The Spring/Summer season will be ending at the start of August with National Junior Olympics. High School age athletes are STRONGLY encouraged to play on their high school teams this coming fall. The 2010-11 Winter Program will start in December and tryouts for the 2011 Competitive Program will take place in February, 2011. More information on the Winter and 2011 seasons will be posted in mid-Fall. 2010 Spring/Summer Competitive 16U/18U Program
NEW USWP AGE GROUP GUIDELINES16 & Under means you are 16 or 15 on July 31 (boys) or August 5 (girls)
18 & Under means you are 18`or 17 on July 31 (boys) or August 5 (girls)Basically, they moved the cut off to the first day of Junior Olympics.The Competitive 16U/18U Program is designed for boys and girls who have played at least one season of water polo and want to play at a more competitive level. Practices will be led by our most experienced coaches. Athletes are expected to commit to make all practices and games. We will field 16U and 18U boys and girls teams. We will field multiple teams in each age group in which there is sufficient interest by qualified athletes. In 2009, we fielded at least two teams in both 18U and 16U boys and girls groups. North/South B Teams: This year, we hope to be able to select multiple B teams in some age groups to be able to support more regional practices for this level of athlete. The A teams in each age group will practice at one site, though which pool we use is always subject to availability. However, we plan on selecting two B teams in at least the 16U age group, a North and a South team. While both North and South teams would practice together for most of the spring and at least once a week through the summer, we will also be able to conduct North and South practices in pools closer to where the athletes live. North practices will likely be at Antelope HS and South practices at Rio Americano. Who can/should tryout? Anyone that very good swimming ability can tryout. At least one season of HS and preferably club experience is helpful, but not absolutely necessary to try out. If you are selected onto the team, you will need to make a commitment to attend ALL practices and scheduled events (barring emergencies and approved absences). If you want a memorable experience with other hard working and accomplished young men and women, you should try out to play in this competitive program.
Tryouts will be held on the following dates and times:
BOYS: Saturday, February 20 at Rio Americano: 16U 2:00-3:30pm; 18U 3:30-5:00pm Make up Boys (16U and 18U) Tue, February 23 from 7:30-9:00pm at Rio Americano GIRLS: Sunday, February 21 at Rio Americano: 16U 2:00-3:30pm; 18U 3:30-5:00pm Make up Girls (16U and 18U) Thu, February 25 from 7:30-9:00pm at Rio Americano Participants will be selected to this program based on the tryouts as well as past club experience. PLEASE REGISTER ONLINE PRIOR TO THE TRYOUTS. There is NO FEE to try out. Practices will be held as follows:
Athletes will be assigned to a Junior or Senior practice group following the completion of the make up tryout date by February 26. The Junior practice group will include most 16U players while the Senior practice group will include most 18U players, but the exact breakdown of athletes in each practice group will depend on the number and age of the athletes that try out. Boys Practice Schedule March 2-May 13 Senior Group: Tuesdays from 6:45-9:00pm at Rio Americano Junior Group: Thursdays from 6:45-9:00pm at American River College May 17-June 10 Senior Group: M/W at Rio Americano HS - time TBD Junior Group: M/W or T/TH - time TBD - All together one night and one night at Antelope HS (North subgroup) and Rio Americano HS (South subgroup) June 14-July 30 Senior and Junior Group: three practices a week - time and location TBD Girls Practice Schedule March 2-May 13 Senior Group: Thursdays from 6:45-9:00pm at Rio Americano Junior Group: Tuesdays from 6:45-9:00pm at American River College May 17-June 10 Senior Group: T/TH at Rio Americano HS - time TBD Junior Group: M/W or T/TH - time TBD - All together one night and one night at Antelope HS (North subgroup) and Rio Americano HS (South subgroup) June 14-August 2 Senior and Junior Group: three practices a week - time and location TBD Conditioning is a critical part of fielding truly “competitive” water polo teams. Competitive 16U/18U Program participants are all required to maintain their swim conditioning throughout the entire season. All participants MUST compete on their high school swim teams and/or be members of a USS swim team. Game and Tournament ScheduleCalifornia Cup - Northern California Division: This is a new league that will be played through the spring. The top teams at the end of this league will compete against the top teams from the Southern California Division, with the top 8 from that State Championship Cup to advance directly to the US Club Championships in July. The 2010 CA Cup Dates will be: 16U/18U Girls: Sunday, March 21; Sunday, April 11; and Sunday, May 2 16U Boys: Saturday, March 20; Saturday, April 10; and Sunday, May 2 18U Boys: Sunday, March 21; Sunday, April 11; Sunday, May 2 Other Scheduled Games/Tournaments (other dates will be added as scheduled): State CA Cup Championships (if qualify) - 16U/18U Boys/Girls - May 28-30 - Nor Cal site TBD Zone Junior Olympics Quals - 16U/18U Boys - June 19-20 - site TBD Zone Junior Olympics Quals - 16U/18U Girls - June 26-27 - site TBD US Club Championships - All - July 9-11 - sites TBD National Junior Olympics - 16U/18U Boys - July 31-August 3 - Los Angeles National Junior Olympics - 16U/18U Girls - August 5-8 - Los Angeles To register, click here. Program fee is $575. Please REGISTER for the program PRIOR to the tryouts. You will not be charged until after being selected and starting practices (approximately March 10). If you have concerns about the fee and payment, please contact us to see how we can help. Participants must also be Gold members of USA Water Polo. The program fee is reflective of the actual costs of running the program (pool rental, coaches’ stipends, equipment, entry fees, administrative costs, etc) and is especially in line with the actual numbers (expenses, income and net loss) from 2009. The program fee comes out to about $8/hr for practice time only, significantly lower when games/tournament time is factored in. When compared to other comparable water polo programs, such as the Olympic Development Program ($800 for 40-60 hrs) or a typical college water polo day camp ($500+ for 30-40 hrs), the American River WPC Competitive Program is more than competitively priced considering the nationally recognized caliber of our coaching staff. Furthermore, when compared to other youth competitive sports, such as soccer, volleyball or softball, the ARWPC fee is as much as 1/5 of comparable programs.
|
Competitive 16U/18U