Swim2Score

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2023 Dare to Dream Festival

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Schedule/Results

For our Athletes & Families

Admissions

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

Click here for the Admissions Link

USA Water Polo IDs

2023 AquaTex Dare to Dream IDs

Texas A&M Waivers

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

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Tournament Expectations

We very gladly have a lot of new athletes attending this tournament. Welcome to all of you, and of course to all our experienced families as well. Here are a few things to cover for newcomers and oldsters alike:

  • Plan on being ready to meet together 30-40 minutes minimum before our first game of the day. Coach Babs will let you know via GroupMe.
  • Athletes, wear your team suit every game of the tournament, and your team t-shirt on Saturday at least. And, of course, we encourage our families to don the black, orange, and blue while attending.
  • Expect three games per day even if we only end up playing two. That means, be prepared: extra towel, goggles for warmup, eye drops, snacks, water, an extra suit is always a good idea. Be ready.
  • Food. Between games we encourage our athletes to eat lean protein, fruit, simple carbohydrates (not just candy!), water. After our last game of the day you can eat what you want… within reason.
  • AquaTex doesn’t organize team hotels or meals but definitely appreciates parents who take the lead in finding hotel blocks to share and/or organizing team meals. That is mostly done via our GroupMe so please do communicate amongst each other there.
  • We expect all our athletes to work hard, to be their best, when we compete. Winning and losing are important but not nearly as much as effort, being the best you can be, being there for your teammates, communicating, executing the skills you learned at practice. That’s what we as a club and your coaches expect.

Athlete Fees

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

Working Rosters

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

From the Host

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

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

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

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UPDATED: Alamo HS Tourney on Calendar, Masters & S2S Updates, ODP is Here

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Updated 20 September 2022

Practice Cancelled This Weekend

AquaTex Swim Team is hosting its biggest swim meet of the season this weekend so there will be no water polo training (age group, high school, masters, Swim2Score) on Saturday, September 24 or Sunday, September 25. We will have a makeup practice on Thursday, September 22 from 7-9 PM. That training session will be almost exclusively for our Age Group and Novice athletes since there is high school water polo taking place that evening.

The parent meeting for Thursday, September 22, is still on the calendar. We can shift the start time to 7:30 to accommodate those taking kids to practice but let me know how this works, or doesn’t, for you.

***

It’s been a while and a whirlwind of activity so let’s get straight in to the update.

First, well done to all our athletes at all our different levels of experience for going 2-2 at the Armadillo Classic up in The Colony. It’s very gratifying that we’re in the position where we can now regularly expect to send teams from AquaTex to these tournaments. And thank you to all the parents, friends, and family who came to support our athletes.

Roster Calls

We have several signed up for the Alamo Fall Classic for our 14u, 12u, 10u athletes but want more! This tournament is in San Antonio so easier to manage than those in North Texas. Make sure to go to your TeamUnify account to commit to the tournament. This applies to our awesome Swim2Score athletes as well! We want a huge 10u team and this is the perfect opportunity for newcomers. Just a reminder that Swim2Score families who want to play in a tourney must be currently registered with AquaTex AND are required to have a Bronze membership with USA Water Polo.

Then, very good news: another San Antonio tournament is on the calendar for our 18u/16u athletes the first weekend of November. Several families have asked when the first chance of the fall would come for high school athletes to compete and now we have that opportunity. So sign up!

Parent Meeting

We had to postpone a parent meeting a couple weeks ago but we’ll re-convene via jit.si on Thursday, September 22 at 7:00 PM. Team members will be sent a link to join the meeting via GroupMe and TeamUnify email. jit.si works on any browser but requires the app to use on your device.

Masters Update

Several updates regarding our masters programming:

  • Beginning this Sunday the hours for masters water polo will change by 30 minutes. It will start at 10:30 AM and go until noon – 30 minutes of warmup in the South pool followed by one hour of all-deep scrimmaging.
  • Some clarification about high school and younger athletes
    • No middle school or younger athletes are allowed at masters scrimmages
    • High school athletes must be approved by AquaTex coaches to play at masters
    • Those select high school athletes who are NOT currently active, registered, paying members of AquaTex must pay the $10.00 drop in fee. AquaTex-registered high schoolers can play masters at no additional cost but must be approved by AQTX coaches.
  • All masters athletes who drop in owe AquaTex $10 per session. We strongly recommend you join AquaTex ($35/month is a bargain) rather than dealing with Venmo payments. But please be sure to pay so we can continue offering masters.

Swim2Score Update

We’ve never had more interest in our Swim2Score program than we do now, so thank you to everyone who has registered and given us a trial run, and to our awesome coaches, led by Babs.

Speaking of registration: a reminder: after your athlete’s two-session trial you must register with AquaTex in order to continue with the program.

Also, we are now requiring all our Swim2Score athletes to join USA Water Polo. There are several options:

  • If you think your athlete will only be participating at our training sessions at Micki and not competing at USA Water Polo tournaments then you can sign up for a “Splashball” membership
  • If you want your athlete to compete at USA Water Polo tournaments (the Alamo Classic, for example) then he or she must be a “Bronze” member of USA Water Polo.
    • (Swim2Score athletes who graduate to the “Novice Waterpolo” group will be required to have a Bronze membership as do all of our high school and age group athletes)

Team Suits

The Turbo Store should be closed for the season now. Given that we are a small club we will continue to work with Turbo as a courtesy to those who choose their product over RYTE. But Turbo is simply not set up to deliver as quickly to our families as RYTE.

A reminder that I’ll have a RYTE fitting kit for boys for the next couple weeks. Come try one on cuz team suits are required for all our (non Swim2Score) athletes. Then order one here.

ODP

USA Water Polos’ Olympic Development Program is around the corner. We encourage our athletes to give the program a try. We’ve been fortunate to have many AQTX athletes take part in the clinics and also selected to travel teams (Regional Championships and boys’ National Championships will both be in San Antonio!). More info here and feel free to ask if you have questions about the program.

See you on the deck,

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South Texas Champs, High School Regionals, Weekend Schedule

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Another big weekend so here are some updates for our families for this week and beyond.

South Texas Spring Champs

The schedule and rosters are all ready to go for the South Texas Spring Championships in San Antonio on Sunday, April 24. Participating families can find all that information on the event page. Our 4th grade athletes will play an exhibition game in which players will be distributed between two teams regardless of the club they came from. We are fortunate to have two 6th grade u teams, one of which will be coached by me and features our AquaTexans plus some of our friends from Longhorn. (Note that that team is listed as “Longhorn White” on the schedule.) And our 8th grade u athletes will be playing for Longhorn under Coach Tom. Be sure to see where your athlete is listed. The rosters are correct! Be prepared to get in the pool 30 minutes before game time and wear your AquaTex gear. See you there.

Weekend Training

Our training schedule for this coming weekend remains as usual. Saturday at 10:00 AM will be (almost exclusively) middle school given that our high school athletes will be in San Antonio for West Region Champs. Coaches Alon and Babs will be there.

On Sunday we’ll start ALL youth training at 10:30 AM: middle school and Swim2Score. High school athletes can jump in at 10:30 but are more strongly encouraged to participate in masters scrimmaging beginning at 11:30 AM. Coaches Alon, Babs, and Dom will be there.

Roster Calls

TAGS

We’ve seen lots of interest in participating in TAGS on April 30-May 1 but still need commitments (or not) from our middle school families. Again, contact me if you need the link to our commitment worksheet.

JOs

More on that below but a reminder that we have a separate form for anyone interested in playing at Junior Olympics this summer. Will share in our GroupMe but you can contact me as well.

High School Regionals & Champs

The lightning-quick high school season is at an end with West Region Championships taking place at (where else?) Alamo Heights ISD Natatorium on Friday and Saturday. Coach Matt and I are refereeing again all weekend and will be (quietly) supporting all our athletes.

Good luck to all our athletes. Have faith in your teammates and your training, and take this #BeYourBest advice as well:

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” John Wooden

CWPA DIII Championships

This weekend Austin College is the number one seed at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Championships in Pennsylvania. A top-two finish will put Coaches Shannon and Kendall along with their ‘Roos teammates in the school’s first ever USAWP Division III Championship in California. Amidst all the other events taking place this weekend take a moment to root for our coaches and the only NCAA program in the state of Texas.

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Easter, Alamo Game Day, More on JOs

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Lots to share so we’ll keep it short.

Easter Weekend

On Saturday, April 16 we will have our typical Sunday schedule, which is:

  • 10:00 AM, Middle School and High School together
  • 10:30 AM, Swim2Score, this Saturday featuring both Coach Dom and Coach Babs! Come check out our Swim2Score program for ages 5-11 if you haven’t already.
  • 11:30 AM, Masters waterpolo

All training on Easter Sunday, April 17 is cancelled.

Swim2Score for AQTX Swim Team

A reminder that all Novice-level swimmers with AquaTex Swim Team can attend Swim2Score at no additional cost. Get 30 minutes of swim technique training followed by 30 minutes of fun water polo-ish games. Contact us for more info.

Roster Calls

Alamo April Game Day

Our friends at Quad A are planning to host a game day for all middle school-age athletes and younger on Sunday, April 24 at the Alamo Heights ISD Natatorium. More details here. The event has been added to our commitment sheet so please indicate on it whether your young athlete plans to attend. If you need the link to our commitment sheet let me know.

TAGS

We’ve seen lots of interest in participating in TAGS on April 30-May 1 but still need commitments (or not) from our middle school families. Again, contact me if you need the link to our commitment worksheet.

JOs

More on that below but a reminder that we have a separate form for anyone interested in playing at Junior Olympics this summer. Will share in our GroupMe but you can contact me as well.

Junior Olympics Update

We’ve received feedback from families regarding the costs associated with traveling to California for Junior Olympics this summer. It is proving to be more expensive than expected. That, plus some pretty surprising news from Viper Pigeons in Houston which has decided to field teams only at Session 3 of Junior Olympics in North Texas rather than send teams to California. VP typically sends many teams to JOs in California each summer.

We’ve heard your concerns and will be contacting all our families about their preferences. But it appears that we are more likely to send several teams directly to Session 3 in Dallas (no qualifying is necessary) rather than attempting to qualify all our teams for Sessions 1 and 2 in California. Coach Tom and I are still working on which teams and their families want to travel to California, and those that wish to stay exclusively in Texas for JOs.

Although our understanding is that no athlete may play both in California and in North Texas (a 16u athlete also playing up with an 18u team, for example) there appears to be no such limitation for coaches, so it is possible we will still enter all our teams under the Longhorn name so we have maximum flexibility with our coaches. But if it works best for both clubs and our coaches then we will plan to enter teams for Session 3 in Dallas under the AquaTex name (for the first time ever!).

Please reach out to me for a link to our JOs interest form. Even if you have already submitted you can update your choices so we have the most accurate reflection of what you’re thinking about this summer.

April Training Schedule

We’re back at Micki and continue our special high-school season schedule until May 4 after which we’ll have some revisions.

  • Middle and High School training, Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9 PM; Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 AM to noon.
  • Masters on Sundays at 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM (subject to change, as usual)
  • Swim2Score on Sundays from 10:30 to 11:30 AM
  • And up until Wednesday, May 4, special morning high school sessions, Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 7:00 to 9:00 AM. They will end after TISCA State Water Polo Championships.

High School Polo

Kudos to all our high school athletes, many of whom competed this past weekend at Alamo Heights. We’ll look forward to seeing all our players making their mark at West Region Championships in a couple weekends.

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Welcome Coach Barbara, Thunder Tourney, Spring Festival, HS Season

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Welcome Coach Barbara

The newest addition to our coaching staff is Barbara Lanier, a former varsity player at the University of Michigan, one of the top ranked programs in the nation, and at Acalanes High School in Northern California. She also has significant coaching experience working with Saline High School in Michigan and Diablo Alliance Water Polo in California, where she enjoyed both polo and summer league swim coaching. She will immediately fit with our Swim2Score program, which she’ll run on Sunday, Feb 20. You can expect to see her doing more than that since she has experience working with all age groups. This as we round out our staff and increase the number of athletes at AquaTex. Welcome, Coach Barbara!

Thunder Spring Invite

We’re all set with our (Longhorn) teams participating at the Thunder Spring Invite. I’ll be up there along with Coaches Tom and Becca of Longhorn. There are lots of hotels nearby for those traveling to the very nice Lewisville ISD Westside Aquatic Center. Feel free to use the GroupMe among our families to organize before and during the tournament. Stoked for our young AquaTexans!

Spring Festival Approaches

We’re two weeks away from hosting our last ever Spring high school tournament. Current AquaTex members should have received an email on Thursday introducing many to our volunteer needs for the event. We have more members than we ever have so we should have plenty to cover all our volunteer needs and more. High school teams have until Feb 25 to register after which we’ll publish a schedule as soon as possible. Expect to see more about volunteering soon, and let’s keep this one of the best-run high school tournaments in our area.

High School Polo Sessions

AquaTex is working on creating extra training for high school-only athletes beginning on or around February 28 and ending around May 1. Details are forthcoming but sessions are likely to be on multiple weekday mornings from 7-9 AM and are available to any registered AquaTex water polo athlete currently in high school. There will be no changes to our Monday and Wednesday evening training sessions, to which all high school athletes will also have access. Middle school athletes will remain on their Monday, Wednesday evening, and Saturday/Sunday morning schedules.

Lake Creek

‘Tis the season to decamp to the lovely, wonderful Lake Creek pool. That move will take place after we host our tournament, March 4-5. More details to come as usual but… be prepared.

See you on the deck.

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Game Day and December 3-4 Training Update

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A reminder that our San Antonio Game Day schedule and rosters are available here. Be prepared to warm up one hour before game time.

Practice on Saturday, Dec 4 will take place as usual from 10:00 AM to noon for High School and Middle School athletes.

Practice for High School and Middle School athletes is cancelled on Sunday, Dec 5. All our high school athletes are strongly encouraged to attend Masters from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.

Swim2Score and Masters will take place as schedule on Sunday, Dec. 5. Swim2Score at 10:30 to 11:30 and Masters from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.

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2022 Dare to Dream Festival

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Schedule/Results

AQTX/Longhorn Game Schedule

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

Rosters

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

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

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

From the Host

last updated 11 January 2022

Schedule and Results | Official Rules | Event Procedures

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

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

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Fall Weekend Schedule Begins with a Bang

We had a great first Saturday and Sunday of the fall season. Micki was packed with middle school, high school, Swim2Score, and masters athletes. Plus, for some reason, the water was much cooler making the heat and humidity a little more tolerable. Thanks to all the newcomers who gave us a try, especially our Swim2Score youngsters who got to work with new coaches Dom and Kendall.

So Long, and Welcome

A melancholy farewell to four athletes who have been part of the program but are now high school graduates. We say goodbye but know that all of them will be around one way or another, and we hope they’ll hang out with us whenever they’re in the area. Tailynn Schaufelberger headed to the Coast Guard Academy earlier this summer while Mac Morrison is already off being studious at A&M and Clarissa Garcia will be starting her UT career after attending her last official practice just this past week. Meanwhile, Alexander Thulin and Ian Campbell may be sticking around the area and are thus required to participate in masters water polo! We’re grateful for the time they spent with us coaches and fellow AquaTex athletes and we wish all of them the very best as they move on. Congratulation to all of them.

On the flip side, we have two new athletes who have joined us: Aaron Bielik is the newest member of our 12u boys group and Sofia Silvestrini joins our 14u girls. We welcome them and their families to AquaTex and look forward to adding more this fall.

Competition

Welcome to Texas Shootout is on the calendar for September 4, 5 in San Antonio. We’re sending 18u coed and 14u coed teams with Longhorn. If you’re on one of those rosters you’ll be playing for Coach Tom or Coach Becca. I’ll be forwarding your contact info to them so they can keep you informed (perhaps using our GroupMe from JOs too).

Meanwhile, Coaches Alon, Matthew, Shannon, and Kendall are showing off their skills in Dallas this weekend as members of Austin Water Polo Club’s 19+ men’s team, and Texas United’s 19+ women’s team. They and a bunch of our masters athletes are competing for Austin and Longhorn Aquatics against teams from all over the US at USA Water Polo’s Masters Nationals in North Texas. Follow the results here, and good luck to all our coaches and athletes!

Admin

Masters Cancelled

Because Masters Nationals are this weekend in Dallas there will be no masters scrimmage at Micki on Sunday, August 29. We’ll resume on September 5. Register for Masters Waterpolo if you haven’t already.

Re-Registration

Thanks to everyone who completed their re-registration with AquaTex as is required each August. Those who have not yet done so have been emailed. Please update your account as soon as possible so we can continue to practice with your young athletes. Be sure to sign up only for one of the following: Water Polo; Swim/Polo; Swim2Score; Masters Water Polo. All other choices are swim team groups.

Team Uniforms

We are now asking all middle school and high school athletes to purchase one team suit (men’s brief, men’s jammer, or women’s suit) and one team t-shirt of your choice. They will be required for when we travel as a team and are available via our online store. Financial aid will be available so contact me if you’d like more information about it. If you already have a suit and tee shirt you’re all set.

Junior Olympics Tee Shirts

There are a few extra 2021 Junior Olympic tee-shirts I’ll be putting on sale soon. I need to do some inventory but let me know if you’re interested. $5.00 a shirt.

See you on the deck,

James

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Academic All-Americans, New Coach, Schedule Update

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It’s the dog days of summer: high heat, plenty of vacation time prior to school re-starting, nearing the end of Micki’s summer schedule… We prepare for the fall season after a hugely successful Junior Olympics with great news from the academic side of waterpolo and an important update to our fall schedule that affects Swim2Score, Masters, and HS/MS waterpolo, all our offerings actually.

AQTX Academic All-Americans

Two AquaTexans have been given Academic All-American Outstanding Honors by USA Water Polo. Kendall Strauss and Mac Morrison received the award for maintaining a 4.00 GPA or higher while participating in a National USA Water Polo event. Well done to Mac, who’s now officially an AquaTex masters athlete headed to A&M in a couple weeks, and Kendall, who will be joining us as a Swim2Score coach while she completes her senior year. Congratulations!

Fall Schedule

Already, revisions to the fall schedule. Updated now on the calendar. We again are making efforts to maximize the amount of time we have in the North (deep) pool. So, beginning August 23 is:

  • Mondays, Wednesdays, (not Thursdays)
    • 7-9 PM for high school and middle school (HS/MS).
  • Saturdays
    • high school and middle school 10 AM to noon.
  • Sundays
    • 9 AM – 11 AM, middle school athletes
    • 10 AM – noon, high school athletes
    • 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM, Swim2Score
    • 11:30 – 1:00 PM, masters (including select high school athletes)
  • Fridays, nuthin’

Coaching News

While we’re sad that Sam and Kendall are soon returning to Texas State and Austin College we are very pleased to have a new coach join us. Dominique Clark joins us after a successful career at Villanova University in the Philadelphia area. She is from Berkeley, CA and has coached previously at the very successful Lamorinda Water Polo Club and Orinda Park, where she was a youth swim coach. She’ll be leading our Swim2Score program this fall, where she’ll teach both swim and waterpolo. And we’re looking forward to having her work with our older girls as well. Welcome to AquaTex, Dom!

Competition

The Zilla Beach tournament is postponed, but Welcome to Texas Shootout is on the calendar for September 4, 5 in San Antonio. This is really the last competition of the summer and we plan to combine with Longhorn again to enter teams. Age qualification is based on age as of August 1, 2021 so our JOs teams can/will remain the same. It’s a very good tournament at one of Texas’ best facilities so let’s finish the season strong, middle school and high school athletes!

ODP Returns to Round Rock

Even though I’m not the head coach any more, ODP is tentatively returning to Round Rock for two clinics (one boys’, one girls’) on Sunday, September 19. But just because I’m not the head coach doesn’t mean I won’t be there! Once it’s officially on the USAWP calendar I’ll share it here. More info on ODP for those who are not familiar with it. Many AquaTex athletes have participated and succeeded with ODP. It’s a great way to learn a ton in a short period and play with and against some of the best in Texas with great coaches.

What are Masters and Swim2Score?

We’ve been getting a LOT of questions about our Masters and Swim2Score programs. Take a look at our updated FAQs for the info you may have been looking for, and share with friends. We want both programs to explode!

Some Admin (But Still Quite Important)

Junior Olympics Fees

Thanks to all our Junior Olympics participants who have paid for the tournament. If you have not yet done so, Venmo your $200 to me. Prompt payment appreciated so we can pay our awesome coaches for their time in Dallas.

USAWP Club Affiliation

Now that JOs are over for another year it’s time to go back in your athletes’ USA Water Polo profiles and affiliate him or her with AquaTex instead of Longhorn. And while you’re at it, if you haven’t already, update that ID headshot photo to something current.

Registration

It’s August so you should all have re-registered with AquaTex in order to continue practicing. I’ll be checking records so let me know if you have questions or issues with the process.

See you on the deck,

James

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Junior Olympics are Here, The Fall Schedule is Out, The Summer is Nearly Over

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It’s here.

Junior Olympics

Can we all just sit back and feel the excitement for this, the biggest tournament ever for our club?!

Ok, good. Now, for actual details on the tournament click here and then bookmark it. Game schedule, maps, hotels, first games, it’s all there and more.

Athletes, don’t be late to your games! For our 16u boys team expect to be ready to warm up on the deck one hour prior to every game. If there are changes to that schedule the coaches will let you know.

Training This Week and Next

Coaches are (nearly) all taking off on Wednesday for Dallas. So we train tonight (Tuesday) and then nothing again until next Tuesday. I’m off on holiday but Coaches Kendall and Alon will be having practices on our usual summer schedule beginning August 2. And Coach Marcy says we’ll have the pool to ourselves for a couple weeks. Come to practice and bring a friend (we’re expecting a few new athletes).

Swim2Score is ON for Friday, July 30. But no masters on Sunday, August 1.

Registration

Speaking of practices after JOs, you should all be aware of our price change on August 1, and that all our members are required to re-register. Let me or Coach Mark know if you’re having trouble doing so.

Fall Schedule

Our fall schedule is now on the calendar. Barring any changes, which are always possible and which I’ll share with everyone immediately, the schedule beginning August 23 is:

  • Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays
    • 7-9 PM for high school and middle school. Could possibly change if numbers are big enough to require middle school-only practices. Be prepared for another weeknight, or Saturday morning, practice.
  • Fridays
    • 6-7 PM Swim2Score. We have some new coaches in mind! More news to come.
  • Sundays
    • 9 AM – 11 AM, middle school athletes
    • 10 AM – noon, high school athletes
    • 11:30 – 1:00 PM, masters (including select high school athletes)
  • Saturdays (maybe, but not yet)

See you on the deck,

James

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