VOLUME 30, NUMBER 2, SUMMER 2015

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF USA WATER POLO

CHICAGO STYLEUSA Men Cap Sweep Of Serbia In Front Of Sell Out Crowd In Illinois

DRURY, CORSO & BENSON INDUCTED p. 12

PLAY TO DOMINATE.

WATERPOLO

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERChristopher Ramsey

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DIRECTOR, CLUB & MEMBER PROGRAMSClaudia Dodson

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EDITORGreg Mescall

CONTRIBUTORSDarcy Couch, Jim Cullingham, Ed Haas, Stan Schwimer,

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USA Water Polo Skip Shot Magazine (ISSN# 15507580) is published four times per year by United States Water Polo, Inc., located at 2124 Main Street,

Suite 240, Huntington Beach, CA 92648. Periodicals postage is paid at Huntington Beach, CA 92648 and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Skip Shot Magazine, United States Water Polo, Inc., 2124 Main Street, Suite 240, Huntington Beach, CA 92648

pg16Masters At Every AgeRiverside Hosts Championship Event

pg22Junior Olympics Preview Gear Up For #2015JOs

Inside Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

5 Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Water Polo Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

A Day in the Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Water Polo Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

From the Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Lob Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Hot Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

ReCaps

Gold In Shanghai . . . . . . . . 9

Serbia Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . 9

USA Water Polo Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Also In This Issue

NCAA Title Stays With Stanford . . . . . . . . . 34

St . Louis’ Best . . . . . . . . . 34

ON THE COVER . . .A sellout crowd packed the University of Illinois, Chicago for USA and Serbia.Photo courtesy John Konstantaras and Jun Tolibao

VOL. 30, NUM. 2, Summer 2015

Next Issue> 2015 Academic All-Americans

> Junior Olympics Results

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF USA WATER POLO

CHICAGO STYLEUSA Men Cap Sweep Of Serbia In Front Of Sell Out Crowd In Illinois

DRURY, CORSO

& BENSON INDUCTED p. 12

ReCaps

1usawaterpolo.org

If you have a comment or question concerning Skip Shot magazine, send in a letter to the editor. You can write to Skip Shot Magazine:c/o USA Water Polo, 2124 Main Street, Suite 240, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 or send an email to: media@usawaterpolo.org

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A Deserving Honor For Our Olympic Heroes

Stay current with USA Water Polo by visiting USAWaterPolo.org or joining our social media community!

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letter from the CEO, Christopher Ramsey

We began a new tradition at this year’s Hall of Fame event in Costa Mesa. We held a special

ceremony to honor Olympians who’ve retired from international competition. A total of 17 Olympians from our 2012 Olympic teams have hung up their caps, and nearly all of them were on hand to receive a commemorative crystal engraved with their names and Olympic history.

I wanted to write about this event because retirement is not an easy aspect of sport. It’s rarely spoken about with the kind of triumphant tones that comes with winning major championships or individual awards. Retiring is a personal decision. Some athletes leave the game early, with many wondering if they could have played longer. Oth-ers hang on perhaps too long, after their physical tools have dulled.

Retirement tends to focus on what athletes achieved, rather than the potential of what they may achieve next. It brings up a lot of complicated questions. How will they be remembered? Did they win the big ones? And the nagging question: what’s next?

We celebrate the achievements of our retiring Olympians, and we’ve chosen the third year of the Olympic Quadrennial as the best opportunity to recognize retiring athletes from the prior Olympic Games. In a sense we’re in the business of dreams.

We try to identify, train, and support athletes with the potential to represent Team USA in the Olympics. Yet we realize that even as we support their aspirations, athletes and their families make many personal sacrifices to succeed. Just getting to an Olympics is a team effort with many, many contributors.

2012 OLYMPIC WOMEN

Betsey ArmstrongHeather PetriBrenda Villa

Lauren WengerJessica SteffensElsie WindesKelly Rulon

Tumua Anae

2012 OLYMPIC MEN

Peter VarellasPeter Hudnut

Jeff PowersAdam WrightShea Buckner

Layne BeaubienRyan BaileyTim HuttenChay Lapin

In the case of these remarkable 17 athletes, I want to suggest some of the opportunities that lie ahead for them. They can be the next generation of am-bassadors for our sport. They can provide fresh leadership through coaching, teaching, and even through participating in our sport’s governance. They can achieve remarkable careers in new areas, such as finance, consulting, real estate and other business endeavors, where their battle-tested te-nacity and creative problem-solving will give them an edge. And perhaps they will have a little more time at home to devote to their personal lives, which may be the greatest reward of all.

We salute these athletes from the 2012 Olympic Games who represented our country and our federation in competition. Each one is a part of the history of USAWP and of the Olympic movement. Each also is a part of our federation family and will be forever remembered for remarkable contribu-tions to our sport.

USA Water Polo is grateful to our Olympians. We are proud of what they have achieved. We thank them for their service, and we look forward to what is yet to come.

Chris

INSIDE WATER

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Quick Shots from USA Water Polo5 METERS

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My 1st MatchJanson Wigo, Men’s Senior National Team

Summer 1998—Orlando, FL My first official tournament was the 13-and-under Junior Olympics in Orlando. It was 1998, and I was 10 years old. Fort Lauderdale didn’t have enough kids to field a team, so I played for the Naval Academy club team. Being a few years younger than most of the kids, I didn’t get that much

playing time, but I’ll never forget the feeling of winning the Bronze medal and jumping in with the team in celebration. It was my first taste of water polo and I never looked back. I still have the medal hanging in my room back home in Florida.

Five Questions with...BOB AVERILL, Head Coach, Enumclaw HS (WA) Water Polo - @EnumclawPolo

SKIPSHOT: The Enumclaw website and Twitter feed has led the way in covering the high school action in the state of Washington. How did this begin and why do you do it?

BA: I started the website as a way to promote our high school water polo teams when the local newspapers reduced their coverage of high school sports. I wanted a place where the kids could find schedules, results, scores, and photos—and a place where friends and relatives from out of town could follow the Enumclaw water polo teams.

It grew from there, simply because there aren’t very many places where water polo fans can get information about high school water polo in Washington. The Twitter feed is a great way to post timely results and updates and drive traffic to the website.

SS: How has social media changed the ability to promote your team, your club, and water polo in the state?

BA: It’s allowed us to promote our program far beyond our community. Now we can stay in touch with our alumni who’ve left Enumclaw, as well as people we’ve crossed paths with over the years.

It’s also allowed us to promote the sport to a wide audience. During our postseason tournaments this past spring, we saw traffic from around the world as we posted playoff schedules and results; the 24 hours after our state championship, we had nearly 1,000 web hits from over two dozen countries and over 5,000 impressions of some of our tweets.

SS: For those unfamiliar with the state of water polo in Washington, how would you describe it and where do you see it going in the next five to 10 years?

BA: High school water polo in Washington hasn’t gained as much traction as most of us would like. I’m entering my 12th year of coaching high school water polo, and we still have roughly the same number of teams competing as when I started – 26 girls’ teams and 25 boys’ teams. But I think the number of kids participating has increased, and the quality of play has improved. Some of the larger programs now travel to Oregon and California for competition.

I think the year-round club programs are increasing, though. There are several programs around Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue that offer some great opportunities beyond the high school experience.

I’d love to see more high school programs develop and more opportunities for younger kids. Many of the clubs offer programs for younger kids, and we’re hoping that will help the sport grow.

SS: What are some of the biggest challenges water polo faces in the state of Washington? Where does the sport stand in regard to being a sanctioned high school sport?

BA: I think the clubs in the area are doing a great job promoting the sport, creating opportunities for the kids and hosting clinics and events. Not nearly enough high schools support the sport, though, and we have a limited number of adequate facilities.

We’re a small, rural town, and we have a great pool, but it wasn’t designed with water polo in mind; that’s true for many pools in the area.

We also don’t have enough youth programs yet. Most of our kids don’t get an opportunity to play water polo until they enter high school. We’re working to change that, but it’s been a slow process.

I think most of the coaches are resigned that water polo won’t be a WIAA sanctioned sport anytime soon. We just don’t have enough programs yet. Even lacrosse, which has a

lot more teams in the state than water polo, hasn’t been sanctioned yet.

I coach at a small school in a small town. Some of our coaches at the bigger programs may have better insight.

SS: You were recently the recipient of a kidney transplant from your sister. Your medical condition aside, how has that changed your life? Have you become an advocate for kidney donors?

BA: I hope it’s made me a better person. I’m certainly much more aware of the struggles of the people around us.

I was really sick and on dialysis for over four years. Besides kidney failure, I had a heart attack, open-heart surgery, a broken sternum, and several other surgeries prior to the transplant. Throughout it all, I had incredible support from my family and the community, as well as from the water polo community. I’ve been inspired, and I hope I can inspire others.

I’ve definitely become a bigger advocate for organ donation. My sister will tell you that besides a couple of small scars, she can’t tell she donated a kidney. I understand the reluctance many have in being a live donor, but we should all sign up to be organ and tissue donors.

There are currently 101,662 people waiting for kidney transplants in the U.S. Last year 17,105 kidney transplants took place in the U.S.—5,535 from living donors. The median wait time for a patient’s first kidney transplant is 3.6 years.

On average, 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month, and 12 people die each day while waiting for a kidney transplant. In 2014, 4,270 patients died while waiting for a kidney transplant, and 3,617 became too sick to receive a kidney transplant. (www.kidney.org).

Janson (left) with twin brother Drac in their early water polo days.

KEVIN, THAT IS BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF PRIDE IN OUR COUNTRY AND I ‘M HAPPY TO SUPPORT THE UNITED STATES.

I‛LL NEVER FORGETTHE FIRST TIME I SAW OUR USA TEAM PLAY!

UH-OH, I THINK WE ARE HEADING FOR SHIELDY FLASHBACK TIME.

I WAS A LITTLE GUY AT THE TIMEAND THE USA ANDITALY WERE IN A REAL BATTLE, BACK AND FORTHIT WENT, SO EXCITING, EVERYONE SO PUMPED FOR TEAM USA.

SHIELDY, WAS THIS IN THE 60‛S?

KEVIN, THIS WAS NOT THE60‛S! NOW LET ME FINISH.

SO THERE WASBARELY ANYTIME LEFT ANDTHE UNITEDSTATES CAMEDOWN AND BURIED A SKIPSHOT RIGHT AS THECLOCK HIT ZERO.

THE PLACE WENT CRAZY.

EVERYONE CHANTED U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A. I‛LL NEVER FORGET IT, AND THAT‛S WHY I ALWAYS MAKE SURE WE SUPPORT OUR COUNTRY.

WOW, SHIELDYTHAT‛S AN AWESOME STORY, AND IT TOTALLY MAKESSENSE NOW.I HOPE I GET TO HAVE MY OWNUSA MOMENT LIKE THAT

THAT MIGHT COME SOONER THAN YOU THINK, WHY DON‛T YOU ALL TURN AROUND?

NO WAY,THAT‛S THE USA NATIONALTEAM! U-S-A U-S-A!!

U-S-A

YEP, I ASKED THEM TO COME DOWN AND JOIN US FOR PRACTICE, LET‛S SHOWTHEM WE KNOW HOW TO SUPPORT OUR COUNTRY.

THAT IS SO COOL.

SHIELDY, YOU‛RETHE BEST!

ALRIGHT KEEP WORKING ON YOUR PASSING, KEEP THOSELEGS WORKING, I‛M JUSTGOING TO FINISH RAISING THE FLAG.

HEY SHIELDY, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS GOTTA MAKESURE THE FLAG IS FLYING HERE AT THE POOL?

THE ADVENTURES OF

illustrated by

paul ciaravino

WATER POLO

Quick Shots from USA Water Polo 5 METERS

usawaterpolo.org 5

My Music Did You Know?Did you know a member of the USA Water Polo Women’s National Team has won the last 15 Cutino Awards as the best player in the collegiate game? Kiley Neushul of Stanford was the latest recipient in 2015. The last non-USA National Team female athlete to win the award was USC’s

Aniko Pelle in 2000. Overall, USA women have won the Cutino Award in 16 of its 17 years of existence—the first coming in 1999 with USC alum and Olympic medalist Bernice Orwig.

JAKE EHRHARDT, MEN’S YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM

“Know Yourself” by Drake —Helps me focus before a game and

gives me a good beat in my head.  

“Studio” by Schoolboy Q —I like the smooth rhythm and mellow sound.

“Swimming Pools” by Kendrick Lamar —He’s a genius, and I like all of his songs. 

“Hypnotize” by The Notorious B .I .G . —I like the beat and chorus. 

“The Show Goes On” by Lupe Fiasco —A good message and gets me ready to play.

My years playing and coaching water polo were responsible for some of the biggest belly laughs I’ve ever experienced. And that’s saying something, because I’ve been a comedian for over a decade!

But what’s so funny about water polo? After all, it’s a complex sport known as one of the most physically grueling in the world. Jeff Foxworthy once joked, “How do they keep the horses from drowning?” Sorta funny. But after the hundredth time someone at school repeated that zinger after learning I was on the team, it was far from chuckle inducing.

The T-shirts are usually funny, chock full of puns and innuendo, but after a while, you start seeing the same jokes over and over again.

Smelling like chlorine all the time? Cutting your nails to the nub? Calf cramps? None of that makes you laugh! But you know who does? The people who endure

those things with you! Water polo is the ultimate team sport. When you spend hours training with a group of people, you can’t help but grow close and become friends. And your friends are the ones who can make you laugh the hardest.

So remember that next time your team van smells like your Hole Set’s funky flip-flops, or milk goes up your nose after your goalie tries pouring it into your overly chlorinated eyeballs, or you have a ridiculous tan line the shape of a handprint because your sprinter is terrible at rubbing in sunscreen.

Don’t wonder why you find these seemingly horrific things hilarious. Just know you can laugh together about anything because of the time you’ve spent doing egg-beater drills, sprints, and push-ups in Speedos side by side. Then crack up while plotting a prank on your coach!

FINDING THE FUNNY in Water Polo

By Dave Williamson (host of @WaterPoloDojo)

Your thoughts on . . .Dagmar Gudmundsson–Youth National Team, USC Water Polo, Hanford (CA) West High SchoolPenalty Shootouts: One of my favorite things! Usually which-ever team is more confident in

their abilities will win. It’s all mental.

LeBron James: He’s the biggest, strongest, smartest, most explosive player in the league. All he needs now is a little Rogaine.

Laundry: Probably something I should learn to do on my own before I leave home…

Star Wars (movies): I’ve never been able to sit through all of them. I much prefer Lord of the Rings.

Mall Food Courts: I like the idea of them, but they’re usually filled with gross, greasy food options. It’s rare, but I love finding a food court with quality chow.

Bennett Williams–Men’s Youth National Team, Orange County WPCPenalty Shootouts: Most nerve-wracking part of the game but a ton of fun.

LeBron James: Not as fun to watch as Steph Curry but love his charisma.

Laundry: I’m putting off doing my own laundry until college.

Star Wars (movies): Love all of them. Could not be more excited for Episode VII.

Mall Food Courts: Cinnabon. ‘Nuff said.

Madison Berggren–Women’s National Team, Tualatin (OR) High SchoolPenalty Shootouts: The most nerve-wracking part of any game. The past four quarters

become irrelevant and a single goal can make you the winner.

LeBron James: I don’t know much about him but I’ve seen some funny Vines about him.

Laundry: My mom keeps telling me I need to master laundry before I leave for college, but I really have no interest in mastering it…

Star Wars (movies): I’m not a huge fan of science fiction, but I probably will see the new one in December.

Mall Food Courts: There’s one by my house that has the best food! It has three stands where you can get teriyaki chicken.

Steve Carrera–Orange (CA) Lutheran head coachPenalty Shootouts: They’re exciting but only after they’ve had a chance to play OT. It’s

always a shame when two teams are battling it out and it goes straight to shootout.

LeBron James: One of the greatest athletes of my generation for sure. Almost as good as Kobe Bryant.

Laundry: I swear the sock monster is real. My mom made me do laundry on my own from a very early age, so it doesn’t bother me. Unfortunately I just let it pile up like crazy!

Star Wars (movies): Not a huge fan of Episodes I to III, but I’m excited to see the new one this December. Still, if I had a choice, I prefer Spaceballs.

Mall Food Courts: I try to avoid places that offer hot dog-on-a-stick next to sushi, but when you’re hungry, you gotta eat.

Greg Sanchez–USA Water Polo refereePenalty Shootouts: Much more exciting than overtime, and the players don’t get tired for the next game. Must have been a

master’s player on the rules committee.

LeBron James: Great player and oh so very humble. Unfortunately, he’s no Michael Jordan.

Laundry: I miss my wife’s 67-year-old cousin living with us. She did my laundry every day for me!

Star Wars (movies): Just watched all the episodes for the first time this year. My kids loved them.

Mall Food Courts: My local mall has two Chinese restaurants side by side, falling all over themselves to steal business from each other. Love the free samples this brings me. Almost as good as a night out at Costco.

Quick Shots from USA Water Polo5 METERSUS

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The latest in the world of Twitter from USA Water Polo Athletes. Be sure to follow them and follow us @USAWP.

TWITTY BANTER

John Mann - @BearMann4 - Awesome clinic yesterday in Chicago! Impressed by how many quality waterpolo players I saw! Keep it up CHItown!!!!

Merrill Moses - @merrillmoses - The newest Moses family addition Makenna Moses! Born on 3/29/15 at 10:08 am 7.8 pounds 21 inches long. #princess Maggie Steffens - @maggiesteffens - Forgot that China has fireworks at their weddings... What a wake up call! Games start tomorrow! Excited to started play #TeamUSA @USAWP

Please join us! For more information, visit:

www.usawaterpolo.org

USA Water PoloJunior Olympics EXPO

Hilton Irvine - Orange County18800 MacArthur Blvd

Irvine, CA 92616

Session One: July 24th

Session Two: July 29th

Schedule of Events:

12:00 p.m. JO Expo Opens- Free for all to attend Ticket Sales, Program Sales, Merchandise and Sponsor Tables

12:00-1:00 p.m. The College Quest- The ESM Group

1:00-3:30 p.m. College Coach Meet & Greet- Various Collegiate Coaches

1:15-2:15 p.m. Triple Impact Competitor “Elevating your game"- PCA

4:00 p.m. JO EXPO Closes

Junior OlympicsOrange County, CA 7/25-8/2Rock-tober PCA 12 & Under ClassicMesa, AZ 10/23-10/25TYR Champions CupLewisville, TX 11/13-11/15Collegiate CupIrvine, CA 11/7-11/8

CALENDAR OF EVENTS2015

Visit USAWaterPolo.org for complete schedule information

8

News BriefsWATER POLO TIMES

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USA Water Polo Zone Head Referees AnnouncedUSA Water Polo has announced Zone Head Referees for all 11 USA Water Polo zones. In addition, a head referee has been named for Hawaii and two head referees have been selected for the two most populated zones, Pacific and Southern Pacific.

Zone Head Referees will be the direct points of contact for all referees in their respective zones. Contact information can be found on the Referee Association page of USAWaterPolo.org.

“I am excited about the direction we are taking at USA Water Polo in regard to referee training, development, and education,” said Jim Cull-ingham, USA Water Polo National Director of Referees. “To that end, I am very much looking forward to working with this outstanding group of dedicated, passionate leaders from the referee community to achieve our goals and to further the quality of officiating in the United States.”

USA Water Polo Zone Head RefereesCentral - Alan Korsgaden

Coastal - Levon Dermendjian

Hawaii - David Fasi

Midwest - Nick Cargola

Mountain - Amber Drury

Northeast - Eric Welter

Pacific - Andrew Selder & Julie Snyder

Pacific Northwest - Marvel Schoen

Pacific Southwest - Danielle Dabbaghian

Southern Pacific - Steve Redding & Chris Lancellotti

Southeast - Humberto Navarro

Southwest - Vern Heimbigner

Impact Canopies Named Official Signage Provider of USA Water PoloImpact Canopies USA, the southern California-based manufacturer of Instant Canopies and Instant Canopy Accessories, announces its partner-ship with the national governing body for water polo in America, USA Water Polo, Inc (USAWP). Effec-tive immediately, Impact Canopies USA is USAWP’s official signage pro-vider and the joint partnership will run through the 2016 Olympic Games.

Premium Instant Canopies and Accessories are essential for those spend-ing time on the pool deck on a daily basis. Products from Instant Canopies USA are used by a diverse range of groups, including Cal South Soccer, Arsenal FC, USA Lacrosse, and Novato Lacrosse Club.

Impact Canopies USA will be offering exclusive benefits to USA Water Polo members, who will receive a 25% discount on all purchases. Also each purchase made by USAWP members on www.impactcanopy.com will result in an Impact Canopies donation directly supporting USA Water Polo in its mission to grow the sport and prepare its Olympic teams for the 2016 Rio Games.

“We are delighted to be a partner with USA Water polo to strengthen their brand and visibility at USA Water polo games and events. This partnership will allow Impact Canopies to develop itself as a major player within the Water Polo segment. We look forward to the next two seasons and working together with USA Water Polo.”

In addition, you can find some Impact Canopies products on display at select USA Water Polo events, including the 2015 Masters National Cham-pionship and Junior Olympics. These special events will showcase spe-cially designed Instant Canopies, Wind Screens, and Field Boards. Impact Canopies USA also will be present at select events, including the 2015 Southern California Golf Tournament.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Impact Canopies USA,” said Jeff Dyrek, USA Water Polo director of marketing. “They have proven to provide a great product that everyone can benefit from on the pool deck. We are excited to collaborate with Impact Canopies USA on how they can assist USA Water Polo enhance our branding, but more importantly, how they can support USA Water Polo members with their branding and signage needs.”

MSJ & Associates Named Official Supplier of Referee Apparel to USA Water PoloMSJ & Associates, a promotional embroidery and printing company, has been named a USA Water Polo official supplier of referee apparel. As part of the agreement, MSJ & Associates will provide an exclusive online store for USA Water Polo referees to purchase apparel. The com-pany also will work with the USA Water Polo Referees As-sociation to make sure a wide variety of apparel is available at a reasonable price.

“This is a great opportunity to support USA Water Polo refer-ees and MSJ & Associates who have been long time supporters of water polo,” said Jeff Dyrek, USA Water Polo director of marketing, said. “We look forward to collaborating with MSJ & Associates and tap-ping into their industry knowledge to provide a quality line of referee ap-parel while also making it easily accessible to referees who support USA Water Polo events.”.

“We are happy and proud to support and provide outfitting for the USA Water Polo Referee Association,” said Mark St. John, founder of MSJ & Associates. “We are looking forward to promoting excellence by providing referees with comfortable and stylish garments and accessories while on the pool deck. At our company we believe that when you’re well dressed and outfitted, you’re more focused and motivated to perform at your best. Whether it’s team or corporate outfitting, being comfortable and confident in your outfitting makes you perform better.”

The USA Women’s Senior National Team won Gold at the 2015 FINA World League Super Final with an 8-7 victory over Australia on June 14 in Shanghai, China. The triumph marked the ninth Super Final crown in program history for Team USA. Courtney Mathewson and Kaleigh Gilchrist scored two goals in the win while Ashleigh Johnson recorded 14 saves in net. Team USA finished the event undefeated, securing wins over Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Russia—along with two victories over the Netherlands.

Team USA got off to a strong start in the first quarter with a 6-2 lead after the opening eight minutes. Australia bounced back with three goals in the second period and cut the deficit to 7-5 at halftime. Both offenses went dry in the third quarter with neither side mustering a goal. Then Australia rallied in the fourth, adding two more goals—but Team USA found the back of the net once more to secure the 8-7 win. Johnson came up big in the second half, blocking a penalty shot to help Team USA hang on for the victory.

The United States struggled on the power play going 0/3 while Australia was 2/5. Team USA did not attempt a penalty shot with Australia going 0/1.

“I’ve never been so disappointed after a win,” said USA Head Coach Adam Krikorian. “Australia outplayed us for three quarters. Luckily we had a big lead and made some crucial defensive stops in the last minute of the game.”

ReCaps

usawaterpolo.org

It had been seven years since the Men’s Senior National Team last beat Serbia. It was a memorable moment—the semifinals of the 2008 Olympic Games. That victory over the world power launched Team USA into the Gold medal match and secured the squad a return to the podium for the first time in 20 years.This year the stakes weren’t nearly as high—a four-game exhibition series—but USA Water Polo fans across the country appreciated the results.

Team USA swept Serbia, the number-two team in the world, in the series that ran from June 2 to June 9. The two first two victories—12-10 at UC-San Diego and 9-5 at the River-side Aquatics Complex—came without Serbia’s full line-up. This included international club stars Filip Filipovic, Andrija Prlainovic, and Dusko Pijetlovic.

But in the final two games of the series, with those three back in the lineup, Team USA pulled out some heroics, guided by attacker Luca Cupido. In an 11-10 victory at El Toro High School in Lake Forest, CA, on June 7, Cupido hit the game winner with two seconds left, the second of two goals in the final 45 seconds of the match. On June 9 at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Cupdio sealed the deal with no time remaining on the clock for a 14-13 win.

Cupido finished with seven goals for the series while Bret Bonanni led all scorers with 10 goals and John Mann added nine, including five in the series-opening win. Merrill Moses and McQuin Baron split time in the cage for Team USA throughout the series. All four matches featured large crowds with three of the matches selling out. See page 33 for Illpolo.com’s Aaron Brown on the experience in Chicago where the USA Water Polo Senior National Team hadn’t played since 2002.

All four matches from the series were streamed via USA Water Polo TV and are available on-demand in addition to match highlights at YouTube.com/USAWP.

DOMINANT SUPER FINAL RUN CONTINUES FOR USA WOMEN

USA MEN CAP HISTORIC SERIES WITH SWEEP OF SERBIA

photo by John Konstantaras 9

photo by Jen Adams

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TEAM WITH THE BEST

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6000W SeriesOfficial FINA Game Galls

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A NIGHT TO HONOR THE PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE

OF USA WATER POLO

Better than 250 supporters packed the Costa Mesa Hilton for an evening celebrating the best in the water polo community from elite athletes to development club coaches and everyone in between. Watch the #CounterAttack this week for a recap of the event including interviews with inductees and honorees. Photos from the event will be available soon at USAWaterPolo.org along with full speeches from Hall of Fame inductees at YouTube.com/USAWP.

See below for more information about the Hall of Fame inductees and the 2014 National Award winners. New in 2015 was recognizing retired Olympians. This event will take place in the third year of every quadrennial to properly salute Olympic athletes and their contributions to USA Water Polo. Recognized on this great evening were:

2012 Olympic WomenBetsey ArmstrongHeather PetriBrenda VillaLauren WengerJessica SteffensElsie WindesKelly RulonTumua Anae

2012 Olympic MenPeter VarellasPeter HudnutJeff PowersAdam WrightShea BucknerLayne BeaubienRyan BaileyTim HuttenChay Lapin

33rd Class of the USA Water Polo Hall of FameOne of the best defenders to ever play for the USA Water Polo Women’s National Team, Natalie Benson (formerly Natalie Golda) transformed herself into an offensive force by the time her water polo career was complete. An integral part of two Olympic medal-winning squads for Team USA at the 2004 (Bronze) and 2008 (Silver, Benson powered the United States to three FINA World Championship medals (2003, 2005, 2007), including two Golds. The 2003 FINA World Championship followed a 2001 FINA Junior World Championship title—both were firsts in program history. She joined the Senior National Team in the midst of a dominant college career. In her four seasons in West-wood, Benson guided UCLA to three national championships. In a collegiate career stocked with awards and accolades, her most impres-sive season came in 2005. After red-shirting the 2004 season to compete in the Olympics, Benson returned to lead UCLA to an The 33rd class of the USA Water Polo

Hall of Fame was inducted May 30 in

southern California where our 2014

National Award winners and retired

2012 Olympians were recognized.

Hall of Fame inductee Natalie Benson with emcee Chris Dorst.

Many of the 2012 Men’s Olympic Team were honored in person on May 30.

The 2012 Women’s Olympic Team gathered to celebrate

their gold medal from London 2012.

all photos by Jun Tolibao

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undefeated season and another NCAA crown while earning Cutino Award honors as the top player in the college game. She added national and conference player of the year honors to an All-American selection. Benson remains active in the game today as head coach of the Marist College women’s water polo team and as a coach in the Women’s National Team pipeline where she led the women’s youth na-tional team to Gold at the 2013 Youth Pan American Games.

Earlier this year Richard Corso earned his 200th victory as head coach of the University of California-Berkeley women’s water polo team. It’s just the latest accomplish-ment in a career spent coaching water polo at the highest levels. Considered an innovator in the integration of sport science and sport psy-chology with water polo, Corso spent time as an assistant coach in swimming and water polo at UCLA before beginning his head coaching career with the Yale University club water polo team. From there Corso broke into the USA Water Polo National Team scene, serving as the goalie coach for the 1984 Men’s Olympic Team that earned Silver in Los Angeles and the 2004 Olympic Team that competed in Athens. Corso also served as head coach for the USAWP Men’s Junior National Team from 1984 through 1988 before he took over the reins of the Canadian

Men’s National Team. In the early 1990s, Corso was named head coach of the USA Men’s Olympic Water Polo Team which earned a seventh-place finish at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, falling just a goal short of the medal round. All the while Corso was in the midst of a near 20-year run as head coach of aquatics at Harvard-Westlake School, one of the premier programs in the nation. By the time of his de-parture in 2005, Corso had amassed 40 league crowns and two CIF Championships there. No stranger to the club scene, Corso also founded the Los Angeles Water Polo Club, piling up 18 national championships between 1977 and 2006. Most recently Corso built up the women’s water polo program in Berkeley, currently in his 10th season. In the last five years he’s guided the Bears to the NCAA Championship Tournament on three occasions including the title match in 2011.

Every game of water polo has three major components: players, coaches, and officials. Few excel at a high level in just one of these positions, but Amber Drury has achieved success in all three. First as a player, Drury was a mainstay of the Women’s Senior National Team from 1987 through 1994, competing in three FINA World Cups and two FINA World Championships and earning three medals. Named USA Water Polo’s Female Water Polo Player of the Year in 1991 and 1994, she blended National Team play with her college career. Coming of age before the widespread availabil-ity of women’s college programs, Drury was the captain of the Rio Hondo College men’s water polo team in 1991. She moved on to Pomona-Pitzer where she was named Division III Player of the Year on two occasions while winning two National Championships. Following her playing career Drury transitioned to coach-

ing, holding various positions in the National Team pipeline. From there she guided several college programs, most recently the University of Michigan and the University of California-Berkeley, winning over 40 games at each post. In 2002 she took Michigan to its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament after a CWPA Championship crown. In the meantime Drury has found time to wear the whites, starting as a high school official at the CIF level and now advancing to the highest levels of both the NCAA and FINA. Most recently she offici-ated the 2014 NCAA Women’s Championship and the 2013 FINA World Championship in Barcelona where she whistled the Bronze medal match.

2014 National Award WinnersMonte Nitzkowski Distinguished Men’s Coaching Award (Elite): Adam Wright, UCLA. After a 10-year drought, the UCLA Men’s Water Polo Team is once again the NCAA Champion, thanks in large part to Head Coach Adam Wright. A three-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic Silver medalist

2014 USA Water Polo National Award winners spanned the country and represented every level of water polo.

Cal Bears Head Coach Rich Corso was recognized for a career spent coaching water polo athletes of all ages.

2015 Hall of Fame inductee Amber Drury was joined by her family at the big event.

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in his playing days with the National Team, Wright guided his alma mater to the 2014 NCAA crown, topping USC 9-8. Wright was named ACWPC Division 1 Coach of the Year after leading the Bruins to a 29-3 mark and a perfect 8-0 record in conference play. Later this year he’ll lead the Bruins as the United States’ representative for men’s water polo at the upcoming World University Games in Gwangju City, South Korea.Sandy Nitta Distinguished Women’s Coaching Award (Elite): Marcelo Leonardi, USA Women’s National Team & Cal State Northridge. 2014 was a busy year for Marcelo Leonardi. The longtime head coach of the Cal State Northridge women’s water polo team led the Matadors to a top-10 ranking and the championship match of the

Big West Tournament, falling just short of an NCAA Tournament berth. Following the sea-son he was named new head coach of women’s water polo at the University of Michigan. The summer of 2014 may have held Leonardi’s biggest success as he guided the USA Women’s National Team to Gold at the FINA Youth World Championship in Madrid, Spain. The team turned in a perfect record of 6-0 en route to the first Youth World Championship in USA Water Polo history.Bill Barnett Distinguished Men’s Coaching Award (Scholastic): Brett Ormsby, Cathedral Catholic HS. In 2013 the Cathedral Catholic Boys’ water polo team had the honor of halting Mater Dei’s 105-game winning streak. In 2014, Head Coach Brett Ormsby’s squad added a three-peat to its resume as Cathedral Catholic topped Bishop’s in the CIF-San Diego Section Open Division title. The longtime Del Mar Water Polo Club coach and 2004 Olympian, Ormsby has also played a pivotal role in the Men’s National Team pipeline as a coach at the Youth level.Doc Hunkler Distinguished Women’s Coaching Award (Scholastic): Bill Barnett, Newport Harbor HS. Forty-nine

years. A magic number for legendary Head Coach Bill Barnett, who retired following the 2015 high school girls’ water polo season in southern California. “Coach B” amassed 15 CIF Championships (10 with boys, five with girls) in his time at Newport Harbor and added to that two appearances as head coach of the Men’s Olympic Team, winning Silver in 1988. His exploits are so legendary, he already has a USA Water Polo annual award named in his honor. Barnett was competitive to the end: His Newport Harbor High School girls’ water polo team advanced all the way to the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 Cham-pionship before falling to eventual runner-up Foothill.Ted Newland Distinguished Men’s Coaching Award (Developmental):Clarke Weatherspoon, Stanford Water Polo Club. At the helm of Stanford’s 14U boys’ program, Clarke Weatherspoon has had a recent run of excellence. In the fall of 2013, he capped off a zone championship victory with a Bronze medal at the TYR Champions Cup. Weatherspoon—who guides not only the athletes competing in each game but also some 60 athletes in the 14u program—focused on de-velopment in 2014. In the Pacific Zone Winter League, Weatherspoon had his squad play up a division, which set the stage for a top-three finish in the Kap7 Tournament, a Gold medal at the San Diego County Cup and a Bronze medal at the Junior Olympics. It all culminated with a Gold medal at the 2014 TYR Champions Cup in Texas. Outside of the pool Weatherspoon is a dean and history teacher in San Francisco and started the City Leadership Corps bringing meditation to low-income African-American and Latino communities.Brent Bohlender Distinguished Women’s Coaching Award (Developmental):Maura Moore, Columbus Water Polo. A veteran of the Ohio water polo scene as a player at both the high school and collegiate club level, Maura Moore is honored for her coaching exploits. Loaded with experience coaching both the Ohio State University club water polo squad and several area high schools, Moore now heads up the Columbus Water Polo Club, which she founded in 2012. The club has allowed for water polo growth in the area and established a high school league for athletes without a school program. In addition, the club offers clinic op-portunities for a variety of athletes at different age levels. Moore also is a longtime ODP Coach and currently serves as a coach in the newly created Great Lakes Zone.Bret Bernard Distinguished Referee Award (Elite): Amber Drury. After an extremely successful career as a player on the Senior National Team

and many years as an equally successful coach at the collegiate level—leading the University of Michigan to its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance—Amber Drury shifted her focus to officiating and has become one of the top referees in the world. She is a veteran of many USA Water Polo domestic championships and several NCAA Championship appearances, has been tabbed by FINA to whistle at several championship events, and has been appointed to several Gold medal games in top-level international competition. Drury not only con-tinues to officiate at an elite level of competition domestically and internationally, but she also is completely dedicated to the education and development of referees in the United States and freely offers her time and resources in that effort.Tom Hermstad Distinguished Referee Award(Scholastic):Courtney Bird. As a player, sometimes coach, and dedicated referee, Courtney Bird has truly demonstrated the passion and dedication that has propelled her to a promising career with the whistle. As she continues her path to a teaching career, Bird manages to balance a busy academic life and still find time to pursue her refereeing and stay involved in the game we all love. Of late Bird has whistled such large-scale age group events as the Junior Olympics, TYR Champions Cup, and ODP Regional Champi-onships. Aaron Chaney Distinguished Referee Award (Developmental): Connor Roberson. In his relatively brief time on the deck in the whites, Conner has man-aged to combine a compelling combination of interests—a promising sushi chef, ask him about his world famous “Ginger Roll”—as he aspires to become the very best water polo referee he can. Roberson also has found time for just about every professional development opportunity he can, including Holiday Camp, ODP National Championships, and Junior Olympics. Conner’s enthusiasm and dedica-tion to his craft will surely lead to a bright and successful future as he continues to develop as a referee.Barbara Kalbus Distinguished Volunteer Award:Marvel Shoen. There are few things Marvel Shoen hasn’t done for the sport of water polo, especially for her home state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest. She is honored for her efforts as a volunteer in 2014 but has been lending a helping hand in water polo for the last 25 years. A founding member of the Seattle Otters water polo team, Shoen later coached and refereed, becoming a positive example of a woman in roles that at the time were largely held by men. A tournament director for both

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Marcelo Leonardi and Adam Wright were honored for their coaching exploits at the collegiate level.

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high school and club action in Washington, Shoen is the head of the Water Polo Referee Association in Washington and a secretary for the Pacific Northwest & Hawaii Zone. A past recipient of the Aaron Chaney Distinguished Referee Award, Shoen stays active with the whistle, calling CWPA collegiate events among other competitions.Burke/Ratkovic Zone Service Award: Ian Davidson, Pacific Southwest Zone. Ian Davidson, honored in 2014 for his coaching achievements with the Brent Bohlender Award for girls’ developmental coaching, is recognized in 2015 for service as a Zone Chair of the Pacific Southwest. A longtime coach for San Diego Shores and the Bishop’s School, the girls’ team recently won its fifth straight CIF-San Diego Section crown. At the zone level, Davidson has helped bring stability and organization in addition to expanded referee development. Davidson started a referee development program and a junior referee program as well in San Diego, helping to increase education and success for those wearing the whites.Bryan Weaver Male Master of the Year Award:Greg Shanley, Otter Bay WPF. Greg Shanley helped the Otter Bay Water Polo Foundation to a fourth-place finish at the 2014 Master’s National Championship and for his efforts was tabbed an All-American. That is just one footnote in a life filled with a love for water polo. A two-time All-American at the College of the Sequoias and a record holder in swim-ming at Fresno State, Shanley is no stranger to aquatics or the game of water polo. Shanley is recognized for his efforts in masters water polo where he’s been a participant for the last decade. In addition to competition in the pool, Shanley also has worn the whites as an official for the better part of a decade. His contribution to the game was an important one in 2014 and looks to continue in the future.

Bryan Weaver Female Master of the Year Award:Kristine Palle, Riptide Water Polo Club. Kristine Palle has a long history in the sport of water polo from her time as a player and coach to her current role as a CIF-Southern Section administrator. She is honored this year for her efforts in masters water polo. As a member of the Riptide Water Polo Club, last year’s Masters Club of the Year, Palle medaled in three differ-ent divisions (20+, 30+, and 40+) at the 2014 Master’s National Championship. In addition, she’s been an All-American selection at the 30+ division the last three years. Outside the pool she continues to have an impact on the game as the newly appointed National Water Polo Rules Committee Chair for the National Federation of State High School Associations.Master’s Club of the Year:KAOS Water Polo Club. The KAOS Water Polo Club has been a mainstay at the master’s level of USA Water Polo for over 10 years, entering a variety of teams in tournaments all across the world. At the USA Water Polo Master’s National Championship, they routinely enter men’s ‘teams at the 30+, 40+, 45+, 50+, 55+ and 60+ age divisions. A regular contender for medals year in and year out, KAOS also is committed to the growth of master’s water polo. Every year the KAOS Water Polo Camp is held for athletes 39 and older, offering an opportunity for instruction and improvement to 60 competitive water polo athletes. Complete with chalk talks and in-water sessions, the camp has proved invaluable to athletes in the master’s community. KAOS continues to provide an outlet for athletes wanting to compete at the master’s level and shows no signs of slowing down.USA Water Polo Men’s Chairman’s Cup: Stanford Water Polo Club. The Stanford Water Polo Club is honored for a fantastic year of boys’ club water polo highlighted by a Gold medal for the 14U squad at the TYR Champions

Cup in Texas. Among 10 teams entered at the 2014 Junior Olympics, right in the club’s backyard, the 14U boys earned a Bronze medal. The 12U, 16U, and 18U all added to a strong summer by posting top-10 finishes at the world’s largest water polo tournament. Strong coaching helped drive the Stanford club in 2014 as noted by the Ted Newland Award, given to Stanford 14U Coach Clarke Weatherspoon.USA Water Polo Women’s Chairman’s Cup:Santa Barbara Water Polo Club. It was a ban-ner year for the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club women’s division that saw six different teams reach the medal round of various national championships. One of three teams entered in the US Open of Water Polo took home fourth place to kick off the summer. That set the stage for a dominant showing at the 2014 Junior Olympics where the 12U squad earned Gold, flanked by Silver medal performances from the 14U and 16U squad along with a Bronze medal result from the 10U team. The team continued its excellent run into the fall where the 14U squad grabbed a fourth-place finish at the TYR Champions Cup, capping a year to remember.USA Water Polo Chairman’s Cup:Santa Barbara Water Polo Club. The Santa Barbara Water Polo Club earns overall Chair-man’s Cup honors for a successful year of water polo from both their boys’ and girls’ squads. With a combined 15 teams entered at the 2014 Junior Olympics, Santa Barbara saw nine top-20 finishes and a Gold medal from the 14U girls. Add to that Silver medals from the 14U and 16U girls along with a Bronze from the 12U girls and the club was well represented on the podium. Winners of the Women’s Chairman’s Cup, Santa Barbara also reached the medal round in TYR Champions Cup girls’ division. Both the men and the women notched top-seven finishes at the US Open of Water Polo, showing the true depth of the club through all ages.

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The 2012 retired Olympians ceremony honored athletes that have competed for Team USA at a variety of Olympic Games earning gold, silver, and bronze.

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CAMARADERIE & COMPETITION JOIN FORCES IN RIVERSIDE FOR MASTERS NATIONALS

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The 2015 Masters National Championship wrapped June 14 in Riverside, CA, with 12 champions crowned in various divisions. The Olympic Club led the title count, winning three Gold medals.

See below for the top finishers in each division. For complete tournament results and photos be sure to visit USAWaterPolo.org. Also don’t forget to stop by YouTube.com/USAWP for highlights from the 2015 Masters National Championship. Thank you to our hosts in Riverside and at all the venues for putting on another fantastic event.

Men’s 20+ Gold–Alumni

Men’s 45+ Gold–Bruin

Men’s 30+ Gold–Olympic Club

Men’s 50+ Gold–Olympic Club Men’s 55+ Gold–Santa Barbara

Men’s 40+ Gold–Darkside

Men’s 20+1. ALUMNI A2. OLYMPIC CLUB3. WAVES

Men’s 30+1. OLYMPIC CLUB2. SANTA MONICA3. SUNSET SAN DIEGO

Men’s 40+1. DARKSIDE2. SUNSET SAN DIEGO3. VENTURA WPC

Men’s 45+1. BRUIN2. BAY AREA MASTERS3. CENTRAL VALLEY

Men’s 50+1. OLYMPIC CLUB2. SCOTTSDALE3. REDWOOD COAST

Men’s 55+1. SANTA BARBARA MASTERS2. SANTA MONICA3. BLUE THUNDER

Men’s 60+1. SANTA BARBARA MASTERS2. OLD MISSION BAY3. BLUE THUNDER

Women’s 20+1. OLYMPIC CLUB2. OMBAC3. OC RIPTIDE

Women’s 30+1. OMBAC2. OLYMPIC CLUB3. GRAYHAIRS

Women’s 40+1. LONG BEACH BATTLE AXES2. GRAYHAIRS3. CALGARY SPLASH

Women’s 50+1. GRAYHAIRS2. FIGHTING FLAMINGOS3. CALGARY SPLASH

Women’s 55+1. FIGHTING FLAMINGOS2. MENLO MAVENS3. CALGARY SPLASH

Division 1st Place Team All-Americans 2nd Place Team All-Americans 3rd Place Team All-Americans 4th Place Team All-Americans

Women’s 20+ 1st - (6) Olympic Club 2nd - (4) OMBAC 3rd - (3) OC Riptide 4th - (2) Menlo Mavens Alex Feune De Colombi Crisara Abrams Nikki Bell Ronni Gautschi Erika Hanson Keller Felt Kathryn Manderino Alyssa Woodward Nicole Hughes Maggie Hannon Danielle O’Toole Julie Jensen Helen Meigs Kimberley Krueger Camille Wall

Women’s 30+ 1st - (6) OMBAC 2nd - (4) Olympic Club 3rd - (3) Grayhairs 4th - (2) OC Riptide Neshnall Ariy Julia Cesnik Stephanie Curran Melissa Fernandez Sandra Dielman Brenna Fleener Lacey Rainwater Sarah Reneker Christa Edwards Danielle Sartori Molly Stanton Michelle Perkins Brenda Villa Stacy Werner Lenelle Wylie

Women’s 40+ 1st - (6) Long Beach Battle Axes 2nd - (4) Grayhairs 3rd - (3) Calgary Splash 4th - (2) Sunset Elizabeth Grimes Heather Flynn Cora Campbell Julie Swail Terri Mullins Leigh McGuire Trina Campbell Jane Hansen Kristine Palle Janell Odom Karen Kwasnitza Alisa Revi Nancy Wright Kathy Gubba Sheehy Sandra Vessey-Schneider

Women’s 50+ 1st - (6) Grayhairs 2nd - (4) Fighting Flamingos 3rd - (3) Calgary Maggi Kelly Carla Gilmore Andrea Gerencser Marybeth Kolding Lee Gottschalk Donna Reade Gigi Swan Dion Gray Maureen Rollans Jocelyn Wilkie-Sanford Vaune Kadlubek Lynn Wittstock Nancy Wright

Women’s 55+ 1st - (6) Fighting Flamingos 2nd - (4) Menlo Mavens 3rd - (3) Calgary 4th - (2) Soda Moms Chris Bloese Megan Ancker Lucia Davidson DID NOT SUBMIT Michele Canale Barbara Jones Dale Freeman Debbie Cavanaugh Rebecca Pinto Megan O’Brien Dion Gray Diane Whitty Vaune Kadlubek Cindra Morales

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Men’s 60+ Gold–Santa Barbara

all photos courtesy Jonathan Moore

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Women’s 20+ Gold–Olympic Club Women’s 30+ Gold–OMBAC

Women’s 50+ Gold–Grayhairs Women’s 55+ Gold–FlamingosWomen’s 40+ Gold– Long Beach Battle Axes

2015 WOMEN’S MASTERS NATIONAL ALL-AMERICANS

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Division 1st Place Team All-Americans 2nd Place Team All-Americans 3rd Place Team All-Americans 4th Place Team All-Americans

Men’s 20+ 1st - (6) Alumni A 2nd - (4) Olympic Club 3rd - (3) Waves 4th - (2) South Coast Brandon Brooks Marin Balarin Stephen Loomis Brandon Gross Matt Burton John Curley Marko Madaras Alexander Perry Taylor Clute Charlie Steffans Bence Valics Nick Fadden Sage Wright Andrew Reego Michael Rosenthal

Men’s 30+ 1st - (6) Olympic Club 2nd - (4) Santa Monica 3rd - (3) Sunset 4th - (2)Sharks Brian Alexander Vedran Kaluderovic Glenn Busch Gary O’Brien Brian Bacharach Marty Matthies Philip Garcia Edward Tsivislavsky Thomas Corcoran Karl Niehaus William McLaughlin Thomas Foley Greg Siefkin Brian Heifferon Sean Nolan

Men’s 40+ 1st - (6) Darkside 2nd - (4) Sunset 3rd - (3) Ventura 4th - (2) Scottsdale Daniel Della Maggiora Jason Brown Thomas Davis Eugene Dafoe Miguel Franco Greg Hakim Brendan Grubbs John Hopkins Steve Hanson Doug Wierenga Uzi Hadar James Haynes Peter Zamoyski Jason Likins Ryan McMillen

Men’s 45+ 1st - (6) Bruin 2nd - (4) Bay Area Masters 3rd - (3) Central Valley 4th - (2) Blue Thunder Scott Bozanic Jim Bailey Daniel Della Maggiora Mark Baudendistel Jeffrey Chase Jeffrey Lewis Jim Lawrence Franck Khalfoun Michael Haley Paul Matarangas Bryon Westmoreland Christopher Landsea Jem Taysi Hank Peterson Scott Thornton

Men’s 50+ 1st - (6) Olympic Club 2nd - (4) Scottsdale 3rd - (3) Redwood Coast 4th - (2) La Mirada Armada Michael Ennis Jim Bates Justin Dignam Brett Godwin John Felix Steve Coupland Timothy Harris Ken Whittle Peter Galli Thomas Duxbury John Hildebrand Michael Haley Dave Roche William Schoening Dean Quintal

Men’s 55+ 1st - (6) Santa Barbara 2nd - (4) Santa Monica 3rd - (3) Blue Thunder 4th - (2) Calgary Jim Bailey Robert Barton Larry Atnip John Csikos Greg Fults Peter Fischler Alberto Giussani Gordon Graham Lance Johnson Kit Follmer William Rutsch Christopher Judge Pim Hendrix Mark Shamshoian Joel Wade

Men’s 60+ 1st - (6) Santa Barbara Masters 2nd - (4) Old Mission Bay 3rd - (3) Blue Thunder 4th - (2) Lobo’s 50’s Richard Esterkin Gary Becker William Drulias Richard Klatt Jonathan Fearn Bruce Kocsis Larry Krauser Brian Patno Russell Hafferkamp Eric Lindroth Jeffrey Williams Stephen Hamann William Nelson Tim Mulcahy Edwin Samuels

2015 MEN’S MASTERS NATIONAL ALL-AMERICANS

Men’s 65+ – Exhibition Athletes

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FISHER CUP BELONGS TO NY ATHLETIC CLUB ONCE MORE

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The 2015 Fisher Cup took place in May at UC-San Diego and a new champion was crowned as New York Athletic Club topped defending title-holders, Bruin, by a final tally of 14-10. Third place was decided in a thrilling shootout as Stanford edged the Olympic Club 13-12.

It was the second shootout loss of the day for the Olympic Club as the squad came very close to competing for the championship. For highlights of the Bronze and Gold medal games, visit YouTube.com/USAWP

As for the rest of the results: USA A downed Golden Bear A 11-9 for fifth place while Alumni took down SB Premier 13-6 for seventh place. In ninth place Golden Bear B defeated host UCSD 13-6 with Long Beach Shore, Sunset, and USA B rounding out the competition.

The first-ever USA Water Polo National League Championship took place at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, CA, in April with USA Blue topping USA White 11-6 to claim the top spot. In third place the Olympic Club outlasted New York Athletic Club 11-10 while fifth place saw USA Red topple Alumni 10-5. Kostas Genidounias of New York Athletic Club was named league MVP while McQuin Baron of USA Blue earned top goalkeeper honors. Paul Reynolds of the Olympic Club was the league’s

top scorer with 35 total goals while Ash Molthen of USA Red was named top rookie. Stats were kept from every National League contest via a new program called The Fosh. All box scores, league leaders, and more can be accessed at the National League homepage at USAWaterPolo.org. The entire National League Championship was webcast live on USA Water Polo TV. All games are archived and available for viewing on demand at YouTube.com/USAWP.

USA BLUE WINS FIRST-EVER NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

photo by KLC Fotos

2015 Fisher Cup Final Standings

1 . New York Athletic Club2 . Bruin

3 . Stanford4 . The Olympic Club

5 . USA A6 . Golden Bear A

7 . Alumni8 . SB Premier

9 . Golden Bear B10 . UCSD

11 . Long Beach Shore12 . Sunset13 . USA B

photo by Kel Casey

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2015 Junior

Olympics Preview: THINGS

YOU NEED TO KNOW

—IMPORTANT—

PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR

ALL PARTICIPANTS

THE FOLLOWING IDS

WILL BE ACCEPTED:

* USAWP Membership ID card—

with current photo of athlete

(temporary cards accepted)

* Driver’s license/

Government I.D.

* School ID

* Copy of passport

photo page—original document

not required

* U.S. Immigration documents

(with photo) JUNIOR OLYMPICS INFORMATION PAGE: usawaterpolo.org/junior-olympics/

JO EXPO INFORMATION PAGE: usawaterpolo.org/junior-olympics/jo-expo.html

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1. Identification: You might have a thousand followers on Instagram, but that won't help at the scorer’s table. Rack up the likes from game officials and staff by bringing your ID. Make sure you have proper identification (see information on page 22).

2. Sunscreen: It’s California. In the middle of the summer. You get the idea. You won't play a single game indoors, add in some July/August sun, and that tan can turn to a sunburn really fast. Make sure you reapply sunscreen throughout the day. Once in the morning won’t cut it over a full day of matches.

3. Your Manners: Just like our friends at the Positive Coaching Alliance say, “Honor the game and your opponents.” This means every-one—athletes, coaches, referees, and spectators—respecting each other. Don't forget about the pools and facilities that host Junior Olympics. Leave only your footprints and take away your memories.

4. Water/Snacks: Anyone who’s ever taken part in high-level competition will tell you hydration is key. Throughout the Junior Olympics remember to drink water and keep a water bottle nearby and filled. Also important, snacks. The drive through at In-N-Out is tempting, nobody will

deny this, but it may not be the best pre-game meal. Try some healthier snacks. Once you’re done with com-petition, feel free to go "Animal Style."

5. Rally Gear/Club T-Shirts: Are you a firm believer that your club is the best club at Ju-nior Olympics? Let people know with your club T-shirt and other rally gear. This is, of course, not required—but it’s definitely fun. You can give props to your team and support other teams from your club. After you’re done battling in the 14U division, check out some 10U action and cheer on the future of water polo at the JOs.

6. Music/Headphones/Books/Magazines: A maga-zine, such as the one you’re reading right now, is an excellent way to eat up some down time between games. There are of course a few other more technologically advanced ways to pass the time, such as phones, tablets, etc. Wind down or rev up with some music. This can also come in handy on your way to and from the pool—just take care that your elec-tronics and books don’t get too close to the water.

7. Camera/Pictures: Everyone has a camera phone, right? Good, glad we got that out of the way. How-ever, in the event you don’t take every photo on your phone, bring a camera.

Don’t forget to document your team taking part in Junior Olympics. When posting photos to Twitter and Insta-gram, make sure you tag @USAWP so we can share your images. Be sure to use the official hashtag #2015JOs when posting to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

8. GPS/Navigation: You don’t get to be the world’s largest water polo tournament without using a lot of pools. So know your 405 and your 73 and bring a GPS Navigation device to make sure your team doesn’t get lost.

9. “Thank You” to Coaching Staff: Your coaches worked hard to get you ready for Junior Olympics. From the first day of practice to qualification, they’ve been there every step of the way. Win or lose, it’s a nice idea to say thank you when the games are over.

10. Your Best: For many this was not an easy road. You had to get through qualifiers and then travel just to get to JOs. Bottom line: You and your team worked hard to get here—now show everyone what you’re made of. This is the time to be at your best and see if you can’t end up on that podium. All the preparation is done; you have four days to give your all against the best in the country, so make the most of it.

1) Thousand Steps (Laguna) The name isn’t there to fool you; there are many steps to climb down to get there (then back up to leave), so be wary of your tired legs from too many egg-beaters. However, it’s a smaller beach that not many tourists visit, enclosed between rocky cliffs so it’s quieter. But locals love this beach, so be prepared for a few people at least. 2) Crystal Cove (Laguna) Like Thousand Steps, Crystal Cove is a little more off the beaten path. You won’t find tourists piled on top of each other playing beach volleyball, but you will find plenty of exploring areas. Crystal Cove is technically a state park with hiking, tide pools, bird pools as well as an historic district. 3) Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach) A little further north, this very touristy, busy beach has a lot happening on it. Go here for meeting random people and shopping

on the Pacific Coast Highway, Main Street, and surrounding streets. There’s a vibe of cool, enjoyable people here…but a lot of them. 4) Dana Point (Dana Point) Dana Point is in South Orange County. It’s sort of a boating area but has a beautiful boardwalk and sandy spots. And if you’re also looking for parks and grass, Dana Point might be for you.5) Little Corona del Mar (Corona del Mar) Another small, hidden beach, this one allows you some privacy. However, if you don’t want that, the larger, “regular” Corona del Mar beach is just down the street. This smaller beach runs along a neighborhood, so don’t expect to cross the street and find loads of shops or a boardwalk. On the plus side, it’s beautiful and quaint. 6) The Wedge (Newport Beach) Awesome surf spot. Check it out. Trust us.

10 Things to Bring

SOAK UP THE SUN!IF YOU FIND YOURSELF WITH DOWNTIME, THERE ARE SOME GREAT BEACHES NOT FAR FROM THE JUNIOR OLYMPICS. HERE ARE SIX YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT.

By Hallie Messenger

23usawaterpolo.org

Five Places to Celebrate: “Let’s Get Ice Cream!”1) Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor (Brea, Buena Park, Mission Viejo) Locals say this is one of the best places to celebrate a kid’s birthday, so why not celebrate a win there? With a loud, energetic atmosphere, this ice cream parlor is perfect for post-game excitement. And if you’re hungry for more than just ice cream, this might be the place. Farrell’s sells burgers and has a full menu, too.

2) A La Minute (Orange) A busy but more laid back atmosphere, this ice cream shop is nestled away in the cute Orange Circle. The ice cream is made with liquid nitrogen and created on the spot—you can even watch them make it. Their flavors are unique. Feeling brave? Try the Avocado. But don’t fret; they have regular chocolate and salted caramel as well.

3) Sprinkles Ice Cream (Newport Beach) Next to the infamous Sprinkles Cupcake, Sprinkles Ice Cream adds thick and creamy ice cream to delicious cupcakes. With a fun atmosphere, be prepared for a bit of a wait. Sprinkles is very popular not just among locals but with visitors as well. Don’t let this scare you, though; a short wait for Sprinkles is always worth delicious cupcakes and ice cream.

4) Creamistry (Irvine) Another liquid nitrogen-based ice cream shop, these places are becoming all the rage in Southern California. Not only does Creamistry have 40-plus flavors to choose from, there are more than 50 toppings to customize your bowl of ice cream.

5) Joe’s Italian Ice (Garden Grove, Anaheim) Three options: shaved ice, soft serve, or both! The soft serve here is made at ultra-high temperatures to give it a much creamier texture, while the shaved ice is homemade. It’s not just syrup poured over the shaved ice, but instead it’s ice infused with fresh fruit. Since this is sunny California, you walk up to the window to order instead of walking inside.

ENJOY THE 2015 JUNIOR OLYMPICS WITH SOME HELP FROM THESE USA WATER POLO PARTNERS!• Plan your trip to Junior Olympics with Get Travel and enjoy discounts on amusement park tickets.• Protect your skin from the sun with BANXBlock! Remember, a little goes a long way!• Pick up a new pair of Kaenon Sunglasses for the long days in the sun. Use code waterpolo25

to save 25%.• Book your travel with United Airlines, the official airline of the United States Olympic Committee.• Check in with one of the hotel brands Hilton HHonors offers when booking your hotel room for Junior Olympics.• Visit South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa for the ultimate shopping experience!• Represent Huntington Beach at Junior Olympics with your TYR gear.• Warming up for your next game? Grab a Mikasa ball to be prepared for the competition.• Check in with Bridge Athletic to make sure you’re stretching properly before and after matches!• Be sure to pack your Malibu C Wellness Shampoo and Conditioner to keep your hair looking great in

and out of the pool.• Visit Famous Dave’s BBQ for discounts available to USA Water Polo members

FIVE TIPS FOR JOs FROM 2012 OLYMPIAN JOHN MANNJohn Mann is the starting center for the USA Men’s National Team and has won championships with club teams around the globe. But it all started for John at the Junior Olympics where he competed several times in the world’s largest water polo tournament. While he was competing with Team USA in Italy,

John sent over five quick tips for succeeding in the JOs:1. Don’t be afraid to meet other athletes from the tournament; there are a lot of really great people in our sport!2. Stay hydrated! Drink as much water as you can; this will allow you to perform your best in the pool.3. Watch other games at the

tournament; you can learn so much from watching other players and teams.4. Always be a good sport. Respect your teammates, coaches, and referees.5. Have fun and play your best! Some of my favorite water polo memories are from JOs. I still think about all the friends I made and medals we won over the years.

By Hallie Messenger

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2015 JUNIOR OLYMPICS PREVIEW: THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW (CONTINUED)

25usawaterpolo.org

I AM WATER POLO

Image by Larsen&Talbert

Water Polo provides skills and experiences that

Photographed at LightSpace Studio LA

Basel Cellars Winemaker. Proud Washingtonian.Master of the grape. Ned Morris is water polo.

last a lifetime, preparation for

Learn more at: iamwaterpolo.org

Are you water polo?

Join the Cap Campaign.

achieving your dreams...whatever they may be.

6:30am: Wake up and get ready to start the day here at World League Super Final in Shanghai, China! Check some emails and shower. Internet can be tricky with the restrictions in China, but I manage emails and the ever-important Facebook and Twitter.

7:45am: Head down to breakfast. Being pregnant I brought most of my own food to China. My breakfast has been the same every day here: A packet of oatmeal with Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter mixed in, an applesauce packet and some fruit/veggie leathers. I enjoy breakfast with our video coordinator Chris Lee, doctor Omar Amr, and head coach Adam K.

9:30am: We leave for training. We’re staying at the Shanghai Olympic Hotel (right next to a giant stadium and arena) and have a 20-minute bus ride to the Shanghai Oriental Sports facilities where the 2011 FINA World Championships were held.

12:30pm: We arrive back at the hotel, and it’s time for lunch. A few staff members and I opt out to run back over to the famous Fabric Market to check on some clothes we were having made. Dan Klatt, Chris Lee, Omar, and I hop in a cab and endure the 20-minute game of Frogger with other cars/motorcycles to get to the shops. Dan and Omar were a bit adventurous and ate lunch at the noodle carts outside of the market while we waited for a cab back to the hotel.

2:00pm: We arrive back at the hotel, and Chris Lee and I speed-walk to the shopping center behind the hotel to get lunch. Of course we went for the safe and quick route: McDonald’s. Spicy chicken sandwich, fries, and a Coke for each of us. The menu looks fairly similar with the exception of a double-stacked Filet-O-Fish and apple pie a la mode (fried apple pie with vanilla soft serve).

3:30pm: Team meeting in Adam’s room to watch a little video before heading to the pool for our semi-final game against the Netherlands.

4:00pm: Head count. Everyone is gathered in the lobby, and we hop on the bus to head over to the pool! It’s a fairly lively bus ride with some chatter while others enjoy their pregame rituals with headphones on.

5:40pm: GAME TIME! During the game I track some stats and attempt to tweet, but the Internet has been pretty spotty, so it’s hit and miss (@USAWP_WSNT).

8:20pm: Good game! 8-5 victory over Holland, and we’re on to face Australia in the final tomorrow. We stuck around after our game and watched China/Australia compete, then it was back to the hotel for dinner and relaxation.

9:30pm: Time for some more emails, sending out tomorrow’s schedule, checking in with the husband, and then off to bed!

with the Women’s Senior National TeamJune 13, 2015, Shanghai, China, by Jen Funakura (Adams)

26

7:45AM 12:30PM

2:0PM

3:30PM

4:20PM

5:40PM

8:20PM

The Santa Clara Swim Club Water Polo Team took part in

an ocean water polo tournament with the Otter Bay Water

Polo Club in Monterey, CA and had time for a selfie.

Naevia Escalante/Maggie Steffens: Earlier this year Chicago native Ernesto

Escalante posted a picture of his daughter Naevia looking fierce, calling her the

next Maggie Steffens. Within hours, Steffens responded with a similar image,

encouraging Naevia to always be fierce.

Olympic Gold Medalists Tumua

Anae and Heather Petri visited

Atlanta for a clinic with the

Georgia High School Water

Polo Association. The visit was

set up by local athlete Ciara

Sadaka through Swim Across

America. Ciara raised money

through the Girl Scouts of

America for 6 athletes to at-

tend the clinic free of charge.

The Water

Polo Scene

Courtesy: Eve Okamura, Kevin Perkins, Rudy Baldoni, Ciara Sadaka, Cathryn Hayne Photography, Maggie Steffens Ernesto Escalante

The USA Women’s Developmental National Team came together for

training in June and got a private tour of Dodgers Stadium. #ITFDB

Cal Bears attacker Dora Antal

looks to shoot during a game

this past season, only to have a

dragonfly right in her path.

27usawaterpolo.org

USA Water Polo board

member Rudy Baldoni and

his wife Mary ventured

to Antarctica on a recent

vacation and they

brought water polo caps!

The water was too

cold for a game.

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With so many things in life, timing is key. For the aspiring collegiate water polo player, the timing of completion of the standardized test portfolio (SAT, ACT, and/or SAT subject tests) may open or close recruiting oppor-tunities. Developing a test preparation and testing timeline for the SAT, ACT, and/or SAT subject tests is critical and can optimize the chances of being recruited. Since the redesigned SAT will be offered starting in March 2016, it’s especially important for rising junior and senior student-athletes to carefully consider and plan the timing of their standardized tests for the 2015-16 academic year.

Most rising seniors (Class of 2016) have or should have taken the SAT so they can meet 2016 college application deadlines. Rising juniors (Class of 2017) can take the SAT provided they complete their testing in January 2016 (best timeline for aspiring student-athletes, as explained below). Rising juniors who take the SAT for the first time in March or later will take the redesigned test. Most colleges will accept either format during the 2016 and 2017 application cycles. The ACT is unchanged, but the timeline explained below applies to it as well.

The main difference between the existing and new SAT format is that the questions are supposed to relate better to what students actually learn in high school and will study in college and include “real” instead of “SAT” vocabulary. Also there’s no penalty for wrong answers, and theoretically, the essay will be optional (but check each school’s requirements; e.g., elite private schools and the University of California will continue requiring essays with the SAT and ACT). Under the new format, the base score range will be 400 to 1600 (instead of 1200 to 2400). For more information, visit https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/test-design and http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/five-things-you-should-know-about-new-sat.

Most colleges require applicants to take some combination of the SAT, ACT, and/or SAT subject tests. Conventional wisdom among high school guidance and private college counselors says students should take their first SATs or ACTs in the spring of their junior years. Often students take the SAT or ACT more than once. This means that unless they start early

enough during their junior years, students who need or want to repeat tests may find themselves sitting in a test center in the fall of their senior years and without results they feel comfortable submitting until late fall. With the redesigned SAT, a student who doesn’t plan well may end up hav-ing to prepare for and take both versions of the test.

To be competitive, aspiring collegiate water polo players should be able to provide complete academic packets (transcripts through the end of their junior years, all standardized test scores) to coaches after finishing their junior years. The earlier the coaches have this information, the sooner they can determine if student-athletes meet their school’s academic profile and if the recruiting process can progress. Otherwise, in order to avoid missing out on other good prospects, coaches may move forward with student-athletes who’ve provided complete packets. Student-athletes who don’t plan their testing schedules or procrastinate may actually miss recruiting opportunities, especially during the transition from the exist-ing to the redesigned SAT.

When should these tests be taken? Ideally, SAT or ACT testing should be completed by April of the junior year. Subject tests should be taken in June of the year that the course is completed. Students should allow for repeat sittings. This means that first attempts at the SAT or ACT should occur in the fall or early winter of the junior year. Also remember that spring is a busy time of year for students taking AP tests (administered nationwide during the first two weeks of May) and subject tests in June.

To maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their test preparation and testing, student-athletes graduating in 2016 or 2017 also should consider the availability of and whether they prefer the existing or redesigned SAT format. Doing so—and then developing and sticking to a testing schedule along the lines discussed here—will enable aspiring collegiate water polo players to provide complete academic information when requested by coaches. It also will position them to make the most of potential recruiting opportunities.

* Please refer to my previous article on this topic in the Fall 2013 issue of SkipShot Magazine, http://www.usawaterpolo.org/genrel/102213aaa.html.

BY ANGELA KRAUSSHOOTING FOR COLLEGE

QUESTIONS? Write to Angela Kraus at angela@shootingforcollege.info. Angela Kraus is an experienced and certified college counselor providing comprehensive college counseling services to help students prepare for and ensure eligibility for graduation from high school and admission to colleges. A special focus of her practice is advising high school athletes as they pursue the athletic recruiting process, with emphasis on water polo players.

SATS, ACTS, AND THE ASPIRING COLLEGIATE WATER POLO PLAYER-UPDATE*REDESIGNED SAT STARTS MARCH, 2016

29usawaterpolo.org

FROM THE DECK

REFerendum WITH JIM CULLINGHAMGreetings all, and Happy Summer 2015.

Zone Head Referees Announced:

We’ve mentioned in this space several times the steps we’re taking to revise and continue to improve the communication with and management of referees in the United States.

I’m happy to announce that another huge step has been made in that direction by naming the Zone Head Referees for 2015-2016.

Zone Head Referees

Central - Alan Korsgaden AKorsgaden@usawaterpolo.org

Coastal - Levon Dermendjian - LDermendjian@usawaterpolo.org

Hawaii - David Fasi DFasi@usawaterpolo.org

Midwest - Nick Cargola NCargola@usawaterpolo.org

Mountain - Amber Drury ADrury@usawaterpolo.org

Northeast - Eric Welter EWelter@usawaterpolo.org

Pacific - Andrew Selder & Julie Snyder ASelder@usawaterpolo.org & JSnyder@usawaterpolo.org

Pacific Northwest - Marvel Schoen - MSchoen@usawaterpolo.org

Pacific Southwest - Danielle Dabbaghian - DDabbaghian@usawaterpolo.org

Southern Pacific - Steve Redding & Chris Lancellotti - SRedding@usawaterpolo.org & CLancellotti@usawaterpolo.org

Southeast - Humberto Navarro HNavarro@usawaterpolo.org

Southwest - Vern Heimbigner VHeimbigner@usawaterpolo.org

We’re fortunate to have such a dedicated and passionate group of leaders who will play crucial roles in the continued evolution of referee recruitment, development, training, and education across the country.

Each and every Zone Head Referee has been working hard to enhance the training and evaluation opportunities for all our referee members.

Not only will each ZHR schedule numerous events throughout their respective zones to enhance those training opportunities, but also they’ll coordinate with the ODP Events in each zone to further enhance the process.

I encourage each of you to contact your ZHR immediately to take advantage of the opportunities afforded in your zone.

On another note:

I’m pleased to announce that USA Water Polo has retained the services of MSJ and ASSOCI-ATES as the source for all your USA Water Polo Referee Association Outfitting and Gear. Please check the link here to view items avail-able and please let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see added.

http://www.msjpromo.com/store/c9/Ref-eree_Association.ht

Thanks again for your time, and as always, if you have any questions or concerns about the refereeing, rule interpretation, or game in general, please contact us at Referendum@usawaterpolo.org.

Jim Cullingham

Unfortunately most athletes never learn how to properly strengthen and warm up until an injury has already occurred. Swimming and water polo notoriously cause shoulder-overuse injuries related to repetitive overhead motion.

A main reason for these injuries is excessive strengthening of already strong muscle groups such as chest, biceps, and deltoids. If you take a look at ath-letes in our sport, you can see by their postures that these muscles are much stronger than their counterpart back, rotator cuff, rhomboid, and erector spinae. As a result water polo players tend to hunch forward, pulling their shoulders out of natural alignment.

To prevent chronic shoulder pain and rotator cuff injuries, athletes should perform band exercises on a daily basis to strengthen their rotator cuff and back muscles. In the gym they should concentrate as hard—if not harder—on their back exercises as on their chest and biceps workouts. In my later years on the Olympic team, I actually stopped lifting biceps and chest altogether to keep from injuring my shoulders. When you watch successful athletes in our sport prepare for practice and games, you’ll see them doing these crucial band exercises.

You can order an exercise band online for probably less than $10. If you secure the band to any door handle, you can perform many of these exercises that can help prevent chronic overuse injuries.

Some of my favorite exercises are external rotation, internal rotation, back flies, and abduction. For external rotation you should hold your elbow at 90 de-grees by your side with your back straight and chest out—then you externally rotate your arm, bringing your hand away from your body, which exercises your rotator cuff. Internal rotation is the same motion in the opposite direc-tion. Back flies involve bringing your arms straight in front of you and pulling the band out and away to strengthen your upper back and rhomboid muscles. Abduction exercises involve stepping on the band and with good posture (chest out, back straight) lifting the band with your arm straight, bringing your hands from your sides away from your body directly upward.

Most coaches are familiar with these exercises. When you first start, please have someone experienced teach you proper form in order to avoid injury. With stretching and these strengthening exercises, you can easily avoid many chronic injuries that have ended too many careers in our sport.

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician and is neither intended nor implied to substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

AVOID CHRONIC OVERUSE INJURIESBy Dr. Omar Amr

Chronic-overuse injuries are a problem in every sport.

FROM THE DECKUS

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Practice The Golden Rule In Youth SportsTeaching good sportsmanship starts with helping youth athletes understand why and how to respect their opponents. Try the helpful tips to start the conversation with your youth athlete in this article.

10 Ways to Respect Your OpponentSee the top 10 actions you and your youth athlete can do to respect opponents before, during and after a competition.

What do you think is the most important lesson to teach kids about respecting opponents?

Take the Play Positive™ YourCall Poll to share your opinion.

Respecting Your Opponent VideosWatch top athletes and coaches as they talk about respecting opponents in exclusive videos from Liberty Mutual Insurance Play Positive™.

To learn how you can teach your youth athlete the important lesson of respecting opponents, visit PlayPositive.com/Respect-Opponents

Visit PlayPositive.com for helpful advice, tools and resources you can use in and out of the pool.

10 Essential Items Every Athlete Should Own Coaches, athletes, and parents need to know which items are essential to help main-tain consistent training and performance. While sport-specific equipment can get expensive, these 10 essentials will help athletes succeed without breaking the bank.

1. The Perfect Water BottleAthletes should choose water bottles that fit their needs, but all of them should be: a) easy to drink from quickly during workouts, b) non-spill, especially if you’re around electronics throughout the day, and c) durable if it gets tossed around in transit.

2. Foam RollerSave the money you would’ve spent on a sports massage and give yourself one instead. Foam rollers run about $25, and if you purchase a travel-sized roller, you can carry it with you to competitions everywhere. Self-myofascial release is the process of applying pressure using your own body weight against the roller to release tight spots and lengthen muscle tissue. Foam rolling helps to prevent injury and is a key precursor to a dynamic warm-up.

3. Tennis BallThe more intense counterpart to the foam roller, the tennis ball is a simple hack for rolling out tight areas of the body. All athletes develop tightness under the shoulder blades, in the lats, and along other hard-to-reach places at some point in their train-ing. Tennis balls are even more portable for travel purposes.

4. Compression GearWhile some athletes wear compression gear during competition (e.g., football and basketball players, and even swimmers in compression race suits), compression gar-ments are primarily useful in the post-workout or post-competition recovery phase. Compression in the limbs boosts blood circulation back to the heart and prompts the exchange of oxygen and nutrients for waste products in the bloodstream. Voila! You can accelerate your recovery just by putting on some (really tight) pants.

5. EarplugsEvery athlete needs to tune out the noise once in awhile. Case in point: Roommates at travel competitions who snore or talk in their sleep. Spend a few dollars on a pack of earplugs for any unexpected noise that could disrupt your sleep at night or during daytime naps.

6. HeadphonesWhen you can’t get yourself psyched up for competition, or you need to tune out that airplane noise, music is your best friend. All athletes need a pair of solid headphones (noise cancelling ear buds are great and easily portable) to plug into whatever they listen to for relaxation, inspiration, or motivation. Headphones range from $20 to $300; go with your preference on your price point.

7. Yoga MatYoga mats will incentivize athletes to stretch more frequently, which often falls low on the priority list for athletes but nevertheless plays a large role in recovery and injury prevention. Coaches can quickly lay down mats for a group stretching session at the end of a workout. Yoga mats also make it easier to run a core circuit outdoors, as athletes can better execute planks or abdominal repetitions with the added cushion of the mat.

8. High-Quality SneakersRegardless of the sport, athletes all need a comfortable pair of high-quality sneakers for multipurpose wear. These will serve athletes going to and from workouts, during travel, and at indoor or outdoor competitions. Coaches may encourage their athletes to purchase identical sneakers to look more professional at competitions.

9. Warm-Up JacketLike a good pair of sneakers, a warm-up jacket should be a staple of every athlete’s closet. This should be a relatively thin jacket that zips on and off easily for use im-mediately before and after athletic events. A warm-up jacket keeps the athlete loose in the moments prior to and following a performance—and serves as a podium uniform during award ceremonies.

10. Medicine Travel-KitIt’s important to carry a travel-sized pouch of essential medicines in case of sickness or injury on the road. Items such as Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen, as well as over-the-counter allergy medicine, can alleviate symptoms and keep you focused on your performance. A small bottle of hand sanitizer isn’t a bad idea, either.

PLAY POSITIVE™PRESENTED BY

RESPECT YOUR OPPONENT

30

By Tommy Corcoran

Good sportsmanship starts with respecting your opponents. Remember: without opponents, there would be no game at all! The idea that we should respect our opponents is one of the life lessons we hope our kids gain from playing youth sports.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Play Positive™ presents its series on Respecting Your Opponent. Visit: PlayPositive.com/Respect-Opponents

PUTTING SPORTSMANSHIP BACK INTO YOUTH SPORTS

Liberty Mutual Insurance started the Play Positive™ program to encourage good

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Interviews with world-class athletes, coaches,

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Tips and tools for youth sports coaches

Expert advice and resources for parents

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When USA Water Polo announced that the Men’s National Team would be playing the last leg of its four-game series against Serbia in Chicago on June 9, an immediate buzz circulated throughout the Illinois water polo community.

The April 28 announcement came during the tail end of the high school water polo season—and from then on it seemed like every water polo-related conversation included a mention of the event.

With the opportunity to show the national body of the sport how enthusiastic Illinois is about water polo, fans did not disappoint. USA Water Polo announced that tickets for the event were sold out May 29. As the event neared, it started to become clear that other states from the Midwest were also getting in on the action, as water polo aficionados from Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio snapped up tickets and prepared to make the journey to the Windy City for the series.

On the day of the game, the buzz for the event was at an all-time high, as water polo fans on Twitter were talking about the lengths they would go to get a good seat while others were still holding out hope that more tickets would become available at the last minute.

Former Curie water polo player Ofelia Rodriguez was one of the first fans to get to the venue. “I’ve waited in line for 10 hours for concerts, all in preparation for tonight,” she said. “I will get a good seat.”

Andrew High School’s Mike Brennan worked through lunch in order to get to the game early and ended up with a front-row seat. “There was no better feeling than to be able to wave our country’s flag over Team USA,” he said. “It was an incredible atmosphere having the Midwest’s best come out to cheer on the U.S. in a sport we all love so much.”

Fans were let into the pool area 90 minutes before the game was scheduled to begin and yet nearly every seat was taken almost immediately. The UIC Natatorium, which has an arena-like setup, was so full by game-time that there were fans standing around in nearly the entire facility.

As someone who’s covered the sport for more than a decade, it was astonishing and overwhelming to look up from the pool deck and see current and former players, coaches, parents, and others who’ve been involved in the sport. This was the first water polo-related event that I can recall which brought together a crowd like this, and they were treated to

an unbelievable game of water polo.

After the game ended, the players and coaches from the USA Water Polo team signed autographs, posed for photos, and showed their appreciation for the fans who attended the event. The YouTube video of the game has been viewed more than 30,000 times and will likely become the most-viewed upload for USA Water Polo’s YouTube channel. Fans on Twitter are still talking about the experience and retweeting videos of the game-winning shot by Luca Cupido several days after the event concluded.

“I think the entire Midwest proved how passionate we are about the sport,” Rodriguez added. “People were willing to drive hundreds of miles to see the National Team and support the sport.”

Illinois had a chance to prove to the sport’s national governing body that there’s plenty of potential for growth here. Several other Midwest states joined in. The results were impressive.

“As illustrated by the attendance, we have a loyal water polo fan base here in Chicago,” said former New Trier and Brown University water polo player Gerrit Adams. “The ability to see some of the best players in the world play in our city is tremendously impactful and important to the continued growth of the sport.”

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USA Water Polo’s Visit To Chicago Makes Big Impact By Aaron Brown - IllPolo.com

photo courtesy John Konstantaras

On June 9, water polo fans packed the University of Illinois, Chicago for USA and Serbia.

Beach Water Polo Arrives In Florida Submitted by Sean Casella

The Tampa Bay Water Polo Club hosted the 2015 Guy Harvey Beach Water Polo Classic—the first-ever beach water polo tournament on the east coast—on Saturday, June 13 at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Petersburg, FL. Nine men’s teams and three women’s teams from around the state competed along with a team from Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, which added international flavor to the tournament.

“We had a great deal of interest for this event, as it is the first of its kind on the east coast,” said TBWP’s Sean Casella, who organized the tournament with teammate Kurt Petersen.

“We plan to host two of these events a year after hearing all the positive feedback from participants.”

The rules of beach water polo are faster paced; there’s no stoppage after goals, a shorter field of play, and only three field players plus a goalkeeper for each team. Referee John Gaw controlled the action from an anchored kayak, stating that he “had the best time refereeing ever,” adding that the tournament was a great idea and “a lot of fun.”

Passersby on the beach stopped to watch the action and asked players about the tournament. Assisted by players, children played with water

polo balls that floated to the shore. Multiple teams socialized on the beach after playing all their games, and a few participants took part in pickup matches.

“Sitting on the sand and hanging out in the ocean has to be the best way to relax before and after matches,” said Bryan Traficante of the Florida State University. “Beats a pool deck any day.”

Tampa Bay Water Polo plans to host the next Beach Water Polo tournament at the end of September to cap off the summer. Requests to participate can be directed to Sean Casella at sean.casella@gmail.com.

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Stanford Cardinal Building Dynasty With Third Title In Last Four Years By John Reger, NCAA.com

When Stanford had to decide who was going to take the 5-meter penalty shot with 11 seconds remaining to possibly break a 6-6 tie and win the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship, there wasn’t much debate.

Senior Kiley Neushul might not have known she was going to take the shot, but the rest of her teammates did.

“I think what was going on in my head is you get kind of hot during a game and you look at your teammates and they were like, ‘You got it, you got it,’ “ said Kiley Neushul, who finished with five goals. “At first I looked at them and thought I had scored too many, not to brag, but I don’t usually score that much during a game.”

When Neushul put the ball in the lower right corner of the net to win the game for the Cardinal, it was a fitting end to an unbelievable season.

The team came into the championship game ranked No. 2, but had defeated top-ranked UCLA two of the three times the two sides had played, and the only loss was in overtime.

Neushul made sure that overtime wasn’t an option.

“I just depended on the support of my teammates,” Neushul said. “I had the hot hand and I kind of rode on that.”

It was fitting that the other prominent senior, Ashley Grossman, scored Stanford’s other two goals. Both players were named to the All-Tournament team, but Grossman, like Neushul, had some confidence problems during the tournament.

“After we played Princeton I was a mess,” Grossman said. “I was worried I wouldn’t

bring the leadership that other seniors in the past had done. We talked a lot about having composure and that was the theme of our weekend.”

Ironically, Grossman didn’t even know she and Neushul were the only ones that had scored. “Without even trying we showed up as seniors,” Grossman said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Junior Maggie Steffens never doubted the two would perform in the title game.

“It was really awesome that they scored all the goals,” Steffens said. “It just proves their leadership. Kiley was saying she had a hot hand but I don’t believe in hot hands. I think if you want to get it done it’s going to get done. I think both of them had that extra fire in them that gave them that hot hand.”

UCLA head coach Brandon Brooks saw first-hand all season how powerful Neushul was for her team.

“She is a fantastic player,” Brooks said. “On any given day she’s one of the best players in the world. We probably should have done a better job on her but she played a great game in her final game as a senior.”

The pressure on the team this week was palpable. They were trying to become the first women’s water polo team that hosted the championship to win it. They also kept Stanford’s streak alive of 38 consecutive years with at least one NCAA Tournament victory.

“Another senior on our team, Emily Dorst’s father, Chris, was on men’s water polo team

that started the streak,” Stanford head coach John Tanner said. “We are very much in tune with that streak and the tradition and history of national championships.

“As far as winning as the host, the pressure this week as tough,” Tanner continued. “We didn’t talk about it much, but we knew it was there and that no one had ever done it. We wanted this for our fans.”

Steffens wanted it for her two senior teammates.

“I think they showed their passion and their heart in this game,” Steffens said. “I know personally I was fighting for them. I would not let them lose this game. There was no way we were going to let them walk away without this national championship. They deserve it so much.”

Though Neushul and Grossman have won two previous NCAA championships, this one might mean more because of how they earned it.

“I’ve never had a good NCAA Tournament, ever,” Neushul said. “It’s nice that I finally got one.”

photo by Greg Mescall

Stanford outlasted UCLA to claim the 2015 NCAA Championship, the first team to win the women’s crown when hosting.

St. Louis University HS Shows ‘Em All In Missouri By Tim Nile

Continued on next page

Head coach Paul Baudendistel and the players of the top-seeded St. Louis U. High water polo team took a celebratory bath in the St. Peters Rec Plex pool after their 17-7 win over the second-seeded Lindbergh Flyers for the Missouri State championship.

“These guys worked from some time in February to May 16, and it was very cool to see us have maybe our best game in our last game,” said Baudendistel.

The Jr. Bill offense got off to an explosive start. On the team’s third possession of the game, senior captain Franklin Rosario stole the ball and swam it the length of the pool for a breakaway goal to give the squad a 1-0 lead. The

goal was the first of five for SLUH in the first quarter. Rosario added two more, and senior captain Colin Derdeyn scored the other two.

After falling behind, Lindbergh would cheat back to offense, creating more and more opportunities for the Jr. Bill counterattack as the game went on.

The Jr. Bills added to a 5-0 lead with another five goals in the second quarter. Junior Chris Kreienkamp scored two goals—one on a single-man advantage and the other on a rare two-man advantage. Juniors Mark Franz and Dan Walsh and senior Eric Caselton also scored to make it 10-0 at halftime.

Led by senior goalie Arthur Larson—who had five huge saves in the first quarter and another four saves in the second—the Jr. Bills’ first half defense did not let up. Running their drop defense, they forced perimeter shots and silenced Lindbergh’s best player and the top scorer in the state, Ethan Finlinson.

“Seeing the first half of the State game, we reached our goal of being the best water polo team we can be,” said Kreienkamp.

In the third quarter, the Jr. Bills slowed down their pace, but that didn’t stop them from scoring. Just when the Flyers thought they’d figured out how to stop the Jr. Bills, senior Michael Kennedy threw a long pass to Franz

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2015 Spring High School Water Polo State Champions - Congratulations!FLORIDA HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPBoys’ - Belen Jesuit 13 St. Thomas Aquinas 9 Girls’ - Ransom Everglades 14 Lake Nona 10

2015 TEXAS HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP Boys’ - St. Mark’s 6 The Woodlands 5Girls’ - Southlake Carroll 11 Clear Springs 8

TENNESSEE HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPCoed - St. Benedict 13 Bearden 1

2015 MISSOURI HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPBoys’ - St. Louis University HS 17 Lindbergh 7

UTAH HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP3A Boys’ - Canyon View 8 Park City 63A Girls’ - Park City 10 Cedar City 54A Boys’ - Kearns 15 Murray 54A Girls’ - Kearns 19 Cyprus 65A Boys’ - Brighton 9 Cottonwood 85A Girls’ - Herriman 12 Brighton 11

MICHIGAN HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPGirls’ - Ann Arbor Skyline 11 Ann Arbor Pioneer 4

who—with a defender on his back in front of the goal—whipped the ball around the goalie to make it 11-0. A lob shot by Walsh and a skip shot goal off the crossbar by Caselton put the Jr. Bills up 13-0 before the Flyers scored their first goal.

The Jr. Bills’ effective drop defense gave way to Lindbergh goals later in the game. In the second half of the third quarter Lindbergh scored three goals off perimeter shots.

The Flyers had a strong start to the fourth quarter, scoring three unanswered goals, two by Finlinson. But Walsh answered these goals with the same lob shot he’d scored with in the third quarter. Walsh was followed by Kreienkamp, who scored his third goal of the night on a man advantage. Lindbergh scored another to finalize the score at 17-7.

The Jr. Bills went into their victory formation with a little over two minutes left in the game, spreading their men across the pool and playing keep away from Lindbergh to clinch the program’s 17th State Championship and its second in three years.

“I don’t really like the characterization that we did what we were supposed to do,” said Baudendistel. “I think that sounds like we showed up, jumped in the pool, and had success, and that’s not the reality at all. This team started the year in a really good spot

and ended the year in a really good spot, but we definitely improved. They worked for it.”

After the captains received the trophy, the team jumped in with their coaches and managers to celebrate the championship win. Then the team sang “When the Bills Go Marching In” while in front of their student section.

The Jr. Bills had much more than a 17-7 state championship win to celebrate. They finished their season 26-2, with their only two losses coming from top-seeded Illinois powerhouse Fenwick. Before entering the tournament, St. Louis U. High was 17-0 against Missouri teams, outscoring opponents 316-25, including six shutouts.

In those 17 games, the Jr. Bills outscored the number 2, number 3, and number 4-ranked teams in Missouri 68-7. The squad placed second in both the York Tournament in Chicago and the De Smet Invite at the Rec Plex, losing both times in the championship matches to Fenwick. The team placed first in the Lindbergh Invite in its last games before the state tournament.

“I would have liked to have beaten Fenwick, I would have liked to go undefeated, I would

have liked to have had a shutout at state,” said Kreienkamp. “But I think we can’t really ask for more.”

This year’s team had many notable players, many of whom were recognized by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Derdeyn unanimously won Player of the Year and made First-Team All-Conference along with Kennedy and Larson. Kreienkamp, Franz, and Caselton made All-Conference second team.

“We had a phenomenal senior class,” said Kreienkamp. “It will be hard to replace them. Every senior who’s leaving brought something to the team. There isn’t one who didn’t contribute. Next year the underclassmen will have to step up.”

St. Louis University HS Continued

SLUH won yet another Missouri High School Championship in 2015.

In order to get into the magazine, we need high-quality digital photos (jpegs of 300 dpi or better) so that your brilliance is brought to life on our glossy pages. So send in your masterpieces. Email all photos to: hotshots@usawaterpolo.org. There is no assurance that your photos will run in USA Skip Shot Magazine. Editorial decisions are made by the maga-zine staff. Once we receive your photos, they become property of USA Water Polo and may be used for print or publication.

Welcome to Skip Shot Magazine’s Hot Shots page, featuring shots from your fingertips. The person who submits each issue’s best HOT SHOT will receive a free Mikasa men’s or women’s water polo ball. For more information on Mikasa visit www.MikasaSports.com.

This issue’s winner is Clark Pauly >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Honorable mention to the remaining photo submissions.

Counter clockwise from below left: James Schafer Bottom left: Charlie Wickstrand Bottom center: Roland Hosch Bottom right: Sarah Lewis Top right: Steven Sloan

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