Stampede are the last competitions of the year. And aside from the obvious reasons we might want to turn the calendar page, it’s also the last chance for many of our athletes to play in age groups they were supposed to occupy for JOs and Southwest Zone Championships. Beginning in 2021 we can expect that tournaments will set their “age as of” date to August 1, 2021. We want to end the year on a competitive high note and expect our athletes to take part in these final two tournaments.
TAGS
The Texas Age Group Championships are for athletes in 9th grade and under. We have already registered our 9th grade u (coed) team and may combine with Longhorn for 7th and under and/or 5th and under. Edit your commitment to TAGS here.
Cowtown Stampede
The same weekend as TAGS, the Cowtown Stampede is for 18u athletes only (boys/coed and girls). AquaTex has already signed up one 18u girls’ and one 18u boys’ teams. So sign up for the chance to play.
Tony Azevedo Clinic
The Legendary Tony Azevedo is headed to Texas to host three days of water polo training in North Texas. Three days for high schoolers, two for those age 14 and under. Plus, goalie training. Find out more and register here and let me know if you sign up. I may be able to make it up there to watch (and interview Tony for the podcast…)
Attendance Records
We have some really excellent attendance records for the months of October and November (shout out to Cammi, Declan and Austin!). The link has probably been wrong for several weeks so here’s the updated link to the document. #BeYourBest
Performance Training Course
Coach Marcy shared this via email on the 13th. The program is open to water polo athletes.
Aquatex is collaborating with Performance Course to offer an 8-week Dryland Training schedule.
Performance Course is an unrivaled approach to progressively improving athletic ability. This unique course combines sound, proven strength and conditioning principles with the latest methodologies to give the participant the top athletic performance program in the nation.
Senior/PreSeniors swimmers [and water polo athletes] that 13 & up are eligible to participate. The program will start November 30th, the Monday following Thanksgiving. Sessions will be held at our pool, on deck. The training will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays:
Girls – 5:45-6:30pm
Boys – 6:30-7:15pm
The cost is $180. To participate, please go to this site and signup: Performance Course
That’s all for this week. Have a great and safe Thanksgiving week.
See you in the parking lot…
James

Countdown to Texas Challenge Cup, Cowtown Rodeo, TAGS
jamesesmith News, Schedule/Results Cowtown, North Texas Thunder, Texas Challenge Cup, Tournaments, Weekly Update
We’re just a few days away from the Texas Challenge Cup in The Colony. And as we shift more information to this site there is a new link to “Events” which will mostly contain tournaments on the calendar to which we are committed.
Here are the details on the tournament including schedule, Covid guidelines, streaming and more. All our games will be at the LISD Eastside Aquatic Center, 5729 Memorial Dr, The Colony, TX 75056.
Athletes and coaches will meet together outside the facility one hour prior to game time.
For the 18u girls playing with Lonestar/Mavericks, the first game is on Saturday at 10:30 AM vs. Thunder 16u. The second game depends on the outcome of the first.
For AquaTex 14u co-ed the first game is at 1:30 PM on Saturday vs. Viper Pigeon Green, second game at 4:30 PM vs. Thunder Silver.
There are no apparent conflicts between our 18u girls and 14u coed games.
TAGS and Cowtown Stampede
Two tournaments take place on December 12-13: TAGS for 9th grade and under coed, and Cowtown Stampede for 18u boys and girls. Find details on both of these tournaments on our new Events page.
We have already registered a 9th grade and under team for TAGS for AquaTex. We will be partnering with Longhorn to fill out 18u boys and girls rosters playing as AquaTex, so be sure to let me know if you want to play. [Updated: AquaTex has registered one 18u boys and one 18u girls team for the tournament].
That’s all for this week though there could be updates as we get ready to drive up to The Colony.
See you on the deck,
James

2020 Texas Challenge Cup
jamesesmith 14u Coed, 18u Boys, 18u Girls, North Texas Thunder, Texas Challenge Cup, Tournaments
Please note that the schedule has a tab for each pool.
Live Streams
Tournament Details
Click the links below to expand:
Masks must be worn by everyone at the facility. Athletes will remove their masks before getting in the pool. Athletes must put their masks back on every time they exit the pool.
NO Spectators NO Locker Rooms NO Water Fountains
- Thunder will provide parent volunteers who will attend the atrium doors for coach/athlete/referee/filming parent access to building
- To limit the number of teams entering/exiting the building at one time, games will be scheduled to begin at the top of the hour :00 in the East Pool (Office End) and bottom of the hour :30 in the West Pool (Diving Board End)
- Athletes and Coaches may enter the building 30 minutes before their game time through the atrium of the Westside Aquatic Center
- Athletes are to show up with their suits on under their street clothes
- Bags will be allowed
- Deck changing in the facility is NOT allowed
- Coaches will have area assignments posted for Dry Land Warm Up areas (Dark Team/White Team)
- Teams will be escorted into the building and they will go through the class room onto the pool deck
- Athletes will report to their designated dry land warm up area for their cap color
- Teams will be allowed in – water warm up at the conclusion of the prior game once the competition area is completely clear (Approx 15 min)
- During the games each team will stay on their side of the pool (No Halftime Switch)
- Bleachers will be used in lieu of chairs in the bench area. Each Bleacher seats 9 socially distanced, masked athletes. Athlete seats are marked with blue X’s
- Athlete rosters will be limited to a total of 16 athletes, 9 seated on blue X’s with a mask on, and 7 athletes in the water
- Teams will have a limit of 3 total coaches. 1 Head Coach, 1 Assistant, 1 Manager. ALL ADULTS ON DECK MUST BE USA WATER POLO MEMBERS
- Athletes must have a mask on ANY time they are not in the water
- Coaches must have a mask on AT ALL TIMES
- There will be no handshakes after the games
- Coaches will be responsible for clearing all athletes, bags and equipment from their bench area immediately following the conclusion of the game
- Athletes will maintain a social distance of at least 6 feet as they exit the building • Athletes will exit the pool deck through the double doors close to the teaching pool
- Athletes will exit the building through the front doors. Each team will be allowed 1 ONE parent to live stream games from the 3rd floor. The parent from each team will Enter and Exit from the atrium door opposite the athlete entrance ONLY. REFEREES
- Referees will use the same entrance as athletes in the atrium
- Referees will arrive dressed to referee as no changing area will be available
- Referees will wear masks AT ALL TIMES, including during game breaks if they remain in the building
- Referees may use the only the adult restrooms in the atrium hall
- Hospitality for referees is limited to box lunches only TABLE WORKERS
- Table workers will be seated 6 feet apart with a maximum of 2 workers.
- One worker to operate clock/scoreboard
- One worker to operate book/flags
RESTROOM USE Athletes are encouraged to use the restroom before coming to the Aquatic Center. If an athlete needs to use the restroom during the tournament, they may use the restrooms in the lobby. Athletes that use the restroom are required to wipe down anything they touched in the restroom. Aquatic Center staff will disinfect the restrooms every hour.
AquaTex parents who want a way to gain entry to any particular match can volunteer to do the game clocks or score sheets. Mr. Gerakos has already volunteered to be our videographer. We will be taking volunteers for the following jobs.
Thunder has purchased software that can be downloaded to a Phone or tablet and streamed. This will also archive the game for later viewing. Each volunteer will be given the user name and password for the pool they will be streaming along with instruction on the process.
Location: 12U, 14U, 18U Girls – LISD Eastside Aquatic Center, 5729 Memorial Dr, The Colony, TX 75056
Location: 16U Boys, 18U Boys – LISD Westside Aquatics Center, 1750 Duncan Ln, Lewisville, TX 75067
- Age as of Date: August 1, 2020
- Roster Deadline: Monday, November 9th at 9pm (PT)
- Schedule: Online schedule
- Admissions: None
Reminder – these are school district facilities which includes the parking lots where alcohol consumption is prohibited
Rosters/ID Checks: Please be prepared to do ID Checks (with Pictures ID) each game. Teams need to supply to the referee their own verified rosters and have their athlete’s IDs. The tournament will not be supplying these items for each team.
Hampton Inn & Suites Lewisville, TX. The rate is $79/night for 2 Queen Bed Rooms. Ask for “Thunder Group Rate.”
Fairfield by Marriott DFW Airport-Coppell/Grapevine – NEW HOTEL. 1150 Northpoint Dr. Coppell, TX 76051. Team rates $79 plus tax, 13%. 972-304-1112