Splashball

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Back to Austin College, Fall Schedule is Out

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School is (kinda) back in session which means our fall schedule is now on the calendar.

Until November…

Coaches Shannon and Kendall are returning to Austin College this week, which means their summer season of coaching is over. Wish them all the best as they return to school under some pretty different circumstances, and let’s hope they can play in the spring after having the last season cut very short. And, my personal huge thanks to both of them for leading the club so well while I was away. We’ll see them again in November!

Fall Schedule

This week we will practice from 7-9 PM Tuesday and Thursday, and from noon to 2pm on Saturday. No Friday practice.

Beginning on August 24 we will practice from 7-9 PM Monday and Wednesday, and from noon to 2pm on Saturday. You can find the entire schedule on the team’s calendar.

Plus, we’ll continue to look for days we can host extra practices, hopefully moving toward four practices regularly a week.

Splashball

The schedule for splashball this fall is still pending, but likely will take place on select Saturdays at noon. Stay tuned.

Online Training

Given the new schedule we will figure out the best time to host online learning sessions during the week.

Happy Birthday

Belated happy birthday to Mac who turned 18 (!) on July 31. And to Riley, who will be 15 as of Sunday, August 23. I feel like there should be extra cookies for those guys (Austin? Luca? Declan?).

See you on the deck, masked.

James

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Summer Schedule, JOs Update

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We’ve had two successful weeks of practice since our return, and our numbers are on the rise too. Plus, Splashball is back on the calendar and a brief update on Junior Olympics.

Summer Schedule

We are now set with our summer weekly schedule, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We have changed from Monday/Wednesday/Thursday in order to maximize the amount of time we can train in deep water.

Junior Olympics

Danny Dixon has contacted families involved in our 14u boys team that we plan to send to 2020 National Junior Olympics in November (more info from USAWP here). Given the circumstances there are some travel prices we can take advantage of. If you don’t have Danny’s contact info just ask Coach James for it.

There is still no word about when Junior Olympics qualifying will be (Southwest Zone Championships).

And finally, we’ll be inviting the non-AQTX 14u boys for practice soon.

Splashball

It’s back! Beginning on Wednesday, June 17 we’ll begin monthly splashball from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The program is for any athlete age 5-11. We had a successful session just prior to the lockdown so we’re really looking forward to the next. Share the news with friends.

Welcome (Back)

We’re very excited to have Devin, Cammie and Asher joining us for the first time. And welcome back to Brandon. It’s an exciting time for AQTX Waterpolo and we’re grateful for their families’ participation.

Happy Birthday

Belated happy birthday to Cameron and Kendall, our May birthdays. We’ll celebrate Nilmary’s in just a couple weeks, our only June celebration (unless we get new athletes!).

And check out the photos of some of our recent practices, including our new brand of scrimmaging with ultimate rules.

See you on the deck,

James

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Covid-19 Training Rules, Splashball, Non-AQTX Athletes Invited

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It has been such a pleasure to be back at the pool with our athletes and to see some of our parents as well. Water polo in the entire country is changed. And we are probably the first club in the US to get back in the pool, for which I’m extremely grateful.

So, some updates regarding how we’ll be going forward given the covid circumstances, and the change in schedule we experience every summer as Micki is opened to the public.

Plus, this update is for many people from throughout the country who have asked asked for information related to getting back to practice.

Summer Schedule

For the week beginning May 25 waterpolo training will take place from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We have changed from Monday/Wednesday/Thursday in order to maximize the amount of time we can train in deep water.

That schedule is likely but not certain to continue the first week of June. Another update forthcoming.

Non-AquaTex Members

We have had several coaches, athletes, and parents contact us about training with AquaTex while their own local clubs are shut down. I should have a better answer about if and how we can help in the next week. Given the new distance restrictions we will have to see about numbers. Thanks for getting in touch with me.

Masters/Splashball

Given that our version of masters water polo is 99% scrimmaging we will not have it on the calendar any time soon. There is some chance of organizing a shoot-around, but distancing rules will apply and be enforced.

Hosting Splashball is theoretically much easier. The issue is simply finding time on the calendar. The pool is in very heavy use during the summers. But given the interest in it we will do our best to find a time once a month for our youngest athletes.

Training Under Covid-19 Rules

As mentioned to our families a week ago Wednesday the rules under which we are operating are provided by the City of Round Rock. In general, we are simply following the local guidance as has been conveyed to Coach Mark. For water polo here’s what we’re doing.

We have set up many lounge chairs, each of which is located at least two meters from the next, for each athlete. As they enter the facility they are required to stay at or around their lounge chair. It is the same for dry-land work and conversations with coaches. You can see the setup in one of the attached photos.

No parents are allowed on the deck and masks are optional and up to each family.

During swim sets we copy the swim team. To keep athletes two meters apart we try to limit each lane to two swimmers located at opposite ends of the pool. If there were a third swimmer, he or she would have to remain somewhere two meters away, half tank for example.

Our water polo training rules are pretty simple: stay two meters away. Given that simple rule we have found it relatively easy to do individual skills, pass, shoot, do front court offense work, and even scrimmage under some unique covid-19 rules.

We held our first “scrimmage” on Thursday (photos attached) with mixed results. Those rules:

  • touching another athlete means expulsion – get dressed and go home
  • violation of the two meters rule is an exclusion.
  • 20 seconds possession, five consecutive possessions per team (front court only)
  • any shot block or goalie save = 1 point for the defense
  • offensive shots earn 1, 3, 5, or 7 points depending on distance
  • shots that miss the cage entirely (not caused by a deflection) are punished – the shooting team must sprint to the goal wall and back to the perimeter.
  • we were going to give defenders noodles to both play defense and keep distance but they were missing.

Some observations:

  • I barely blew the whistle at all for 20 minutes
  • Our scoring system was very unbalanced. Athletes (almost exclusively boys…) nearly always chose to shoot from the 7-point distance with poor results.
  • The scoring system discouraged movement, something we will change.
  • Not a single expulsion or exclusion took place. Our athletes respected the distance rules.
  • It was so good to even mimic “normal” competition. It was a good day.

See you on the deck,

James

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High School Polo is Back, Splashball, Parent Meeting

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Splashball is here – our first session was Saturday the 22nd. And our high schoolers are already getting pub after the first tournament of the season. Spring has sprung and here comes a busy season.

Splashball

We had our first Splashball session on Saturday with new coach Hayley. Thanks to those who came and we’ll look forward to seeing you again in March. Next session is on Sunday, March 29 at 10:00 AM, a day we plan to host age group scrimmages too. To participate young athletes (5-11) will need to sign up via this USA Water Polo link ($10 per calendar year).

Longhorn High School Spring Invite

The first weekend of high school competition is over with some great results for our athletes and surprising outcomes in the competition. Zairis was a key contributor for the RoRo girls and Zach is using his new skills at center to make his mark for Cedar Park. Read more about them and many more current and former AquaTexans on TXWaterpolo and TISCAWestWaterpolo.com.

High School Tournaments

A schedule should be out next Monday for our first hosted event of the year, the AQTX TISCA High School Spring Tournament on March 6 and 7. With the schedule will also be assignments for desk work by our athletes. Danny Dixon will be helping to gather other volunteers as well. These are extremely important fund-raisers for the water polo club and plans are to direct those funds toward some much needed new equipment. Game clocks and new team caps come to mind.

Update your USAWP Account

A reminder that athletes must be currently registered with USA Water Polo to practice with or compete for AquaTex. Take a moment to make sure you’re membership is current (Bronze level at a minimum). And update your ID photos. The referees when checking IDs aren’t impressed by how cute you were in 4th grade. They want to see a recent photo!

Parent Meeting

Both our scheduled parent meetings were wiped out by weather so we’ll look to put a couple new dates on the calendar for March. It should last no more than 30 minutes and will cover several things like Junior Olympics, team philosophy, goals for the club, fees and logistics, volunteering, events we are hosting, communications, and more. Coach James and Danny Dixon will lead the conversation.

See you on the deck,

James