Roster Call

2023TCC14uSilverMedalists

New Seasons, TCC Recap, Middle School Games

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Welcome back to school, everyone. I’m sure there are quite mixed feelings about that! But with that, we turn the page with some news regarding our programming, upcoming competition, and more.

New Seasonal Training Plan

Some years ago we ceased using seasons as a way of organizing training and competition. The main reason was for billing and to manage expectations: some would be under the impression that our sport was seasonal (Spring only, for example) instead of year-around. And billing for AquaTex is monthly whereas with other clubs it is often seasonal.

But we’re changing things up beginning today. Billing remains EXACTLY the same as it is now: monthly fees. But, training will now roughly follow this seasonal pattern:

  • Winter: 1 December to 10 March
  • Spring: 21 March to 25 May
  • Summer: 29 May to 30 July
  • Fall: 8 August to 18 November

Each of those seasons is punctuated by a tournament. Our work for that season will be aimed so that we peak for that final competition. Junior Olympics at the end of July of each year will feature most prominently. At the beginning of each season we start with conditioning and fundamentals and end the season with more tactical skills: from basic to more sophisticated.

We will also strongly encourage new athletes to join us at the beginning of each season so they can learn the fundamentals (other teams require it).

So, welcome to the new Spring season of 2023. Athletes should bring workout clothing every practice for the first three weeks of the season (shoes not slides!) and have goggles ready for any swim sets. Our aim is to peak for the The Welcome to Texas Tournament in San Antonio on May 27-28. All other competition before that is important but more focused on individual and team development.

TCC Recap

Hardware! We had a very successful Texas Challenge Cup just prior to Spring Break. Check out photos from our experience here (add any you might have.)

Both the boys 18u and 14u teams placed second in the Silver bracket of their tournaments, two rosters full of brand new players. Meanwhile, Our 10u players placed third overall with the Longhorns, Ilay and his Longhorn 12u teammates earned second place, and our 18u girls were (in this coach’s opinion) the standouts on Longhorn’s 18u girls roster, which went 2-2. We finished the winter season with a nice collection of hardware, some great experience for our newest athletes in particular, and momentum toward a successful spring. Well done to everyone who participated, and huge thanks to our families for supporting us from the stands and, especially, for working the desks.

Spring Middle School Games

Longhorn Coach Tom has invited our middle schoolers to compete against the team he coaches at St. Stephen’s in Austin. We’ll be consulting with Age Group parents in the coming days but want to play at at least two of the following four available dates at St. Stephens’ pool beginning at 4pm until 5:30: March 29, April 6, April 26, May 3. Plus, Longhorn wants to have a middle school game day at UT on April 13 from 7-9pm. You can plan on us going to that one for sure. This is an exciting time for Central Texas as it’s the first time we’ve ever had specific competition for middle schools.

Roster Calls

Houston Spring Jam

We still have some time but check out the current sign-ups for the Houston Spring Jam, April 1-2. Our 1ou mixed, 12u mixed, and 18u girls athletes will likely be playing for Longhorn unless (of course!) we get enough of our own to sign up.

SW Zone Spring Champs

Played as two separate tournaments – one for 16s and 18s in Lewisville, the other for all other ages at the CyFair Natatorium in Houston – this should be one of the biggest tournaments of the spring if not the whole year.

Program Changes Coming in August

A brief note on some changes that will take place beginning in August. We’ve gotten feedback from athletes and parents about the structure of our program and are going to make some adjustments that all families will be required to acknowledge and agree to prior to re-registering in August, as all families must. The details are in the works but some of the tentative changes include an agreement to be signed by each family acknowledging the club’s expectations regarding training, competing, playing time, uniforms, discipline, communications, and more. Plus, more clarity from the club on our philosophy, which directly affects expectations for our athletes and families. It’s a work in progress so if you have feedback let Coach James know.

JOs Meeting

We’ve scheduled an online meeting regarding Junior Olympics for Friday, March 24 beginning at 7:00 PM. There will be two Zoom links for calls beginning at 7:00 PM and 7:40 PM. My account is limited to 40 minutes so I just set up two meetings, both of which will be recorded so we can share them with you. Keep an eye out for an email and/or GroupMe message with the links.

See you on the deck.

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Spin Lob Success, Roster Call

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Spin Lob Thank You

We did it. The biggest hosting effort AquaTex Waterpolo has ever done. The Spin Lob Classic is over and after 38 games our people received big compliments from visiting teams, referees, parents of younger players, and USA Water Polo. I personally want to thank everyone who spent time at one of the desks, helped with hospitality, cleaned up, learned something new, took some of your weekend time to do a good deed. Thank you, AquaTexans! You stepped up when the club needed you and for that I’m grateful.

Our gratitude and thanks to Mark Stohrer and all those who work so hard at the RRISD Aquatic Center (the “RRAC” as far as we’re concerned). They set us up for success and were always there to support our efforts not to mention, were willing to host two days worth of masters water polo. That was the first USA Water Polo event in those pools, and we hope there will be many more, and soon.

My friend and colleague Joe Linehan deserves mention for organizing the entire event and reaching out to AquaTex when he needed another local host. USA Water Polo entrusted us with overseeing the event and we performed well, so can expect similar requests in the future. Plus, the cash money and new water polo balls never hurt.

Roster Call

Yes, we’re planning on going to the Texas Challenge Cup in North Texas on March 4-5. Families can register their interest in playing via our TeamUnify site. Find the event and then either attend/decline or “Edit Commitment.” The deadline is early for this tourney, February 17, so let us know your plans as soon as possible.

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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,

PoloMickiSunset

SOGO, July Training Update, JOs Session 1

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A quick update with several things coming up fast.

Sun’s Out Guns Out

We are sending a 16u mixed team only to Pearland this weekend (didn’t get enough 18u girls, sadly) for the Suns Out Guns Out tournament. First game for that team is at 9:10 AM on Saturday. Be there one hour before game time. Read all about the tournament here, including game times and the location of the facility. Wear your AquaTex gear (not optional)! Look for Coach James or Coach Kendall, both of whom will be there leading the team. It’s going to be a fun tournament but, as always, #beyourbest.

Training Schedule

There are two big swim meets this weekend at Micki so there will be no water polo training at all (masters, youth, Swim2Score) on Saturday or Sunday, July 9-10.

Beginning on Saturday, July 16, Swim2Score will shift from Thursdays to Saturdays at 10:00 to 11:00. There will be no Swim2Score session on Thursday, July 14. Remember, any AquaTex Swim Team Novice athlete can join us on Saturday at no additional cost!

The calendar needs to be updated but until further notice, high school and middle school practices will remain at their currently scheduled times and days: Tuesday and Friday evenings, Saturday and Sunday mornings. That will very likely change after August 1.

Masters remains on Sundays from 9:30 to 11:00 AM. Again, that may change as of August 1.

Junior Olympics Session 1

The (massive) schedule is out for Junior Olympics Session 1! It’s getting near for our Longhorn teams heading out to NorCal, games beginning on Saturday the 16th. Follow the action by visiting our event page with links to scheduling and more.

The New Shop

It’s been a great grand opening for our new AquaTex Waterpolo Shop with orders from all over the US, not just Texas! You can find all your team uniform gear there and a lot more. Check it out and share with friends and family.

See you on the deck, hopefully in my new AQTX collegiate t-shirt.

 

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SOGO Roster Call, Shop’s Open, SWZ Fest Fees

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I’m back from overseas and we’re just a few weeks out from Junior Olympics. Our final chance to compete before the big tournament is July 9-10 in Pearland and we expect all our Junior Olympic athletes to play. So read on about SOGO, TeamUnify, our new Shop and more.

Team Unify

Two requests/requirements of our AquaTex families with regard to our TeamUnify platform. We are experiencing a good problem: the addition of many new athletes. That has made managing information about our athletes and families more complicated. So to simplify that work we’re asking all our families to get used to using the TeamUnify platform more.

Tournament Commitment

Starting with the Sun’s Out Guns Out tournament we want our families to use the “Attend/Decline” feature on TeamUnify to indicate intent to play in a tournament. If you are not logged in to your account it should appear like this.

If you are logged in, it should look something like this. Then proceed to edit your commitment. All the athletes in your family should be listed.

Make sure to note the roster deadline, which is typically 7-10 days before the event, and commit as early as possible so we can plan for the tourney.

For our friends from Longhorn or outside the AQTX sphere, for any particular tournament please let Coach James or Coach Tom know you want to attend so we can put you on our working roster.

USAWP Member Number

While you’re in your AquaTex TeamyUnify account please update your athletes’ USA Water Polo membership number if you have not already. This will be enormously helpful for future tournaments and will take just a couple minutes. AQTX Waterpolo coaches cannot edit this information for you so we’re asking for your help. Thank you all in advance.

SWZ Festival Fees

AquaTex families should have been charged via TeamUnify for participating at the Southwest Zone Festival on June 11-12. Our friends from Longhorn, if you have not already, please use Venmo to pay @aquatex (Mark Parshall) $95 for taking part and note that it for the “SWZ Festival.” I’ll be emailing those families again to follow up. You can expect to do the same for Junior Olympics.

The Shop

We’ve had several orders fulfilled already and our new AquaTex Waterpolo Shop is open for business. There you can find a good and growing assortment of shirts, hats, bags, stickers, and other AQTX branded stuff. And, if you have a request for a new product just let me know (check out the Printful catalog). Tell friends and family too.

Junior Olympics Tee Shirt

Speaking of which, our 2022 JOs t-shirt is now in the store. The vendor says the price will reduce on July 6 so if you want to save a buck you can wait until then. The shirts are optional but our athletes are expected to wear team gear at JOs so show your support!

AquaTex Waterpolo 2022 National Junior Olympics T-Shirt

Training Schedule

Practice on Tuesday, Jun 28 is cancelled due to a swim meet. Practices the weekend of July 9-10 are cancelled due to swim meets as well. We will look for times to make up and may have either online chalk talks or conditioning work in the small pool at Micki. Stay tuned.

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Parent Meeting, JOs, WTTS, Summer Schedule

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The high school season is over which means it is essentially summer. We have ambitious plans for the next few months and, as always, have to adjust our training schedule to fit the city’s summer needs. There is a lot here so, AquaTex families, please read it all.

Schedule Update

In order to maximize the amount of time we get in the deep pool we are doing our annual schedule changes. As always we attempt to keep all training updates current on our calendar.

May Training Schedule

Ends May 29

  • Mondays 7-9 PM, middle school & high school
  • Fridays 7-9 PM, middle school & high school
  • Saturdays 10 AM-noon, middle school & high school
  • Sundays 10 AM-noon, middle school & high school
  • Sundays 10:30-11:30 AM, Swim2Score
  • Sundays 11:30-1 PM, masters

Note that on Sunday the 29th, if we don’t cancel practice because we’ll be competing at WTTS, we will begin at 9:00 AM instead of 10:00 AM.

Tentative Summer Training Schedule

May 30 – July 8

High school and middle school

  • Mondays and Fridays 7:15 – 9 PM or earlier start if available.
  • Sundays 9-11 AM
  • Tuesdays 6-8 PM (subject to swim meet schedule)
  • Saturdays 9-11 AM (select Saturdays, when available)

Swim2Score

  • TBD but likely Fridays at 10:00 AM or Sundays at 9:00 AM

Masters Waterpolo

  • TBD but likely Tuesdays at 8 PM or Sundays at 8 AM

Summer Parent Meeting

Parents are asked to join us in a mandatory Zoom meeting with coaches on Tuesday, May 17 at 7:00 PM. We will cover details from both coaches and parents about our plans for Junior Olympics this summer, but also other stuff:

  • What are Junior Olympics and why should athletes participate?
  • What are the deadlines for committing, etc.?
  • Which of our teams are trying to qualify for Sessions 1 and 2 in NorCal, and which will register for Session 3 in North Texas?
  • Does my athlete’s team need to qualify for JOs
  • Which club, Longhorn or AquaTex, is fielding each team and who’s coaching?
  • How does travel work for AquaTex families going to JOs (or any other tournament)?
  • Which other tournaments, including Welcome to Texas Shootout, are we planning on registering for this summer?
  • What do we know about collegiate coaches scouting at JOs?
  • How are we preparing for the first UIL fall high school season?

We’ll share Zoom invites via GroupMe and email so if you’re new to the program please be sure to join the GroupMe and that we have a current, working email address. Contact me for a link to GroupMe and/or any email address updates, or if you have any topics you’d like us to cover.

Junior Olympics Qualifier & Festival

It’s confirmed that those teams that plan to register directly for JOs Session 3 in North Texas are invited to the Southwest Zone Festival, which takes place simultaneously with the Junior Olympic Qualifier Tournament June 10-12 at CyFair and other local pools. This tournament will help the Zone seed teams for JOs Session 3 so it is NOT considered optional. We will send our best rosters and try to get the highest seeds possible.

Roster Calls

Welcome to Texas Shootout

The deadline for us to register is Friday, May 20. Spaces are filling up so please go to the Tournament Commitment Google Sheet to make any updates. You can find tournament info, including current rosters, on the tournament event page.

National Junior Olympics

Again, filling up quickly. In particular we’re looking to add to the AquaTex 16u boys and 18u girls teams, and the Longhorn 10u team, headed to Session 3 in North Texas (breaking news). More info on the JOs Qualifiers page. The form for committing to play at JOs is different than our Tournament Commitment Sheet so please let me know if you need the link.

Other Stuff

Welcome Coach Tom

Not only did Cammi earn MVP honors from West Region Coaches for her high school season, we also now have in our presence the West Region’s Coach of the Year from Round Rock High School! I’m delighted that Tom Arredondo will be helping us coach this summer and hopefully beyond. He’s been the very successful swim coach at Round Rock HS for well over a decade and has coached the water polo teams on and off since it was created in (around) 2011. Welcome aboard, Coach Tom.

Speaking of Swimming…

I have been speaking with some of our athletes, especially our middle school-aged ones, about joining a swim team. I’d like to make that case more strongly to our parents whose athletes are not already part of a swim program.

Obviously our game depends on mobility, which means efficient swimming. As you can tell from our training schedule we have limited time to strictly develop swimming skills. And our coaching staff has been assembled not for teaching swim technique (though we all have some skills in that regard) but in technical and tactical water polo skills. That is our focus.

To put it directly, we need to improve our swimming skills and speed, especially among our younger athletes. So if your athlete is not already signed up for a team we suggest as strongly as possible that you do so. Of course, we want all our athletes to swim for AquaTex. But a summer league team can be a huge help, and we have athletes who swim for other programs as well. The point is simply that, we need to get faster and have more stamina. And it takes specific swim training to do so.

To be clear: swim lessons and recreational swimming on your own are not substitutes for training with a team with qualified coaches. If you are interested in playing water polo in college, for example, it’s a rare thing for someone to do so without some swimming background. Take a listen to my conversation with three-time Olympian and NCAA Champion coach at UCLA, Adam Wright, who makes specific reference to swimming skills as a requirement for water polo success (that discussion starts around the 24:00 mark, but do listen to it all!).

Contact me if you have questions but I hope you’ll take my point seriously and help our team get better more quickly. And, as always, thanks for your support.

Austin High School Rumors

It’s been mentioned by a few people that AISD schools are poised to drop water polo prior to the first UIL season this fall due to a lack of training facilities. That would eliminate programs for many of our friends at schools such as Austin, Anderson, McCallum, and LASA. My understanding is that at least a couple of those schools have already come to an agreement to use Austin city pools during the UIL season. We’ll share the news when those plans are final but I think the concern for those programs is premature… thankfully.

RRISD Natatorium

Travis Benson, one of our masters players and father to two of our awesome Swim2Score athletes, plays a key role in the construction of the new Round Rock ISD Natatorium. So here are a couple photos of what it looked like on April 28. Rumors are that it may open pretty soon.

See you on the deck,

James

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Success at AQTX Fest, Thunder Spring Invite, ODP

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Catching up after two of our busiest weeks.

AQTX Spring Festival

It’s over – the final AQTX TISCA West Region Spring Festival, and it went as well as it possibly could have. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to make it the smoothest one we’ve ever run. Because high school water polo will be run by the UIL in the fall, we as a club will no longer be able to host such an event, something we consider a good thing altogether. And don’t worry, we’ll be hosting other events in its place.

So thanks again for everyone’s hard work and congratulations to all our athletes who got to put their skills on display over the weekend. It’s very exciting for coaches to see your hard work paying off. Keep it up! You can find final results for the tournament on its events page.

Thunder Spring Invite Champs

Belated huge congrats to Tristan, William, Rudy, and Wes for taking home 1st prize medals for the Longhorn 14u and 12u teams competing in the silver bracket of the Thunder Spring Invite. Their teams went undefeated over the weekend. And as a reward, as Coach Tom and I mentioned to the teams, we won’t be entering any silver brackets in the foreseeable future! A great result and congratulations to our four players and our friends from Longhorn. Final results are here.

ODP National Championships

Speaking of Tristan, he and his Southwest Zone teammates returned from Northern California after beating the Midwest Zone to earn 13th place in the program’s national championship tournament. In their first game they fell just one goal short of the Pacific Zone Blue team from Northern California.

Kendall will finish her spring break in NorCal for the girls’ championship. She and her Southwest Zone Youth team will take on the Central (CA) Zone on Saturday, March 19. Best of luck to her and her teammates, and congratulation to Tristan on a great ODP season.

The next ODP season will begin in September and we will be pushing our athletes to try out more than we have in the past. You can keep tabs of what’s going on with the program via USA Water Polo’s ODP page.

Junior Olympics Interest

We’ve gotten feedback from a lot of you but want more! Are you interested in playing at Junior Olympics this summer? We will share a google form for you to fill out in our GroupMe (contact Coach James if you need the link to our GroupMe).

You can read more about the summer schedule via our Southwest Zone JOs Qualifier event page. With our friends from Longhorn our plan is to attempt to qualify all our boys’ teams for Session 1 in California. We are still getting feedback from the families of our girls about competing in California versus playing in Session 3 in North Texas. But if you’re planning on playing on one of our boys’ rosters (and you should!) then you should know we plan on qualifying for a trip to California. If any of our teams don’t qualify for CA we will play in Session 3 in North Texas for certain.

Alamo Classic Roster Call

All of our middle school and younger athletes are encouraged to commit to playing a the Alamo Classic in San Antonio on April 2-3. We’ll be working with Longhorn on rosters. If we have enough to do so we’ll happily create separate rosters for AQTX and Longhorn. But if not we’ll combine as we often do. Because it’s high school season the age groups are determined by school grade. So, 8th grade and under, 6th grade and under, 4th grade and under. Let’s go!

Welcome Newcomers

We have an influx of new members as the high school season has arrived and are very pleased to have them. To all of you who joined recently, welcome to AquaTex Waterpolo. Take a moment to read our Welcome page so you know what next steps are. Most importantly, all AquaTex athletes must be both registered with the club and have a current membership with USA Water Polo. The minimum level of membership that will cover your athlete is “Bronze,” although there is also a 2-week trial membership. Families must register with USA Water Polo directly. We as a club cannot register your athlete, unlike with USSwimming.

Thanks again for joining us!

#BeYourBest

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STX Winter Champs, Thunder Tourney, Spring Festival and More

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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.

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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.

2021boyscadetredpostgame

ODP Selections, Dare 2 Dream, Parent Meeting

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AquaTexans Selected to ODP National Teams

We learned today that Kendall Strauss and Tristan Chamas were both selected to represent the Southwest Zone at USA Water Polo’s Olympic Development Program National Championships in March. Kendall and Tristan were recent participants in the program’s West Region Championships in Utah, after which ODP coaches selected their final rosters plus alternates for the zone’s national championship teams.

The National Championship for boys takes place in Northern California March 4-6. The girls reconvene there March 18-20.

Tristan will play for the boys’ Development team (born 2008 and younger) while Kendall is on the girls’ Youth team (born 2004). Aaron Gordon was scheduled to play in Utah for the boys Cadets but was forced to cancel because of exposure to Covid. You can find all the roster selections here.

Huge congratulations to all three of them for their hard work, and best of luck in California! #TexasWaterpoloRising

Dare to Dream

Rosters and schedules have been finalized (thanks to everyone for updating their Covid-19 waiver) for this weekend’s Dare to Dream tourney. Our 12u team has its first game at the very civilized time of 11:00 AM on Saturday. But you can find all the games, AquaTex and Longhorn, on the event page. For this tournament AquaTex athletes are expected to be ready to warm up 30 minutes prior to the game (not 29!). For those playing for Longhorn 10u teams you’ll be coached by Coaches Tom and Sydney, and I’ll be hovering around those teams as well. Stoked!

To our newer families don’t be shy about using the GroupMe to communicate during the tournament.

Weekly Training Schedule

Though our 12u athletes will mostly be in Houston this weekend the training schedule at Micki remains the same: Saturday and Sunday at 10 AM; Masters at 11:30 AM; Swim2Score at 10:30 AM.

Parent Meeting

A reminder that on Thursday, January 13 at 7:30 PM we will have a parent meeting via Zoom for all AquaTex Waterpolo families. We’ll send an invite to you via email and/or GroupMe. Plans are to cover the coming spring season (more below), partnering with Longhorn, Junior Olympics, goals for the club, and much more. We have many new families (happily) so please to take the time to join in and learn more about what we’re trying to do, and share any questions or issues you’d like. Contact Coach James if you have anything you’d like covered during the meeting.

Roster Call

South Texas Championships

Now that Joe Linehan is running things in the Alamo Heights area we can expect to have many more chances to compete somewhere relatively close to us for not-so-much money. Here’s the next one: a one-day Winter championship tournament for all ages on January 30. Our high school athletes have very few chances remaining to compete prior to the prep season. This is a good one, and each team gets two games within a few hours, so no extended stay in the bleachers (unless you play for multiple rosters!).

Our plans are to field teams for every age group, 18u down. Don’t miss this opportunity for some (inexpensive) game experience prior to the spring high school and 14u seasons.

Other Stuff

See you on the deck.

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