Water Polo

[Chico_SA 502]

Regional Tournaments Tomorrow - Been such a fun and cool season so far. 

Girls Region 1 -  Flower Mound vs Rockwall Heath and Southlake Carrol vs The Woodlands

        Region 2 - Brazoswood vs Bridgeland and Friendswood vs Cypress Ranch

        Region 3 - Foster(ranked 3rd in the country)  vs Round Rock Westwood and Cypress Creek vs Round Rock

        Region 4 - San Antonio Brennan vs Harlingen South and San Antonio Brandeis vs Harlingen

 

Boys Region 1 - Southlake Carrol vs Conroe and Marcus vs The Woodlands

         Region 2 - Brazoswood vs Strake Jesuit and Clear Lake vs Dawson

         Region 3 - Foster vs Round Rock Westwood and Cypress Creek vs Austin High

         Region 4 - Boerne Champion vs Harlingen South and San Antonio Clark vs PSJA

[YGIFS 19445]

I just want to tell you both...good luck, we're all counting on you.  

[Chico_SA 502]

Four Teams left.  My girls made it to the Regional Final and were in control, but we just couldn't close it out.  The atmosphere was incredible.  I couldn't coach my kids in the flow of play. It was just SO loud. But NISD is representing and San Antonio is back in the game, as we should be. 

State Finals in San Antonio next Saturday.  

Girls State Final Four: Southlake Carrol, Brazoswood, San Antonio Brandies, Foster 

Boys State Final Four: Brazoswood, Foster, Boerne Champion,  Marcus/Southlake Carrol 

 

Take some time to go watch a game next year, or if you are in SA, go watch the Finals.  You will enjoy it. 

 

 

[ScottS 1043]

As a (long ago) graduate of Brazoswood, I must ask, when did they become a power in water polo?  I did not even know there was a water polo team at the school until I randomly checked this thread out.  Congratulations to the teams.  Go Bucs!

[Chico_SA 502]

23 hours ago, ScottS said:

As a (long ago) graduate of Brazoswood, I must ask, when did they become a power in water polo?  I did not even know there was a water polo team at the school until I randomly checked this thread out.  Congratulations to the teams.  Go Bucs!

Lots of Club Water Polo started popping up around the area.  Lake Jackson has a club, but I'm pretty sure some of the Brazoswood kids compete for Viper Pigeons, one of the better, if not the best Houston Club, which practices in several West Houston locations. 

If Brandeis girls can hang with them, then San Antonio Water Polo isn't as far behind as we could be after decades of not prioritizing the sport (SA teams took the lead in the 80's). 

[Chico_SA 502]

State Champions

Girls: Foster defeats Brazoswood

Boys: Brazoswood defeats Boerne Champion

What a great 1st year for UIL Water Polo.  

 

[Chico_SA 502]

UIL Season 2 first day of practice was today.  My teams will start tomorrow since I (and many of my players) were up in Dallas for Junior Olympics Session 3.  North Dallas did a great job with JO's as usual.  I spent most of my time in Lewisville but there were games at Carroll, Keller, SMU, Jesuit, and Garland among others.  

I don't have a real feel for other Regions, but Boerne Champion boys in Region 4 should come out easily.  Honestly, they are stacked and really should win State after getting second last year.  They have a new coach who moved up from Houston and has won multiple State titles. 

[texashorne 1177]

I started 2 Water Polo programs back in the day.. Boys and girls team at Cy Ridge and then in Dallas at Lake Highlands.. it was extremelly difficult being a rookie program and playing the OGs.. we took our licks for sure.. but man was it great for the kids and even better for my swim program.. glad its taking hold in Texas..

[texashorne 1177]

On 7/31/2023 at 8:32 PM, Chico_SA said:

They have a new coach who moved up from Houston and has won multiple State titles

I knew exactly who this was without having to look it up.. LOL

[Chico_SA 502]

38 minutes ago, texashorne said:

I knew exactly who this was without having to look it up.. LOL

Yeah, when the job opened up and I heard someone was coming from outside the area, I figured he might be ready for one last stop before retirement.  Not a bad place to do it.  Great situation.  They are building a new pool for the high schools next year. 

[Chico_SA 502]

45 minutes ago, texashorne said:

I started 2 Water Polo programs back in the day.. Boys and girls team at Cy Ridge and then in Dallas at Lake Highlands.. it was extremelly difficult being a rookie program and playing the OGs.. we took our licks for sure.. but man was it great for the kids and even better for my swim program.. glad its taking hold in Texas..

It's amazing the number of teams that are playing compared to when I was playing many years ago.

 

 

6AWP_23x.pdf

Edited August 2, 2023 by Chico_SA

[Chico_SA 502]

First weekend of scrimmages for UIL sports. It was HOT out there today!

[Chico_SA 502]

Great 2nd UIL Season.  I was able to take my teams up to play some strong Dallas area squads in a pre-season tournament, and that really set the tone for a deep playoff  run.

Some local High Schools are starting to find some kids from other sports (basketball, softball, etc) who are able to contribute in the pool so more kids are getting exposed to the sport. 

 

State Tournament was held here in SA yesterday.

Richmond Foster repeats as Girls State Champ defeating Southlake Carroll in the Final

Boerne Champion Boys finished 2nd again this year losing in the final to Lewisville Marcus

[Basil 733]

I have a kid who plays on Stratford’s WP team. Most freshman had never played before but they really liked it.

[HoustonHorn 1059]

I have a kid who plays on Stratford’s WP team. Most freshman had never played before but they really liked it.

We're probably neighbors then. My daughter plays on the WP team at Stratford. She loves it.

[Litig8r 413]

Just saw this thread.  My niece plays for Cal.  I watched a ton of Water Polo.  They couldn't pull it off v. UCLA but they should be back next year.  My niece is a junior this year and has started the past two years.  

[hookem48 4603]

Never played, seems like fun and I can't imagine anyone being in better shape than water polo players. 

[YGIFS 19445]

3 minutes ago, hookem48 said:

Never played, seems like fun and I can't imagine anyone being in better shape than water polo players. 

It's fun as hell until the first time you're playing in the hole and you get kneed in the balls over and over again.  Then the fun wanes and the competitiveness kicks in.  It does get you in shape though.  I was a pretty good swimmer and had a decent arm, but to just be constantly be turning on a dime to get back on defense or vice-versa, it's a grind.  Never mind that you can't just put your hand on your hips or knees and catch your breath, you're constantly treading water during 'downtime' or being out of the play.  

On 5/23/2024 at 10:02 AM, Litig8r said:

Just saw this thread.  My niece plays for Cal.  I watched a ton of Water Polo.  They couldn't pull it off v. UCLA but they should be back next year.  My niece is a junior this year and has started the past two years.  

Cal is a fantastic program (in addition to being a great school overall).  A guy I played with in high school, his girlfriend was the IHSA (Illinois version of UIL) player of the year and she was the first goalkeeper to ever win it.  She had an offer from Cal, but wanted to stay closer to home.  IIRC, she ended up at some Big 10 school, we lost touch.  Most people don't realize, it's certainly one of the more physically violent sports in all of female athletics.  I mean, we used to scrape but they did just as much, probably more.  

[The Dog 43088]

On 10/29/2023 at 11:22 AM, Basil said:

I have a kid who plays on Stratford’s WP team. Most freshman had never played before but they really liked it.

That describes my son - played for Round Rock last year as a freshman. It was only RRHS's third year (after dropping the sport for several years) so anyone who wanted could be on the team. 

That won't be the case this year. Cedar Ridge is having tryouts as well due to interest. Doesn't hurt that they have the new RRISD aquatic center on campus!

McNeil is also picking up the sport this year. 

On 10/29/2023 at 9:34 AM, Chico_SA said:

 

Some local High Schools are starting to find some kids from other sports (basketball, softball, etc) who are able to contribute in the pool so more kids are getting exposed to the sport. 

 

IIRC this is what Westwood and/or Westlake do (can't remember which) - their water polo team(s) includes a lot of their varsity baseball players. 

[Chico_SA 502]

9 hours ago, The Dog said:

That describes my son - played for Round Rock last year as a freshman. It was only RRHS's third year (after dropping the sport for several years) so anyone who wanted could be on the team. 

That won't be the case this year. Cedar Ridge is having tryouts as well due to interest. Doesn't hurt that they have the new RRISD aquatic center on campus!

McNeil is also picking up the sport this year. 

IIRC this is what Westwood and/or Westlake do (can't remember which) - their water polo team(s) includes a lot of their varsity baseball players. 

My High School team traveled up to Round Rock from SA last year for a weekeday game, so if your son was playing, I coached against hiim.  You guys had a strong ODP player I coached as part of my USA Water Polo coaching. RR boys handled mine pretty easily.  Our girls took care of business.  I reached out to Coach A about heading back up this year but I haven't heard back. 

[Chico_SA 502]

Took an 18U boys team to play at Junior Olympics in the Bay Area. Great experience and some incredible game play. Our boys got beat pretty bad by SOCAL, but the other 7 games were competitive. Won 3 and lost the other 4 all within 2 goals. Beautiful High School venues and of course Stanford was the highlight. 

[Chico_SA 502]

UIL Season 3 Kicked off this past week.  Here in SA we had our first big scrimmage weekend at Northside ISD.  With the growth of club polo in SA, High School game play should really improve this year.  I'm really lucky to coach and train kids at one of the best aquatics facilities in the country.  We had 5 pools going from 8 AM to 5 PM today.

 

 

[The Royal We 3051]

My son is a HS freshman this year and has been swimming for his middle school and local club the last few seasons. He started playing water polo over the summer and tried out for, but didn't make the varsity this year. He's still training with the team so we went to watch their first game yesterday. The Nac boys beat Rockwall Heath 16-11 in the first game I've ever seen in person. We've got a few players on the team who seem to be really good - one scored 7 goals and another 4 in the game yesterday. I hope my son sticks with it and gets a chance to play next year after he can put on more weight. He's tall and skinny and needs to bulk up a bit more before he can knock heads with the older boys.

@Chico_SA your facility is much nicer than what we are working with in Nac!

https://www.dailysentinel.com/sports/nac-water-polo-teams-go-1-1-in-district-opener-tuesday/article_8bda8597-e795-59cd-a4fd-9595003267d6.html

[Chico_SA 502]

That's awesome that he is getting a start.  It's such a nice change of pace for swimmers.  

Headed up to Dallas tomorrow morning to play in a tournament against some of the usual powers.  Marcus, Flower Mound, Highland Park, Southlake Carrol, Foster, Strake Jesuit, Hebron....etc.  We did it last year and gained some valuable experience heading into District Play. 

[Basil 733]

My kid now plays water polo for Stratford.  I don't know what the rules are- they just blow the whistle a lot.

[Chico_SA 502]

On 9/11/2024 at 2:01 PM, Basil said:

My kid now plays water polo for Stratford.  I don't know what the rules are- they just blow the whistle a lot.

I hope your kid is having a blast. I think Stratford was up in Dallas with us for the Texas Cup.  We didn't end up playing each other. 

In my time playing and coaching, I don't think I've ever had someone try it, and not love it.  Just a great and challenging sport. 

My sarcasm meter may be off, but here is a little guide. One of our stud basketball players came to watch last week, and when he saw me at school he said, "it was fun to watch, but you need to teach me about it"  

1. One whistle - Ordinary foul like knocking the players arm or pusing them down when they have the ball. Offense keeps the ball and has a free pass.  The need to pass it quickly, or make it live by "popping the ball" (tossing it up or dropping it)

2. Two whistles- Turnover, Offensive Foul (like basketball charging) , or Ball Under.  The ball ball is going the other way

3. Multiple whistles - Ejection. Grabbing our pulling someone back. Impeeding someone (like a basketball blocking foul) Someone needs to go out for 20 seconds, and offense is man up. 

Enjoy it.  My boys, 11 and 9, started playing 2 summers ago.   If they keep it up, they will be so much better then I ever was since they are starting so early.