THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF USA WATER POLO THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE Olympic Gold Just The Start For Maggie Steffens CARMEL HIGH VOLUME 28, NUMBER 1, SPRING 2013 SchOOL’S BIG WIN p.35 THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF USA WATER POLO VOL. 28, NUM. 1, Spring 2013 What’s Inside... USA WATER POLO NATIOnaL OFFICE THIS GIRL ON THE COVER . 2124 Main Street, Suite 240, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 IS ON FIRE Olympic Gold Just The Inside Water ...................2 (714) 500-5445 business • (714) 500-5449 membership • (714) 960-2431 fax Start For Maggie Steffens Maggie Steffens USA WATER POLO NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER continues success 11360 Valley Forge Ave., Los Alamitos, CA 90720 following Gold in 5 Meters ......................4 (562) 799-8506 business • (562) 799-8508 fax London. WEB SITE H CARMEL HIG www.usawaterpolo.org SCHOOl’ S BIG Photos courtesy Jason Kempin/Getty Images WIN Water Polo Times .............10 p.35 and Jeff Cable Photography. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Christopher Ramsey Water Polo Scene ..............26 CHIEF OpERATING OFFICER Marty Samuels CHIEF MARKETIng OFFICER A Day in the Life ...............27 Jennifer Rottenberg DIRECTOR OF FInanCE Jim Callahan From the Deck ................30 DIRECTOR, CLub & MEMBER PROGRams Claudia Dodson DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT Lob Shots ....................34 Stephanie London Krogius DIRECTOR OF COmmunICATIOns Greg Mescall Hot Shots ....................36 AssOCIATE DIRECTOR, SPORT DEVELOpmENT Christy Medigovich OLYMPIC DEVELOpmENT OpERATIOns ManagER Anne Laurence ReCaps NATIONAL TEams EVENTS ManagER Ashley Papenbrock MARKETIng ManagER Annual Awards . 14 Caroline Acosta MEMBERSHIP & EVENTS ManagER Katie Wakefield pg14 UANA Qualification FInanCE COORDInaTOR Fay Hu Tournament . 20 DEVELOpmENT COORDInaTOR Sarah Bennett Annual Awards MEMBERSHIP SERVICES COORDInaTOR Water Polo Community Gathers Layla Behzadian Also In This Issue... VIDEO PRODUCER To Recognize Excellence Zach Edmunds EXECUTIVE AssISTanT TO THE CEO 2013 Events Calendar . 12 Mai Lam Human RESOURCES ManagER Gayle Shanks Magie Steffens— SPORT GROWTH SPECIALIST, SOUTHEasT ZONE Nick Gaffey Rising Star . 20 SPORT GROWTH COnsuLTanT, MIdwEST ZONE Pat Beemer Look Ahead... BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael Graff (Chairman), Jeremy Laster, Ed Reynolds, William Smith, Ellen Estes Lee, Robert Sternfels, RoAnn Costin, Next Issue John Hendrickson, Richard Esterkin, Vicky Rogers >Masters Nationals Recap PubLISHER Jennifer Rottenberg EDITOR Greg Mescall CONTRIbuTORS IRVINE, CA Darcy Couch, Jim Cullingham, Joan Gould, Ed Haas, Stan Schwimer, Stuart Sheldon, Kelley Casey, Allen Lorentzen, Kelley L. Cox, Dr. Marcia Whalen, Karen Bloch, Angela Kraus, Dave Shefelman, Peter Trabucco, Mike Murawinksi, Paul Ciaravino, Kate de Give PRINTING pg22 > Get Ready for Quad Graphics, 555 South 108th Street, West Allis, WI 53214 Junior Olympics CREATIVE Adrenalin, Inc., 54 West 11th Ave., Denver, CO 80204 303-454-8888 • goadrenalin.com New Website USA Water Polo & CBS Interactive USA Water Polo Skip Shot Magazine (ISSN# 15507580) is published Partner For Redesign 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 usawaterpolo.org 1 INSIDE WATER letter from the CEO, Christopher Ramsey USA WATER POLO Promising News For Collegiate Water Polo There is great news 6. Water polo generally attracts more students 36,000 in just a few years. It’s estimated that nearly on the collegiate who are desirable to Admission (i.e., higher- 90,000 play the sport nationwide. water polo water achieving, well-rounded, natural leaders who - Women’s water polo is one of the newer champi- will perform well in college). front. Three col- onship sports in the NCAA (2001) and continues leges—Emmanuel, Colleges also may be noticing that ESPN as well as to grow today. Since 1994 the number of women’s Monmouth and Notre Dame—are fielding men’s independent studies have identified water polo as varsity teams has grown from four to 62, with an and women’s varsity teams this year. Varsity water one of the toughest sports to play, and the training additional 90 collegiate club programs. polo at the collegiate level has been stagnant or necessary to compete provides remarkable ben- diminishing for the past dozen years, despite sig- Water polo athletes can often perform “double efits in terms of academic discipline, high gradua- duty,” participating in swimming or other aquatic nificant growth in club programs nationwide. But tion rates, and above average grade points, etc. The these new programs are evidence that collegiate sports as well. This allows athletic departments to U.S. Navy SEAL program sponsored USA Water “double count” on gender equity audits, if the same athletic directors are actively considering water Polo because its players had the lowest dropout polo as a potential new sport. athlete is on a second roster, which can be helpful rate among all SEAL candidates, substantially in- in attaining Title IX compliance. Why Water Polo? creasing the successful yield of the SEAL program. Water Polo has one of the lowest cost/athlete ra- 1. Water polo often improves college athletic Since TEAM USA captured the first women’s wa - tios of all intercollegiate sports. It requires limited departments’ Athlete Progress Rating (APR) ter polo Gold Medal in its history at the Olympic equipment. Rosters can be sized to suit an institu- by bringing in strong academically minded Games in London last year, our sport has sparked tion’s needs, with only 13 players required. And it’s athletes. (According to NCAA data, men’s and pride and renewed interest. Of course our team especially cost-effective if a college or university women’s water polo averaged an APR of 980 was led by athletes from NCAA programs, some already has an aquatic facility, since pools are fre- in 2011, compared with a national Division 1 still in school, and some—such as Brenda Villa— quently under-utilized and expensive to maintain. average of 973.) who have transitioned to illustrious international Getting more use from a cost-intensive, existing careers after graduation. 2. Water polo is a cost-effective sport to comply facility makes sense. with (or attain) Title IX compliance. With nearly 1,000 high schools sponsoring water USA Water Polo is in discussions with the NCAA polo teams nationwide—and more are adding 3. Water polo offers a new sport program at little on collaborating in a number of areas and also teams every year—there has been a surge of risk to colleges because it’s easy to implement offers technical assistance to colleges and universi- academically qualified athletes who want to con and maintain (i.e., uses existing facilities and - ties upon request. We will continue to work toward has a low injury record). tinue playing varsity in college. Water polo helps to more varsity programs in the years ahead. complement athletes’ total educational experience, 4. Water polo can garner significant alumni sup- nurturing healthy qualities such as self-discipline, port, consistent with team sport programs. leadership, industriousness, confidence, and col- 5. In some cases water polo can contribute to your laboration. More than 500 registered clubs exist conference establishing a championship. in the country, and membership in United States Water Polo has grown from 20,000 to more than Chris Top Stories on USAWaterPolo.org... > Get a headstart on the 2013 Junior Olympics with the USA Water Polo information page - http://www usawaterpolo. org/junior-olympics/. >Check out the new online home for the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame - http://www usawaterpolo. org/hof/. www.facebook.com/usawp www.youtube.com/usawp www.twitter.com/usawp If you have a comment or question concerning Skip Shot magazine, send in a letter to the editor. LETTERS 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: [email protected] 2 5 METERS Quick Shots from USA Water Polo USA WATER POLO My 1st Match Ted Minnis, Head Coach, Harvard University Men’s and Women’s Water Polo September, 1990 The first water polo game I coached took place in September 1990. I was the boy’s head coach at my alma mater, Menlo-Atherton (CA) High School. I was 20 years old, and I remember wanting to get in and play and show these young kids how it was done. The seniors on that team were freshman during my senior year at Menlo-Atherton, so I knew all of them fairly well. I do not remember the details of my first game—we probably lost. But what I do remember is my first practice, and how excited I was to coach with my good friend and former teammate Doug Wright. We were young and full of enthusiasm and wanted to bring the program back to where it was when we left. I remember that we did not qualify for CCS that year, and that was a disappointment, but I knew right away that all I wanted to do from that moment on was coach water polo. 4 Quick Shots from USA Water Polo 5 METERS Did You Know? What’s on Did you know the Collegiate Water Polo Association, also COURTNEY my iPod? known as the CWPA, is the largest single sport athletic MATHEWSON, Coldplay, “Paradise” 2012 OLYMPIC GOLD conference in the world. The conference governs water MEdaLIST, FOUR-TIME —I love listening to Coldplay after a game. NCAA CHampION Helps me unwind from all the excitement and intensity of competition. polo for a variety of institutions from Division 1 through Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, “Notorious Thugs” club water polo. (Source – @CWPA) —Bone Thugs is always on my pregame music.