TAGS

2022 (Fall) Texas Age Group Championships (TAGS)

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Schedule/Results

Roster/IDs

8th grade u team: official scoresheet | official IDs

Working Rosters

Longhorn 6th/UAquaTex 8th/U
CiaPierce Green
ZephyrJake Roberts
ClaireAlex Catterson
LairdJackson "JP" Place
RobertChase Wadley
AviKenneth "Cash" Brown
RyanJohn "Wes" Kelly
GreyZephyr
Laird Green
Robert Roth
Avi Singhal

For our Families

Athletes, meet your coaches, Tom and Steve, 45 minutes prior to your first game of the day. If you don’t recognize the coaches look for ones wearing burnt orange. And their photos are on the ID Cards sheet linked above.

Given the total number of athletes committed to play at TAGS we will combine with Longhorn, who will take the lead on entering. Please do continue to commit via your TeamUnify account.

It is becoming more likely that Longhorn will enter one 8th grade u team and a 6th grade u team.

From the Hosts

The Texas Age Group State Water Polo Championship (TAGS Water Polo Champs) will be on Saturday – Sunday, November 19-20, 2022 at the Garland ISD Natatorium in North Texas. This tournament is the “State Championship” for the 14U/12U/10U athletes played during the same season as the high school season. The event will be a two day event with three all deep courses running simultaneously. Games will begin on Saturday morning, run all day on Saturday/Sunday morning, and then end around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. The tournament will be hosted by the Southwest Zone and the Pegasus Water Polo Academy. All teams are guaranteed to play 4-5 games in a “championship” style format with placing games/awards for all divisions. Below is all the information on the tournament.

Online Team Registration: TAGS Water Polo Champs – Fall 2022 (must be logged in at USAWP website to register).

There will be four divisions for the TAGS Water Polo Champs – Fall 2022: 8th Grade & Younger Boys/Mixed, 8th Grade & Younger Girls, 6th Grade & Younger Mixed, and 5th Grade & Younger Mixed. The eligibility is grade only (no age requirement). As needed, we will create A/B Divisions based on the number of teams that enter the event (have awards for all divisions, including B Divisions). This will be a USA Water Polo sanctioned event using USA Water Polo rules & regulations AND include physical distancing guidelines/procedures for all athletes, coaches, referees, volunteers, and spectators. The TAGS Water Polo Champs will be a great event for all involved. NOTE: Please note the youngest division is 5th Grade & Younger not 4th Grade & Younger) The intent of this change is to get as many younger athletes/teams playing.

Texas Age Group State Water Polo Championship (TAGS Water Polo Champs) – Fall 2022:

Dates: November 19-20, 2022. Games will begin on Saturday morning, run all day on Saturday/Sunday morning, and then end around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon.

Location: Garland ISD Natatorium, 2585 Firewheel Pkwy, Garland, TX 75040. Three all deep courses running simultaneously.

Divisions: 8th Grade & Younger Boys/Mixed, 8th Grade & Younger Girls, 6th Grade & Younger Mixed, and 5th Grade & Younger Mixed

Entry Fee: $600 per team. Payments will be collected when completing the online registration.

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 11 pm (CT)

Online Team Registration: TAGS Water Polo Champs – Fall 2022 (must be logged in at USAWP website to register)

Roster Deadline: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 11 pm (CT)

Schedule: An online schedule will be sent to everyone on Monday, November 14th

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A Weekend to Remember

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An amazing weekend for the club. It’s hard to know which news is most prominent but I’ll do my best. Here we go.

South Texas Spring Champs

Our middle school athletes showed some serious resilience playing back-to-back games with very few subs. The Longhorn 8th grade team, featuring Tomas and Ryan, won it all with a 12-6 win over Zilla. Afterwards, our Longhorn White (AquaHorns) 6th grade team finished third after playing its first game with no substitutes, then defeated a (big!) team from Alamo Area for the bronze. Our friends from Longhorn Orange won the 6th grade u championship over AAAA. Congratulations to our medalists Tomas, Ryan, Izzy, Wes, and Aaron for a great Sunday of water polo.

High School West Region Finals

Our athletes shone at the TISCA High School Water Polo West Region Championships on Friday and Saturday. AquaTex girls featured prominently on the Round Rock HS team that upset Cedar Ridge to win the tournament championship in overtime (!). They will be the region’s top seed at state championships in two weeks time.

Meanwhile our numerous boys playing for Round Rock HS beat Cedar Park in their opener but fell to eventual regional champs Austin HS in a tough quarterfinal match. They finished seventh along with Vandegrift, led by our super freshman, Aaron, whose Vipers won big over Waco Midway in the opener and then hung tough with top-seeded McCallum in the quarters losing 16-11.

His was not the only standout individual performance by an AquaTexan, and we are still waiting for all-Region announcements, which we’ll share as soon as we get them. But it was clear (and noticed by high school coaches with whom I spoke) that our athletes stood out as many of the most accomplished in the entire tournament.

A small personal note: I felt it was a good idea to help referee high school matches this season, which forced me to remain as impartial as reasonable over the course of the season. And so I thought it would be a very poor idea to display any emotion about how well our players did and how excited I am about our Round Rock girls’ championship in particular. But I could not be more proud of every one of our athletes and how they performed this past weekend. I just couldn’t show it! Congratulations to EVERY AquaTexan who took part in the tournament. #ProudCoach

Strauss Commits to Macalester

Coach Scott Reed and the Varsity Women of Macalester College

We’re immensely proud of Kendall Strauss who has committed to Macalester College to play varsity water polo for the Scots beginning this fall. She will be the fifth AquaTex athlete to play collegiate water polo following Joel Gibson, Braden Sullivan, Kendall Katusak, and Shannon Berry (more on them below).

Kendall joined us in 2019 and has consistently been one of our hardest workers and, coaches agree, has improved over that short period of time as much as any of our athletes. She was a First Team All West Region selection in 2021 for Round Rock High School and was selected to the USA Water Polo Southwest Zone ODP Youth team in 2022. And she has been a Swim2Score coach at AquaTex since last fall.

Congratulations to her and her family. #GoScots!

‘Roos Headed to DIII National Championships

Austin College won their second consecutive CWPA Division III Championship last weekend and are headed to California to compete in a four-team national championship tournament on May 7-8. The ‘Roos beat Augustana College convincingly in the final match and now have two weeks to prepare for Whittier College in their tournament opener. Congratulations to Coaches Kendall and Shannon, and the entire team!

Roster Calls

TAGS

The rosters are set for TAGS in Angleton this coming weekend but we (Longhorn) still have until Wednesday to make any additions. Let me know directly if you want to add your athlete to a TAGS roster if you haven’t already. You can view them and more info on the tournament on the TAGS event page.

That’s all for now. 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.

2022 Texas Age Group Championships (TAGS)

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Schedule/Results

Working Rosters

4th Grade/U (5v5)6th Grade/U (6v6)8th Grade/U (7v7)
EricOrangeLH
ClaireDanTristan C
CalderSilasMaddox
LairdCruz
JoeFlora
RobertPierce
WilliamFinnley
Nick
WhiteJake
IsabelleZeke
WesLandon
EricJulian
ClaireRudy
CalderTristan M
Avi
Lennon

From the Host

The Texas Age Group State Water Polo Championship (TAGS Water Polo Champs) will be will be on Saturday – Sunday, April 30-May 1, 2022 at the Angleton ISD Aquatic Center in South Houston. The tournament will be a two day event with three all deep courses running simultaneously. Games will begin on Saturday morning, run all day on Saturday/Sunday morning, and then end around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. The tournament will be hosted by the Southwest Zone and the West Houston/Viper Pigeons Water Polo Club. All teams are guaranteed to play 4-5 games in a “championship” style format with placing games/awards for all divisions. Below is all the information on the tournament. Online Team Registration: TAGS Water Polo Champs – Spring 2022 (must be logged in at USAWP website to register).
Viper Pigeons Water Polo is the local host of the event with the Southwest Zone, and Viper Pigeons will be providing table workers, volunteers, and hospitality for the coaches/referees. Taylor Cox will be the SWZ Events Committee tournament director. All games will be 5:00 quarters using USA Water Polo rules. There will be two minutes between all periods and two timeouts per game. All games tied after four quarters will do a shoot-out to determine the winner. Team listed first wears white caps & starts to the left of the table. Teams will need to supply their own team caps/warm-up balls. In-water warm-up will be between quarters and/or immediately before the game. Below is all the tournament info for the weekend.

TAGS Water Polo Champs – Spring 2022:

TAGS Water Polo Champs – Schedule & Results [button at top of page]

Dates: April 30-May 1, 2022. Games will begin on Saturday morning, run all day on Saturday/Sunday morning, and then end around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon.

Location: Angleton ISD Aquatic Center, 1 Campus Dr, Angleton, TX 77515. Three all deep courses running simultaneously.
Divisions:

  • 4th Grade & Younger Mixed (2): Pegasus, Viper Pigeons
  • 6th Grade & Younger Mixed – A Division (7): Houston Hydra, Longhorn Orange, Pegasus Blue, Thunder Black, Viper Pigeons Boys, Viper Pigeons Girls, Zilla
  • 6th Grade & Younger Mixed – B Division (12): Alamo Area, Cowtown, Lake Jackson, Longhorn White, Mavericks, Pegasus Red, Pegasus White, Southside, Spartans, Thunder Silver, Triumph, Viper Pigeons Blue
  • 8th Grade & Younger Mixed (14): Alamo Area, CFWPC, Houston Hydra, Lake Jackson, Longhorn, Mavericks, Pegasus, Southside, St Marks, Thunder, Triumph, Viper Pigeons Black, Viper Pigeons Green, Zilla
  • 8th Grade & Younger Girls (4): CFWPC, Pegasus, Thunder, Viper Pigeons

Roster Deadline: Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 11 pm (CT)

Awards: There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place banners awarded for the A Divisions. For the 12UB Division, there will only be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place plaques. Team awards will be mailed to the winning clubs after the event.

Tournament Format: All games will be 5:00 quarters using USA Water Polo rules. There will be two minutes between all periods and two timeouts per game. All games tied after four quarters will do a shoot-out to determine the winner. Team listed first wears white caps & starts to the left of the table. Teams will need to supply their own team caps/warm-up balls. In-water warm-up will be between quarters and/or immediately before the game.

ID Checks/Photo ID’s: The Referees will be doing ID Checks for coaches and athletes prior to each game of the tournament. All athletes need to be at least Bronze members of USA Water Polo. All coaches need to be registered with USA Water Polo and updated on their background check, 1st Aid/CPR, Safe Sport, etc. We recommend that all athletes download a picture with their USA Water Polo account (process takes two minutes). Teams will need to print out their own Score Sheets and ID Cards for the weekend. Teams will use the Score Sheets and ID Cards for their ID Checks prior to each game and then turn in a Score Sheet to the table before the start of each game.

Hospitality: There will be Coach & Referee hospitality set-up for the tournament (on deck classroom).

Division Specific Playing Rules:

  • The 8th Grade & Younger division will be playing 7 v 7 (size 4 ball), normal size goal).
  • The 6th Grade & Younger division will play 6 v 6 (size 3 ball, normal size goal).
  • the 4th Grade & Younger division will play 5 v 5 (size 2 ball, normal size goal).

TAGS Water Polo Champs – Admissions: $15/weekend pass. Children 10U are free. Tickets are only available online. Please bring proof of purchase to the pool for the event. Presale Spectator Tickets (Weekend Pass $15.00).

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TAGS Recap and Prep Playoffs

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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

2021ACRoosCWPAChamps

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

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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.

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

TAGS

All you need to know about this weekend’s TAGS tournament in Pearland is here. The schedule is out (8am Saturday game?!) and we’re stoked to be playing with our friends from Longhorn. We have some big rosters, which is exciting, and newcomers to the sport playing for the first time. I will be coaching the 8th grade u team with Coach Tom’s help, and he’ll lead the 6th grade u team.

Athletes need to be together at the facility with a coach 45 minutes before game time. Don’t forget!

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.

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Swim2Score, TAGS, JOs Allocations, and More Newcomers!

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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.

TAGS

We are confirmed at TAGS where we’ve entered one 8th grade u coed team and one 6th grade u coed team. Check out this link for our rosters and for new information, including admissions, Covid guidelines, and the tournament’s official hotel. Coaches James and Tom will be working with our two teams that weekend.

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

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Return to Micki, TAGS Update, Playing College Waterpolo

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Isn’t it strange how great it is when we return to Micki? Thanks to the City of Round Rock for getting its work done well before we expected so we can get back to work in our true home pool.

Zoom Seminar on Water Polo in College

AquaTex families should have received an email with instructions for Tuesday’s online seminar with Joe Linehan at 7:30 PM. Joe will cover everything you might want to know about playing in college, whether varsity or club. He is among the most knowledgeable people in Texas, maybe the US, on the subject. He will do a presentation followed by an extended Q&A session.

TAGS

The numbers look great for TAGS! There’s still time to register an athlete in 8th, 6th, 4th grade or under. If you’re interested in participating contact me.

National Junior Olympics

This information is now available here and will be updated as necessary.

Swim2Score

Yet more progress on creating a new program for athletes age 5-11! There are new, positive developments that have yet to be hashed out with our swim team leadership so stay tuned. The program will consist of half swim/stroke technique with one of our excellent swim coaches, followed by 30 minutes of water polo with Coach Sam and others. And one hint (not written in stone): Friday afternoons, not Sundays.

Newcomers

Welcome aboard Corina and Tailyn, and welcome back Ian! Plus, it was great to have some new young athletes give us a try in the past few weeks. We hope to see Kailee, Jordan, Jonathan, and William again very soon.

Masters

Masters will take place this Sunday from noon to 1:30 PM, after our youth practice.

Texas Age Group Championships (TAGS)

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Game Schedule

Rosters

updated 19 April 2021

8th grade u mixed6th grade u mixed
Aaron GordonBaran Shafaei
Ava ChamasDaniel Armendariz
Cruz CrowleyFinnegan Harrington
Ezekiel SimeloffJake Roberts
Jacob GerakosJane Harrington
Jake RobertsPierce Green
James StraussTristan Chamas
Kelly MurphyJordan Baek
Nick MusilWilliam Pemberton
Miles FritzmatherLaird Green
Flora GarciaEric Crockett
Tristan McCainLennon Beavers

More Info

The is the final update for this weekend’s TAGS Water Polo – Champs on April 24-25, 2021 in Pearland at Pearland ISD Natatorium (South Houston).  Below is all the tournament information for the weekend including a schedule link (no changes from previous schedules).  PLEASE be aware and make sure your coaches, athletes, and team representatives know of the Safety Guidelines & Pool Layout.  Athletes/coaches can’t enter the pool until 30 minutes prior to their games.  There will be specific ready areas for before the games and post game areas for teams to meet after games.  Teams will bring all their bags to their benches before each game, no switching sides a half, and no post game handshakes.  Spectators will not be able to enter the facility until 10 minutes before each game (and leave immediately after the conclusion of each game).  EVERYONE must wear masks inside the facility except when athletes are in the water or referees during live play.

 
When you arrive on Saturday for your first game, coaches will receive their Team Packets that will include Tournament Schedule, Deck Passes, Game Sheets, Safety Guidelines, Pool Layout, USAWP 12U Rule Modifications, USAWP Event Procedures, USAWP New Rule Summary, etc.  The referees WILL be doing ID Checks prior to each game (please be prepared).  Teams will use the Game Sheets for their ID Checks prior to each game and then turn in a Game Sheet to the table prior to each game.  Rosters will be closely monitored during the event with ID Checks throughout the weekend.  Only those listed on the roster (athletes/coaches) will be allowed to be on the team benches.  We suggest all teams print out their athlete membership cards (can do through the roster portal at the USAWP website).
Southside Water Polo is the local host of the event with the Southwest Zone, and Southside will be providing table workers/supervisors, safety monitors, and drinks for coaches/referees.  All games will be using the new USA Water Polo rules which went into effect on January 1, 2020 (see links below).  Additionally, the 6th Grade & younger and 4th Grade & Younger Divisions will be using the modified 12U rules.  All games will be 4 x 5:00 minute start/stop games.  Each team will receive two timeouts per game.  All games will be played until there is a winner.  Games tied after four quarters will go straight to a shootout.  Below are all details on the event as well as the emails sent previously.
TAGS Water Polo Champs – 2021:
  • TAGS Water Polo Champs – Online Schedule & Results
  • Dates:  April 24-25, 2021.  Games will begin on Saturday morning, run all day on Saturday/Sunday morning, and then end around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon.
  • TAGS Water Polo Champs – Admissions: $15/weekend pass. There will be only two spectators allowed per athlete. Children 10U are free (not included in the limit per athlete). Tickets are only available online. Please bring proof of purchase to the pool for the event. Presale Spectator Tickets (Weekend Pass $15.00)
  • Location:  Pearland ISD Natatorium, 4141 Bailey Rd, Pearland, TX 77584. Two all deep courses running simultaneously.
  • Divisions/Team Entries:
    • 8th Grade & Younger Boys/Mixed (10):  Aqua Swift, AquaTex, Lake Jackson, Pegasus, Southside, Storm, Thunder, Trident, Triumph, Viper Pigeons
    • 8th Grade & Younger Girls (3):  Pegasus, Thunder, Viper Pigeons
    • 6th Grade & Younger Mixed (7):  AquaTex, Lake Jackson, Pegasus Blue, Pegasus Red, Thunder, Viper Pigeons, Zilla
    • 4th Grade & Younger Mixed (2):  Pegasus, Triumph

Tournament Hotel: LA QUINTA INN & SUITES – HOUSTON PEARLAND (SOUTH HOUSTON)

  • Address/Phone: 9002 Broadway St., Pearland, TX 77584, 281-412-5454
  • Rate: $70 per night for Doubles & Kings, $80 per night for King Suites (Friday and/or Saturday)
  • Reservation Deadline: Monday, April 19th
  • Free Breakfast, Parking, Wifi
  • To reserve rooms, please call the hotel directly and ask for the “TAGS Water Polo Champs” room rate.

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