29
Oct
2010
2010 Clinic Registration Form / Bucknell University Informed Consent Release Form
American Water Polo is sponsoring a coed water polo clinic in conjunction with the 2010 CWPA Men’s Eastern Championship. The weekend of festivities will be taking place November 19th-21st at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. The clinic will feature Brad Schumacher, a two-time Olympic Water Polo Athlete and Gold Medal Winner in Swimming, who is currently the Head Coach of Set Water Polo Club and co-owner of Kap 7 - featuring “equipment for water polo players made by water polo players.”
The weekend ties in several great aspects of the water polo community. The clinic is an opportunity for young athletes to learn from one of the country’s top Olympic Water Polo players who started his career on the East Coast. There will also be a High School Boys All-Star Game that will feature some of the top players on the East Coast and a chance for them to highlight their talents and skills. In addition, all the young athletes will have an opportunity to watch the top collegiate varsity men’ programs compete for the CWPA Eastern Championship Title and the right to represent the league at the NCAA Championship in December.
The cost of the coed clinic is $65/person and includes four tickets for the CWPA Eastern Championship, a CWPA Media Guide and Championship Program, a CWPA T-shirt and a photo with Brad Schumacher. Not to mention a whole lot of water polo!
“The clinic has always been a great experience for those athletes who have been involved,” stated Tom Tracey of American Water Polo. “Its not often you have an opportunity to learn from one of the great water polo players in US history and watch the top collegiate teams in the East compete for a chance to go to the NCAA Championship and all under the same roof.”
The CWPA Eastern Championship starts on Friday, November 19th and continues all weekend with the Championship Game at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 21st. The coed water polo clinic will take place on Saturday morning, November 20th for any athlete between the ages of ten and eighteen.
For more information, call Alex Bond at American Water Polo 610-277-6787 or email office@americanwaterpolo.org.
22
Oct
2010
The 2010 East Coast Middle School Water Polo League enters its last weekend of competition with the championship round at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pa. Teams started competing in September to determine the seeding for this final event. On Sunday, October 24th, a champion will be crowned in the boys’ and girls’ divisions.
The league started several years ago as the Pennsylvania Middle School League but changed its name after several non-Pennsylvania programs joined. To better represent the clubs involved, the league was renamed the East Coast Middle School League. The mission has always been to provide middle school-aged athletes an opportunity to play water polo in a fun and educational environment. All the officiating, and a majority of the coaching, is provided on a volunteer basis.
“Our purpose was to help promote age group development in the sport,” states Veronica Coyle, coordinator of the league. “A majority of the teams in the East play water polo as a fall activity on the high school level and it is important to the growth of the sport that teams offer similar fall competition at the developmental level.”
This year’s league involved 15 programs and close to 200 age group athletes currently in 5th to 8th grade. Teams competed in two games consisting of 12 minute halves on each of the five Sundays. Those programs travelling a longer distance were given the opportunity to play in at least three games on each date.
Coyle expressed how pleased she was with the attitude of all the coaches. “They did a fantastic job of adhering to the mission of the league and ensured every athlete, regardless of ability, had a great experience each weekend.”
Coyle, who completed her fourth year as the volunteer coordinator, has watched the league not only grow in size but improve on a competitive level as well.
“Although scores don’t really matter, games were a lot closer this season which makes the atmosphere much more exciting for the kids and the parents.”
The environment has been key in the development of the league. Much of the thanks go to the efforts of the host sites like North Penn, Governor Mifflin, Cumberland Valley, Pennridge and Pittsburgh, who have volunteers running their scorers table and concessions. In most cases, the volunteers are parents and several high school athletes who at one point also participated in the league.
“I’ve had the pleasure of watching a lot of the middle school athletes move on to their high school team and have an immediate impact,” stated Coyle. “It’s great knowing that our league played a role in their development.”
Games will be played between Noon and 5:30 p.m. this Sunday, October 24th at North Penn High School, 1340 Valley Forge Road, Lansdale, Pa.
For more information on the East Coast Middle School League, or other water polo activities throughout the year for age group athletes, contact Tom Tracey, American Water Polo, at 610-277-6787 or tracey@americanwaterpolo.org.
21
Oct
2010
This past weekend Villanova University hosted their annual Orphan Invite tournament. Since its commencement in 1998 this tournament has raised over $16,000 to go towards children with out a family. Founded by Dan Sharadin, Head Coach at Villanova and Director of American Water Polo, the invite helps raise awareness for the plight of orphans.
This event is run completely by volunteers and donations. Villanova University donated the use of the pool and volunteers agreed to officiate for free. This permits 100% of the proceeds to be directed towards the children.
Dan Sharadin has a strong passion for kids in this situation, having adopted 5 children of his own. "It is really great to be able to create a win-win situation. Athletes have fun playing water polo and at the same time they are helping kids that have a difficult time in life through no fault of their own. The Orphan Invite has been a wonderful way to assist children that don't have anything close to the advantages of the typical collegiate athlete, while still providing some great competition for teams throughout the region," said Dan Sharadin.
The tournament ran smoothly with plenty of stiff competition. There were a wide range of teams involved; such as high school, senior men, and men's collegiate club teams.
A 17 - 14 overtime win for Drexel University over the Patriots kicked off the tournament on Friday night, with an impressive showing from Marc Felgoise in cage for the Patriots.
Play continued to be tight moving into Saturday with a close game between Georgetown University and Penn State University, ending with Georgetown as the victor in a 6 - 5 finish. Penn State rallied from that loss with an intense 11 - 10 win over Villanova University to close out Saturdays play.
All in all, the 2010 Villanova Orphan Invite was a tremendous success with great competition and $2100 raised for charity.
03
Oct
2010
Bloodshot took on Greater Philly for the second straight year in the finals of the Eastern Water Polo League, winning the title again in an exciting finish.
It what was one of the best games of the season, Bloodshot jumped to an early lead, only to see Greater Philly tie the score at four. The teams traded goals throughout the second half until the final minute, when Bloodshot scored with 24 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession Greater Philly had their chances, shooting with only seconds remaining and having it hit the crossbar. The ball was scooped up and into the high corner with four seconds remaining to force overtime.
Overtime provided payback for Bloodshot as the final goal was scored when Grreater Philly was ejected, giving Bloodshot a man advantage. As time was about to expire, JJ Addison took a shot which was blocked by Max Kelly, only to rebound into the hands of Brandon Yoshimura who buried the goal to win the game.