Swim2Score

2021 05 19

Boys at States, Roster Calls, Summer Schedule, Clinics

jamesesmith News, Announcement Boys Prep, Cowtown, Junior Olympics, Masters, Southwest Zone Championships, Swim2Score, Tournaments

State High School Championships part Two

Our boys Luca, Riley, Mac, and Ian gave highly ranked Marcus a scare on Saturday and made life difficult for Lamar on Friday at last weekend’s TISCA High School Water Polo Championships. Ian finished his two games with 10 goals and the notice of a couple coaches, who asked me if he was an AquaTexan.

Riley had 19 saves, 14 versus Marcus, and several more steals. Luca the Freshman was all over the place (in a good way): three goals and five steals. And Mac capped off his high school career with a goal, two assists, three shot blocks, and one steal.

It was a spectacular end to the high school season for all our athletes. We’re particularly proud of Ian, Tailynn, Mac who finished their careers with a bang. Congratulations to those graduating seniors and to everyone who took part in the high school season. More specifics on the tournament at TXWaterpolo.com.

Summer Tournament Roster Calls

There are now several new tournaments on the summer calendar and rather than asking our families to email their intent I’ve created a spreadsheet where you can indicate for each athlete their likelihood of participating. Of primary importance this week is Cowtown Rodeo. So make sure to update the sheet as soon as possible.

I’ll be emailing member families the link of the sheet to use so keep an eye open for it.

Summer Training Schedule

We now have plans for training this summer on the calendar. It begins on June 1 and will last until August 1. Check our Calendar for training times and a lot more.

Youth/HS Waterpolo on Tuesdays from 6-8 PM at Micki (main pool)
Youth only (middle school) on Thursdays 7:15 to 8:45 PM at Micki (south pool)
Youth/HS Waterpolo on Fridays from 7:15 to 9:00 PM at Micki (south pool/main pool)
Youth/HS Waterpolo on Sundays from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Micki (main pool)
Masters Waterpolo on Tuesdays 8-9:30 PM at Micki (main pool)
Swim2Score (age 5-11) Thursdays 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Micki (south pool)

Masters

The final Sunday Masters scrimmage is on this Sunday at Micki, noon to 1:30 PM. See the revised schedule above for summer plans, and get ready to register!

Clinics

I’ve put two clinics on the busy Events page, one in North Texas and one in Houston. Each will feature three days of training and evaluation by a variety of impressive collegiate coaches from throughout the US. They’re ones you want to be seen by!

A few AquaTexans have already asked me about these and I contacted organizers to find out more. Regardless of which clinics our athletes choose to attend I’d love to see us go together in big numbers.

See you on the deck,

James

2021 05 11

HS Girls Nearly Make History, JOs in Texas, Cowtown Tourney

jamesesmith News, Announcement Boys Prep, Cowtown, Girls Prep, Junior Olympics, Masters, Southwest Zone Championships, Swim2Score, Tournaments

State High School Championships

One of the most exciting games of high school water polo finished on Saturday with an outcome that AquaTexans would not prefer but will remember for a long time. Our girls, playing for Round Rock High School, stunned highly rated Marcus HS by getting out to an 8-3 lead in the second quarter. Already with a short bench, Cammi, Kendall, Morgan, and Corina each earned three exclusions leaving the Dragons with only five athletes to compete against Marcus’ six.

Round Rock fell 10-9 after a frantic last quarter in which a very game but exhausted and inexperienced group of girls nearly held off one of North Texas’ best teams to win the school’s first ever game at TISCA Water Polo State Championships.

Though it wasn’t the outcome we had hoped for it drew the attention of spectators and collegiate coaches (that’s right) who were observing. With immense pride, we say congratulations to Cammi, Nilmary, Morgan, Nyla, Corina, Kendall, and Tailyn. I can already see that 2022 will be a very good spring for our high school athletes.

The boys, meanwhile, will try to make their own history beginning on Friday. The Round Rock HS boys, featuring Luca, Riley, Mac, and Ian will attempt to down Lamar in its first round match. Again, I’ll be there to cheer them on and steer collegiate coaches in the right direction. You can find streaming info and live results at TXWaterpolo.com.

And finally, a shout out to cross town friends/rivals Cedar Ridge whose girls topped Lamar convincingly last Friday to make their own history. Congratulations to them for breaking new ground for Round Rock and Austin-area high school water polo.

Junior Olympics… IN TEXAS

On Saturday we finally received confirmation after a couple weeks of biting my tongue that because of Covid protocols in California, USA Water Polo had decided to add a third session of Junior Olympics to be played in North Texas. The session would include teams from all Zones except those in California. This is massive news for us as it will be very likely that any team we field at Southwest Zone Championships will be granted a slot at Junior Olympics.

As we’ve mentioned before we with our friends from Longhorn plan to have a very large presence at the tournament. So families, please start planning for it now. The best place to start is with our JOs Session 3 events page, which will be updated as needed. I will be in contact with AquaTex families soon about specifics: how to commit, costs, which rosters do we prefer to field, etc.

As you know, the clock is already ticking toward Southwest Zone Championships, which is the qualifying tournament for JOs. The deadline for committing to it is coming fast.

Exciting news for the club.

Cowtown Rodeo

This annual tournament is now on the calendar for June 5-6 up in Keller. Several Longhorns are already committed so if you’d like to go just contact me. All age groups. Southwest Zone Championships are the following weekend so if you have to choose one, there’s no debate: Southwest Zone Championships! There is also a masters division. We’ll be playing with Longhorn so contact us if you want to play for them.

Summer, Reminder

The summer season is under way. We will be arranging our practices to take advantage of any chance we have to practice alone in the deep pool. I owe Coach Mark an agenda for the entire summer and will share it with everyone once it gains approval.

As we mentioned last week, changes may include Friday evening practices, separate training for youth and high school, working at Lake Creek, more fun dry-land activities, etc.

Until May 28 our schedule will remain Monday and Wednesday from 7-9 PM at Micki, and Sundays 10-noon at Micki (when we will have the pool to ourselves, so don’t miss it).

Masters

Masters is on this Sunday at Micki, noon to 1:30 PM. Also, contact Alon or Matthew if you are interested in playing at the Cowtown Rodeo on June 5-6. Spaces are limited apparently. We’ll be combining with Longhorn to participate.

Swim2Score

Week three of Swim2Score takes place this Friday! So far we’ve had a lot of athletes joining us and always are looking for more.

See you on the deck,

James

2021 05 04

AquaTex Preps Excel, Swim2Score, Th’ Summer

jamesesmith News, Announcement Boys Prep, Cowtown, Girls Prep, Junior Olympics, Masters, Southwest Zone Championships, Swim2Score, Tournaments

TISCA West Region Championships

It was a huge Saturday for AquaTex high school athletes competing a the TISCA Water Polo West Region Championships in San Antonio. The Round Rock HS boys won the regional championship for the first time ever while the Round Rock girls placed second. Both of them will compete at state championships over the next two weekends (and I’ll be there).

We’re so proud of the recognition our athletes earned as a result of their notable performances: Ian Campbell, Cammi Schaufelberger, and Kendall Strauss were named to the First-Team All-Region team; Riley Dixon made the Second-Team; and Tailyn Schaufelberger earned Honorable Mention accolades. Plus, Coach Alon was named Coach of the Year for West Region high school boys. What a weekend! You can see the entire list here.

Congratulation to all of them: Riley, Cammi, Luca, Nilmary, Morgan, Nyla, Ian, Mac, Corina, Kendall, and Tailyn. We’ll be watching how everyone performs at the state championship tournaments! Can’t wait to see even more of our athletes playing high school ball for even more teams in the Spring of 2022. And if there are any more photos you’d like to share just let me know.

Now, watch Coach Alon forced to swim in pants.

Swim2Score

Our first Friday of Swim2Score was a big success – over 20 athletes! Coaches Sam and Hayley will be back this Friday for more so read more about it here if you haven’t already and we hope to see more young athletes.

Southwest Zone Championships

Longhorn Coach Tom and I are continuing to solidify dates for our Southwest Zone and Junior Olympics efforts. A deadline to commit to both events is coming soon, in the next couple weeks. More info available here and will be updated as necessary. Be sure to note the teams that we are likely to be fielding.

Cowtown Rodeo

This annual tournament is now on the calendar for June 5-6 up in Keller. We’ll be gauging interest in competing up there in the next few weeks. Southwest Zone Championships are the following weekend so if you have to choose one, there’s no debate: Southwest Zone Championships! There is also a masters division. We’ll be playing with Longhorn so contact us if you want to play for them.

Summer

The summer season (very) unofficially started on Monday meaning that we will be arranging our practices to take advantage of any chance we have to practice alone in the deep pool. Plus, our numbers have been rising, which is such great news and means we can start to consider separate training sessions. So, keep an eye out for changes to the schedule that may include Friday evening practices, separate training for youth and high school, working at Lake Creek, more fun dry-land activities, etc.

Until May 28 our schedule will remain Monday and Wednesday from 7-9 PM at Micki, and Sundays 10-noon at Micki (when we will have the pool to ourselves, so don’t miss it).

Masters

Welcome

After completing her water polo season with Westwood High School, Clarissa has joined AquaTex. Her first practice was on Monday when Coach Matt introduced her to an extended “dirty dozen” conditioning session! Take a chance to introduce yourself to her as our group of high school girls continues to grow.

See you on the deck,

James

2021 04 27

TAGS Recap and Prep Playoffs

jamesesmith News, Announcement Boys Prep, Girls Prep, Masters, Swim2Score, TAGS, Tournaments

TAGS Recap

Our second TAGS tournament of the strange calendar year was a big success in Pearland last weekend. Our 8th grade u mixed team placed 7th and our 6th graders finished 5th in their bracket going 2-2 and 3-1 respectively. With our friends from Longhorn we featured a lot of newcomers to the sport who did great work. Particular kudos to Jordan and William who not only played in their first competition ever after less than two weeks of training, but each scored a handful of goals, found the open teammates for better shots, and never stopped hustling on defense! On that same 6th grade team Tristan dominated to the point where we had to reign him in.

Better to give Tristan room to excel for the 8th grade team, which he did (gotta love scoring while three defenders have their hands around your throat). Jacob continues to improve as an eager threat in front of the cage; Aaron maintains his habit of stealing the ball and terrifying the defense with speed; Ava was a revelation playing determined defense and scoring; and James loves to earn inside water so he can put the ball in the net. It was a great weekend for all those athletes, our friends from Longhorn, and AquaTex in general. Thanks to all the parents for being such great supporters while withstanding the equatorial climate! Check out the scores below, and take a look at the 2000+ photos of the tournament, including a good number featuring our athletes.

Saturday, April 24th

8:00 Pegasus-13 v. AquaTex-9 (14UM)
11:30 Viper Pigeons-13 v. AquaTex-5 (12U)
12:30 Viper Pigeons-17 v. AquaTex-13 (14UM)
4:00 AquaTex-19 v. Pegasus Red-5 (12U, B-3rd)
7:00 AquaTex-13 v. Triumph-6 (14UM, 7th-10th Semi)

Sunday, April 25th

11:00 AquaTex-18 v. Pegasus Red-4 (12U, 5th-7th RR)
1:00 Lake Jackson-4 v. AquaTex-10 (14UM, 7th Place)
2:00 Lake Jackson-9 v. AquaTex-13 (12U, 5th-7th RR)

TISCA West Region Championships

A huge number of AquaTex athletes are competing at this weekend’s West Region Championships in San Antonio, where high schools from between Waco and the Rio Grande Valley will compete to earn one of four spots at the state championship tournaments in the next couple weeks. This group of AquaTex high schoolers has improved enormously over the course of the past year and I can’t wait to see them make their mark this weekend. From a proud coaching staff, good luck to Riley, Cammi, Luca, Nilmary, Morgan, Nyla, Ian, Mac, Corina, Kendall, and Tailyn. I’ll be there on Saturday to cheer on all of them, Coach Alon, and Coach Matthew who will be refereeing (I might dispute some calls though, we’ll see).

Swim2Score

I’d love to report that our first Swim2Score session was a success. But then weather intervened last Friday. No worry; we’ll kick off our first session on Friday, April 30 with the usual 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM schedule. Read more about it here if you haven’t already. We’re excited to get started and have a good group of young athletes committed to attending

National Junior Olympics

Things are looking up for a Championship bracket, meaning many more allocated spots for the Southwest Zone. Nothing concrete but the news I’m getting sounds positive in several ways. We’re getting closer to our late May deadline when AquaTex and Longhorn athletes must commit to playing at both Southwest Zone Championships and National Junior Olympics. More info available here and will be updated as necessary.

USA Water Polo Admin

All our members are required to be members of USA Water Polo as you know. But please go back to your athletes’ profile to make sure there is a recent headshot uploaded and that his or her estimated high school graduation date is correct. The referees at events are becoming much more strict about these things so please get that done today.

Masters

Masters will take place this Sunday from noon to 1:30 PM, after our youth practice: $10 per player. AquaTex High School athletes are encouraged to join the scrimmage after practice (you gotta go to practice to play in a masters scrimmage).

See you on the deck,

James

2021 04 20

‘Roos are CWPA DIII Champs, TAGS Schedule, and More Swim2Score

jamesesmith News Austin College, Coaches, Masters, NCAA, Swim2Score, TAGS, Varsity Women

Austin College wins CWPA Division III Championship

Coaches Shannon and Kendall both scored in Austin College’s demolition of Wittenberg College in the final match of the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Championships on Saturday. The final tally was 20-6 with AC leading the entire way after Coach Shannon scored the first goal of the match, played at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI.

And they’re in!!! Awesome seeing pure joy after such a challenging year 💪🏽🦘 #RooNation @ACsports @AustinCollege @CWPAWaterPolo pic.twitter.com/OgHupR3l9D
— AC Water Polo (@AustinCollegeWP) April 18, 2021

The Kangaroos end the season with a record of 6-2 and their first ever conference title after placing second in 2019. Austin College is only the fourth women’s team ever to win the title since the tournament was established in 2010. Their two losses came versus University of the Pacific, a Division I team currently ranked 12th in the CWPA polls. Austin College made history by earning its first ever top-25 ranking after beating Division II Gannon and Mercyhurst in March.

Congratulations to Kendall and Shannon. It’s a great moment for them, their team, AND the AquaTex family. #proudcoach #back2back2022

Swim2Score

We announced our newest program for our youngest athletes today. It’s kind of a big deal so read more about it here.

Newcomers

Jordan and William are our newest members and will be playing for AquaTex 6th grade u at TAGS! That’s the way to start. Welcome to them and their families.

Masters

Masters will take place this Sunday from noon to 1:30 PM, after our youth practice. Fees are $10.00/session cash or venmo. Pay cash to Coach Matt or Alon.

2021 04 20

Swim2Score for Ages 5-11 Starts Friday

jamesesmith Announcement, News AquaTex Swim Team, Splashball, Swim2Score

We’re excited to kick off our first Swim2Score, a new program for aquatic athletes age 5-11. Swim2Score sessions will be divided equally between high-quality stroke and swim technique, and fun water polo skills and games. They’ll begin on April 23 from 4-5 PM and will take place every Friday.

This is a great way to get your young athletes exposed to two different aquatic disciplines with some of the best coaching in Central Texas. From 4:00 to 4:30 athletes will work with Coach Hayley and others on swimming fundamentals like learning the four strokes, practicing good technique, and speed. At 4:30 they’ll jump in the small pool with Coach Sam for some directed, water polo-related skills and games.

Newcomers can register now for the program. And any family, whether currently members of the AquaTex Swim Team or not, can fill out the form below to express interest in trying Swim2Score.

Interest in AQTX Swim2Score

We’re looking forward to having your young athletes join us for this new, fun program. Contact us if you have any other questions. More details below.

More Swim2Score Details

How much does Swim2Score cost?	For newcomers to AquaTex the cost is $60/month, plus registration fees detailed below. For those already registered with AquaTex for Novice or Junior swimming there is no additional cost.
What are the membership requirements?	Newcomers to the program are required to join USA Swimming and register with AquaTex. There is a $150 USA Swimming/Team annual charge to every member of the club. This includes their USA Swimming registration. Current AQTX swimmers require no additional registration.
What if my child is already a novice or junior swimmer with AquaTex?	They can join us at no additional cost if they are age 11 and under. Consult with Coach Marcy or Hayley if you're interested!
My athlete needs to be registered with USASwimming. Do I need a USA Water Polo membership too?	No, unless your athlete begins competing for AquaTex at USA Water Polo events or joins one of our water polo programs full time.
Who's coaching?	Coaches Marcy and Hayley will work on swim and stroke technique. Coach Sam will coach our water polo skills and games along with Coach James and others from the water polo coaching staff.
What does the schedule look like for my athlete?	- Our youngest newcomers (5-9 years old) will swim with the novices beginning at 4:00 PM and hop in the South pool for water polo at 4:30 PM. Older newcomers will join one of the two Junior team swim practices for at least 30 minutes and will hop in with water polo beginning at 4:30 PM. Junior A practices are 4:30-5:30 PM; Junior B are 5:30-6:30 PM. Consult with Coach Marcy for more info on those groups. - Current Novice team swimmers simply join our water polo coach in the South pool at 4:30 PM. - Current Junior team swimmers may be excused from part of their swim practice - if necessary - to join the water polo portion from 4:30 to 5:00.

2021 04 16

Swim2Score, TAGS, JOs Allocations, and More Newcomers!

jamesesmith News, Announcement Junior Olympics, Masters, Swim2Score, TAGS, Tournaments

Swim2Score

It’s done! Families of athletes age 5-11 can now register for our newest program, Swim2Score, which provides newcomers both swim and stroke technique and fun water polo games. Coach Hayley will be working with our new friends on their goggles-on swimming skills while Coach Sam will lead them in some great water polo-type games in the small pool. Some bulleted details:

Newcomers to the program are required to join USA Swimming and register with AquaTex. There is a $150 USA Swimming/Team annual charge to every member of the club which includes USA Swimming registration.
- Athletes are not required to be members of USA Water Polo unless they participate in a USAWP competition or move up to our Youth Waterpolo programming.
Current AQTX swimmers require no additional registration and can participate in the water polo portion at no additional cost.
Sessions will take place every Friday. From 4:00 PM until 4:30 the athletes will do stroke/swim work. From 4:30 to 5:00 PM they’ll join Coach Sam in the small pool for water polo games.
The first session will take place on Friday, April 23.
Fees for the program are $60.00/month (not applicable to current AQTX swim team members).

Share the news with friends and family and contact me if you have any other questions. But we’re looking forward to having a lot of new young faces in the pool in the coming weeks.

National Junior Olympics

USA Water Polo released allocations for each zone last week. Because they have had more trouble than usual – for obvious reasons – securing the huge numbers of pools that are typically used during JOs, they have currently only released allocation for the Championship bracket. Typically there is also a “Classic” and “Invitational” bracket, which increased the number of allocations enormously. You can see the “preliminary” allocation for all USA Water Polo zones here.

The numbers are far lower than they have been in the past. But my understanding is that USAWP is working very hard to find more pools to use in Orange County, and when they do the numbers will very likely rise. Regardless, we’re going to send as many teams as possible to Southwest Zone Championships! This is a big year for the club.

Much more info available here and will be updated as necessary.

Newcomers

Speaking of which, yet more newcomers to celebrate. We’re so pleased to have youth athletes William and Jordan joining us full time along with Nyla, a returning member of AquaTex and current high schooler. A reminder to new families to register with USA Water Polo before your athlete’s next practice. It is required of all athletes and coaches. Sign up for the Bronze membership, which can always be upgraded for JOs, for example.

We’re continuously grateful for all those who join the club and spread the word about AQTX Waterpolo.

Masters

Masters will take place this Sunday from noon to 1:30 PM, after our youth practice. Coaches Alon and Matthew will be running things. AquaTex High School athletes are encouraged to join the scrimmage after practice (you gotta go to practice to play in a masters scrimmage).

‘Roos Aim for CWPA Title

Your Austin College Kangaroos, featuring Coaches Shannon and Kendall, are headed to Kenosha, Wisconsin this weekend to compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Championship. The ‘Roos made history last week earning a top 25 ranking among ALL NCAA women’s programs. They are seeded number one in the CWPA tournament. Take some time to watch their games this weekend and support our two coaches as they tear it up in Wisconsin!

Playing in College Zoom

There have been some technical difficulties (cough, cough) which has prevented me from sharing our Zoom call of last week with Joe Linehan about playing in college. I’ll share it as soon as I get my hands on it.

See you on the deck,

James