Back-To-Back Commerce Girls Take Home Speedo Cup Title For Second Straight Year VOLUME 23, NUMBER 4, WINTER 2008 TheTerry Adventures Schroeder of ShieldyLeads the Men’s National Team to Gold. What’s Inside... VOL. 23, NUM. 4, WINTER 2008 USA WATER POLO NATIOnaL OFFICE ON THE COVER . 2124 Main Street, Suite 210 Huntington Beach, CA 92648 The girls of Commerce, Inside Water. 2 (714) 500-5445 business Ca pose for a team photo Score (714) 500-5449 membership (714) 960-2431 fax after winning the 2008 In the Club. 14 USA WATER POLO NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER Speedo Cup. with funky 11360 Valley Forge Ave. Cover photos courtesy Los Alamitos, CA 90720 of MAC Photo Design. 5 Meters. 18 ® (562) 799-8506 business Flipturns ! (562) 799-8508 fax WEB SITE In the Area. 24 www.usawaterpolo.org CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Christopher Ramsey Calendar of Events. 26 EXECUTIVE AssISTanT TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Chelsea Johnson CONTROLLER Ulises Sam Also In This Issue... DIRECTOR OF PLannIng and ADMINISTRATION Susan Warner Hopkins Speedo Cup Re-Cap . .4 DIRECTOR OF MaRKETIng and COMMunICATIOns Christine Bird DIRECTOR OF OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT Hot Shots . 16 Guy Baker MEDIA RELATIOns ManagER 2008 Contributor List . 27 Greg Mescall DIRECTOR OF REGIOnaL SPORT DEVELOPMENt (EasT) Liz Grimes States include: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, A Shining Star Prevails Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. DIRECTOR OF REGIOnaL SPORT DEVELOPMENt (CENTRAL) Speedo Top 40 Joe Linehan States include: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Look Ahead... Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Revisited pg6 Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. NATIOnaL TEAMS ManagER Next Issue Nikki Jost >The 6th Annual USA Water Polo MEMBERSHIP SERVICES COORDInaTOR Golf Tournament Drew Willems BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bradford Bowlus, Michael Graff (Chairman), Lynn Kachmarik, Jeremy Laster, Ed Reynolds, Rachel Scott, William Smith EDITOR Greg Mescall CONTRIbuTORS Darcy Couch, Paulo Cesar, Todd Clapper, Chris Oeding, Jason Lynch, Mary Sprague, Jim Cullingham, Mary Pat Robinson, Joan Gould, Ed Haas, Greg Mitre, Lisa Reyes, Carroll Vaughan, James Lathrop, >FINA World League Preview Summit Photography, Sally Olds, Jeff Shewmon, Tracy Birdsell, Kevin Burke, Anderson Family, Pete Snyder, Fotos FPN, Fotos Hugo Rocha, Mirko Seifert, Rise Wendt, Michael Duffy, Holy Kiki, Gwen Golub, Michael Machnik, George Stransky, Mike Miller, Stan Schwimer, Allen Lorentzen, Karina Cordisco, Stuart Sheldon, Mark Lefkow, Simone La Pay PRINTING Publication Printers 2001 S. Platte River Dr., Denver, CO 80223 | 303-936-0303 CREATIVE pg10 Adrenalin, Inc. 54 West 11th Ave., Denver, CO 80204 303-454-8888 | goadrenalin.com A Dream USA Water Polo Skip Shot Magazine (ISSN# 00431311) is published four times per year by United States Water Polo, Inc., located at 2124 Main Street, Suite 210, For Water LAUREN WENGER / 2008 Olympian in Palm Daze / Orchid 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 210, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Polo A New Team In Afghanistan usawaterpolo.org 1 60248_USAWPOLO.1.indd 1 8/14/08 3:38:20 PM letter from the CEO, Christopher Ramsey USA WATER POLO INSIDE WATER Looking Back And Looking Ahead The 2008 year will be remembered for Team USA’s four silver med- als earned in international competition, including two at the Olympics, and for the largest, most innovative S&R Sport Junior Olympics ever. As with all good results, they effectively raise the bar for performance. Here are some key dates to mark down for 2009: Since the Beijing Olympics, we’ve been at work on plans for the next four years. We intend to use 2009 as the year of new trials for USA Water Polo, January 24-25, 2009: where we pilot high-potential programs to grow our membership and • 1st Annual Olympic Development Conference for Coaches increase member benefits, while also rolling out our new Olympic Devel- and Referees, El Segundo, California opment Program (ODP). February – April 2009: Under the guidance of Guy Baker, ODP will put more than one • 1st Annual Program of Regional “Town Meetings” – USA Water thousand athletes in training via our national team pipeline. It’s worth Polo CEO and key staff will visit each zone to discuss how our noting that this program not only will train athletes, but also coaches and organization can better meet members’ needs referees. Coaches can expect specific guidance on total hours of training, • Presentation by USA Water Polo on Olympic Development methodology, and systems. Scholarships will be available for talented and Membership Growth Initiatives athletes otherwise without the means to participate, and regional training • Feedback from Zone Members on regional issues centers will be established across the country to ensure that the program is available to all who demonstrate national potential. May 9, 2009: Annual USA Water Polo Assembly Referees will continue the program begun in 2008 under Jim Culling- • Women’s NCAA Championships, College Park, Maryland ham, which becomes more robust with the addition of directed learning December 2009: Hall of Fame Awards Banquet online through our partner, Water Polo Academy. All referees will be and Zone Chair Summit required to take uniform instructional and practical coursework. The goal • Men’s NCAA Championships, Princeton, New Jersey is to enforce our rules consistently in all USA Water Polo competitions. In addition to Web-based curriculum, referees will be evaluated by Delegate/ This new approach is designed to allow for more meaningful interac- Evaluators who will be trained and authorized under the jurisdiction tion among our membership and better planning and accountability on of the USA Technical Water Polo Committee and the National Referee the part of our organization. Our goal is to present an overview of our Committee to ensure standardization of evaluation and grading criteria. activities and performance at the national level, as well new initiatives for A list of Delegate/Evaluators will be posted on our Web site early in 2009. the coming year. We are going on the road because we want to hear from all of you. We intend to work more diligently on planning and communication in the New Year. Although not all conflicts can be resolved, we are commit- C.R. ted to making commitments earlier and in closer consultation with our Huntington Beach clubs and zones so that events are well coordinated. Toward that end, we are making some changes in our traditional meeting approach. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 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 210, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 or send an email to: [email protected] There was an error in the reporting of certain results from the 2008 Masters Nationals Tournament in the Fall Issue of Skip Shot. We apologize for the errors. In the men’s division the results should have read: 50+ 55+ 60+ 1. Tri-Valley 1. Tri-Valley Spartans 1. Tri-Valley Spartans 2. Santa Barbara 2. Tri-Valley Gold 2. Tri-Valley 3. KAOS Centurions 3. Old Mission Bay In addition in the women’s division the SODA Moms 40+ team finished in second place while the 50+ team finished in third place 2 Orange County & Commerce Claim Speedo Cup Crowns All photos courtesy of MAC Photo Design. Photo courtesy photos All of MAC First Place – Commerce, CA. Second Place – Oakland, CA. Second Place – Santa Barbra, CA. First Place - Orange County, CA. The Speedo Cup was held in Ann Arbor, MI for the first time ever. It was a repeat championship for As for the rest of the girls bracket in the In the boys bracket Los Alamitos, CA the girls from Commerce, California as third place game Newport Beach which nipped Orinda, CA by a pair winning 4-2 to they took home the 2008 Speedo Cup returned to the tournament after a long grab third place. In the fifth place match title with a 10-5 defeat of Santa Barbara drought edged Laguna Beach 5-4. In the Pasadena, CA was three goals better than at the Canham Natatorium on the campus fifth place game San Diego, CA defeated San Diego, CA pulling away 6-3 for the win. of the University of Michigan. On the boys side Stanford, CA 7-5 while Danville, CA was vic- In seventh place the squad from Glendale, Third Place – Newport Beach, CA. Third Place – Los Alamitos, CA. Orange County, CA was victorious in torious over Greenwich, CT 9-4 in the sev- CA knocked off Carlsbad, CA 6-3 while in the title game over Oakland, CA 10-2. For enth place game. For ninth place Miami, FL ninth place Greenwich, CT upended Fort 7. Danville, CA Orange County it was a reprieve after was the team with Chicago, IL taking tenth, Lauderdale, FL 7-3. Rounding out the stand- The Speedo Cup also annually dis- Jody Campbell Award Winners: Ann Arbor, MI: #12, Nicholas Willison falling in the championship game a year ago Ann Arbor, MI 11th, and La Jolla, CA 12th. ings were Chicago, IL and Ann Arbor, MI. tributes awards on both the girls 8. Greenwich, CT in Columbia, Missouri. and boys sides recognizing one Carlsbad, CA: #2, Matthew Ruple 9. Miami, FL player from each team. The boys Chicago, IL: #14, Marcos Hernandez 10. Chicago, IL sportsmanship awards are named after Jody Campbell and the girls Ft. Lauderdale, FL: #4, Bruce Espinoza 11.