BAC Blog!

Olympic Trials update!

A BAC swimmer is currently at Omaha watching the Olympic Trials. She is texting me the most recent update of the meet! 

July 2 @ 4:50 PM Pacific Time > Katie Hoff beat her American Record in the 200 Free 

July 2 @ 4:40 PM Pacific Time > Jason Lezak took back his American Record in the 100 Free in the Semifinals! 

July 2 @ 9:20 AM Pacific Time > Jason Lezak broke his own American Record, then Garett Weber-Gale broke it in the next heat! All in the prelims! 

July 1 @ 5:49 PM Pacific Time > Jessica Hardy & Megan Jendrick made the 100 Breast team 

July 1 @ 5:18 PM Pacific Time > Aaron Piersol broke the World Record in the 100 Back. 52.89!!!

July 1 @ 5:02 PM Pacific time > Natalie Coughlin broke the World Record in the 100 Back. 58.97!!! First woman to break the 59 second barrier.

U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Swimming

Be sure to catch the USA Swimming Olympic Trials! Below is the list of times the Olympic Trials will be televised:

Sunday, June 29th (8 - 9 pm on NBC)

Monday, June 30th (8 - 9 pm on USA)

Tuesday, July 1st (8 - 9 pm on USA)

Wednesday, July 2nd (8 - 9 pm on USA)

Thursday, July 3rd (8 - 9 pm on USA)

Friday, July 4th (8 - 9 pm on NBC)

Saturday, July 5th (8 - 9 pm on NBC)

Sunday, July 6th (8 - 9 pm on NBC)

Using Poor Performance to Inspire Greatness

This past weekend one of our 16U girls’ water polo teams started the tournament with a poor performance that ended in a loss. We lost to a team that we all felt that we were stronger than, and we did it in sloppy, disconnected fashion. What’s more is that the stakes of the game were high, in that if we had won we would have qualified for the national championships. Immediately that loss put us in a position where we had to win our next game or go home without qualifying, our goal for the weekend.

 It’s easy to say “We should have beat them,” or “We’re better than them,” much easier than actually winning all the games that you think you “should” win. We play the games because there really is no “should”, there is only the opportunity to make something happen. If the formula were as easy as who can swim faster, who can throw harder, who knows more moves, there would be no point for the actual competitions. So how do we respond when we feel we missed an opportunity? We take the next one that comes along and meet it dead on.

 The 16U team did just that this past weekend, it took the opportunity at hand. In what was likely one of the biggest wins of any team over the entire tournament, our 16U team beat (and sent home) the team that placed 3rd at the same tournament last summer. The win extended the tournament for us and put us in a good position to claim the final qualifying spot. The game was won by using the frustration stemming from the earlier loss as motivation and energy. Every member of the group made sure to not make the same mistakes they had made in the previous game, using that desire to prove their skills as fuel for the fire. It’s one thing to say “We played poorly,” then quite another to prove just how good you can be. But the team got it done, and in the end we qualified for the national tournament.

 The main thing is to realize that mistakes will be made; as athletes we are all human and may not always do things just how we know we can. But to learn to respond to that and to use the mistakes and the frustration to make adjustments for the next round is crucial. Though it made the weekend more stressful, I’m glad that we lost that first game. Losing that game forced us to pull together more as a group, to really bear down and focus on our goals. Next time we won’t wait until our backs are up against the wall, we’ll take care of things the first time around.

Masters Nationals

BAC water polo had its best ever showing at Masters Nationals.

Playing in the ultra competitive 20+ division BAC was able to advance 2nd out of its bracket and then lost two highly competitive games finally finishing 5th out of 12 teams.  The highest finish by a BAC team in the 20+ division.

The 30+ team entered the tournament seeded 4th and proceeded to advance first out of its bracket with a record of 2-1. In the Semifinals BAC was able to defeat local rival Bay Area Masters from Los Gatos by a score of 5-1 sending it to a championship matchup with the Olympic Club. In the finals, BAC played valiantly and the halftime score was 4-3 but eventually the team ran out of gas and lost 6-3 finishing second in the 30+ division.

Help Keep Water Polo at UC Santa Cruz!

Hello Water Polo Enthusiasts and Supporters…….  In the past 24 hours I have received numerous emails announcing the sudden cut of both the men’s and women’s water polo programs at UC Santa Cruz. UCSC currently has former BAC members in both programs who are devastated by the news and are asking for support. 

The primary reasons cited for the program cuts are financial strain, pool time conflicts, mandatory budget cuts, lack of local Division III competition, and the possibility of UCSC joining a conference in the future that includes other schools without water polo. The players met on Sunday, June 1, 2008, to brainstorm how they can continue this program which is so vitally crucial to each of them. They suggested funding the program through donations, fundraising, and players’ fees, as other sports – women’s rugby, for instance, do – and were told this would not be allowed. The athletic department needed to cut $50,000 from the budget, and by taking away the men’s and women’s water polo teams they got rid of $40,000. If the teams can provide the school with a check for that same amount of money they feel that they could save the programs. They have until Wednesday, June 4, (less then 4 days from when the decision became known) to show proof of pledges totaling $40,000. Anything that you can offer would be greatly appreciated, and your pledge could help buy another year of water polo for young athletes who truly love the sport of water polo.  

Additionally, the players are asking for testimonials, letters, and notes directed to the athletic director, chancellor, and powers that be about why the program should not be cut. It would be a great help if you could email a note to UCSC student-athlete Ian Horn at: ihorn@ucsc.edu showing your support for them to present when the athletes next meet with the AD and chancellor. You can also contact Ian to find out how to offer financial support.

San Diego County Cup

This past weekend was the San Diego County Cup, and we took a team down there. The competition was fierce, but the team never gave up. We chose to focus on four key things during our games. 

 The first was “safe passes,” this was a continuation of what we had been working on in practices and our previous games. To make a safe pass we want to make sure our teammate is looking and knows the ball is coming. To do this we call their name, and then wait until we see their eyes. Then we want to put the pass somewhere where only our teammate can get it. We don’t want to pass a 50/50 ball. By the end of the tournament we were able to withstand the other teams’ hard press and make safe passes to our teammates, ultimately leading to a lot of assists. 

The second was “press.” Our goal here was to make it as hard as possible for the other team to move the ball. Once we started talking in terms of not letting your player get the ball our defense really came together. We often forced our opponents to run out the shot clock which gave us a lot of opportunities on the counter attack. 

 The third was “movement/create.” The movement was particularly important because most of our games were played in a pool much larger than we were used to. During our first game in that pool we were stopping at half a lot, not realizing how much farther we still had to go. However after that game we made a great adjustment and started countering all the way down to the 2M line. This fed into a balanced offense where people could drive and “create” an opportunity to score. 

 The final focus was “head on a swivel.” This means that we want to constantly be looking around instead of focusing on just one person or thing. The idea is to make sure that we can see everything that is going on in the pool whether it is in front of us or behind us. It sounds simply, but it is actually not something that feels very natural. 

The team seemed to have a great time away from the pool as well. As a coach it was very fun to see the kids away from the pool, and get to know them all a little better. The kids also seemed to get to know each other better, enjoying the company of kids form other schools and grades. On Saturday afternoon we were lucky enough to be able to go to the Fearn’s beach house, and the kids were able to play in the ocean for an hour or so and enjoy the lovely weather. 

 All in all, the trip was a great success, and I hope we can go again next year! Thank you to all the athletes for making the trip, and a BIG thank you to Ron Lynch for coming with us! 

Amy 

Great 14U Water Polo This Past Weekend

The 14U water polo teams played great this past weekend. During the week leading up to the competitions we focused on safe and accurate passing, making sure that we take care of the ball on every possession - the ball is gold and we want to treat it as such! And taking that practice into the games it made a HUGE difference in the quality of play. The team did a great job protecting the ball, not panicking, and making passes when they were safe and useful. As a result, we were able to move the ball, work our offense more, and ultimately get great shot opportunities.

 It was a lot of fun to be a part of such vast improvement and I hope to see the team keep building on that success. Great job, everyone!

Cal Water Polo Camps

Hi All,

A lot of you have asked me about summer camps. Here is some information on the camps which Cal will be offering this summer:

CAL HIGH PERFORMANCE WATER POLO CAMP & CORSO GOALKEEPER ACADEMY
Week I: June 13-15,Friday-Sunday
Week II: June 20-23, Friday-Monday
Week III: June 23-26, Monday-Thursday
Week IV: July 11-14, Friday-Monday Sorry, this camp is FULL!
AGE: For those entering Grades 7-12 (One year Varsity or Club experience is required)

Check out http://calbears.cstv.com/camps/womens-waterpolo.html for more information. 

Amy

“Talking Water Polo at the Planet”

The world’s first water polo podcast has been launched! The shows will be hosted by CSTV’s Trevor Freeman and Coach Dave Maynard, and will air Mondays at 8:00pm Pacific time. These shows will feature guest speakers and will be listener interactive by allowing people to call, blog, or email in with their reactions and questions. 

 To listen to the podcats either live or as a recording you can visit: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TrevorRFF 

 Listening will surely keep you on top of your water polo knowledge!

Kirk Everist Releases New Water Polo DVDs

Kirk Everist as won two back to back NCAA Championships at Cal, and now he is revealing his secrets!

 Check out his new DVDs on “Defensive Techniques,” “Offensive Techniques,” and “Defensive and Offensive Game Tactics.” The DVDs can be bought here: http://www.championshipproductions.com/cgi-bin/champ/c/Coaching-DVDs/Water-Polo-992.html?mv_pc=usawp