NorCal Water Polo

USA Men Vs. Croatia + Hungary

2012-05-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

Awesome Games!

Cool Q&A With Tony Azavedo

2012-04-25T10:45:00.001-07:00

SwimOutlet.com video:

Check Out USA Water Polo National Team

2012-04-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars and get your tickets now for all the upcoming Men’s USA National Team events in May! The action begins with Team USA vs Canada & Brazil in the FINA World League Prelims, on May 10-13 at Foothill High School in Tustin, California. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased by clicking here.

The action then heads south, to the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) on May 19-20 for the 4th Annual Fisher Cup. National Team athletes return to their respective clubs including the likes of the New York Athletic Club, The Olympic Club, and Newport Water Polo Foundation. Tickets for this event will be available on-site.

Saving the best for last, Team USA will meet Hungary and Croatia or common training and an exhibition series in late May and early June. Team USA will host Croatia on May 26 at 6pm at Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, CA and then return the following day on May 27 to take on Hungary, in a rematch of the 2008 Olympic Games Gold Medal final, at 12pm. The May 27 match will also be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network. The action at Newport Harbor High School will conclude on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, when Hungary and Croatia meet at 5pm. Tickets for all USA matches at Newport Harbor High School cost $40 for adults and $30 for children and seniors. Pre-sale tickets are available at a reduced price, by clicking here.

The exhibition series closes out with a change of venues. Team USA will battle Hungary once more on May 31 at 7pm at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, CA. The United States then closes out competition with a match against Croatia on June 1 at 7pm at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, CA. Tickets for these matches are currently on-sale, to purchase tickets for the match at UCLA, click here, for the match at Rose Bowl, click here.

USA Water Polo Men's National Team Schedule

May 10-13 - FINA World League Prelims
@ Foothill High School - Tustin, CA
May 10 - USA vs. Brazil 6pm
May 11 - Canada vs. Brazil 10:30am
May 11 - Brazil vs. USA Junior National Team 4:30pm
May 11 - USA vs. Canada 6pm
May 12 - Canada vs. Brazil 10:30am
May 12 - USA vs. Brazil 6pm
May 13 - USA vs. Canada 11am

May 19-20 - Fisher Cup
@ UC-San Diego - San Diego, CA

May 26-June 1 - Hungary/Croatia Exhibition Series
May 26 - USA vs. Croatia 6pm @ Newport Harbor HS - Newport Beach, CA
May 27 - USA vs. Hungary 12pm @ Newport Harbor HS - Newport Beach, CA
May 28 - Croatia vs. Hungary 5pm @ Newport Harbor HS - Newport Beach, CA
May 31 - USA vs. Hungary 7pm @ UCLA - Los Angeles, CA
June 1 - USA. vs. Croatia 7pm @ Rose Bowl Aquatics Center - Pasadena, CA

Road to 2012 Olympic Water Polo Games for Wigo

2012-03-29T23:06:00.001-07:00

Check out this article on FoxSportsWest about Janson Wigo, the 24 year old left handed attacker and his strive to make the 2012 Olympic Water Polo team! Great read.

“Coach Schroeder and Coach Lynn say that we’re going to win games through defense, so we pride ourselves on our defense and shot-blocking skills,” Wigo said. “We practice that more than anything.”

Congrats to Ambassador Azavedo!

2012-03-13T10:43:00.001-07:00

Tony Azavedo has taken on a sponsorship with SwimOutlet.com to be their brand ambassador. Follow Swim Outlet.com's social media to get tips and advice from Azavedo throughout the year.

Swim Outlet.com Sent out this Press Release:

Azevedo is among the most-recognized players in the game, having been a water polo standout since high school and college years at Stanford. He was among the Top 4 goal-scorers at the 2000 Sydney Olympics & second at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The U.S. team claimed silver at the 2008 Beijing Games. In the summer of 2011, Azevedo won his fourth Pan Am Games Gold in Guadalajara, where he also had the honor to be the U.S. Flag Bearer at Closing Ceremonies. He has played professionally in top leagues in Europe & South America including stints with teams in Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and his birthplace Brazil.

“SwimOutlet.com is proud to help promote athletes and teams in all aquatics sports,” said SwimOutlet.com CMO Alexander Sienkiewicz. “Water polo is no different and we are excited to work with Tony, one of the most charismatic and dominant athletes in any sport in the world. Our site has a tremendous selection of water polo products and we are happy to highlight this fact through our relationship with him.”

To kick off the partnership Tuesday, Azevedo made a special “Gold Medal Delivery” on Valentine’s Day to a club in Thousand Oaks, California. After his surprise arrival at the club to a loud chorus of cheers, Azevedo then played water polo with the kids, answered questions about competing in the Olympics and handed out free swim gear including Zumo USA water polo suits to those in attendance.

“It’s exciting to partner up with a site and a brand like SwimOutlet.com,” said Azevedo. “Especially in an Olympic year to see a company like SwimOutlet supporting water polo and other Olympic athletes and sports like they do is fantastic. I look forward to working with SwimOutlet.com to help grow the sport of water polo.”

Azevedo will also become a SwimOutlet.com brand ambassador offering tips and advice on SwimOutlet.com and across its social media platforms throughout the year.

Roaming the sidelines with PJ

2012-03-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

Ramping up for the 2012 Games the athletes vying to make the USA Roster have agreed to spend the year training together in leu of playing professionally around the globe. In this article Peter Varellas talks about training for the 2012 Olympic Games and what the competition looks like for 2012: "Eight teams could win, which is a lot in a 12-team tournament." Peter's Goal is simple: "Short-term is nice and incredibly simple…win the gold medal. It would be the first gold on the men’s side...ever." Read the full article: Peter Varellas...and the Two-Minute Drill

Breaking the Mental Barrier

2012-02-15T01:51:00.000-08:00

Check out this post by Josh Bridges, 2nd place finisher of the 2011 CrossFit Games about building mental toughness.

"The mind is a powerful thing, it can help you get through tough times, or it can cause you to crumble like Greg Norman in the ‘96 Masters. The strong learn how to handle and control their mind when it starts to rant, rave and tell them to stop what they’re doing. The weak let it take over and OWN them.

Is it possible to develop strategies to break your mental barrier? Absolutely. I prevent this little boss in my head from taking over in a couple of ways..."

Serbia - Germany 9-4 (2011 FINA WCH: Quarterfinal, 26.07.2011)

2012-02-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

Foam Rolling: Thoracic Spine (Upper Back)

2012-02-06T00:39:00.000-08:00

In Water Polo we use our thoracic spine often to shoot and pass. Increasing range of motion in the thoracic spine will increase your efficiency (harder, faster shots) and decrease the likelihood of injury.

Check out this article by Invictus CrossFit which details how to increase mobility in your T-Spine. And remember "*Do NOT roll your cervical spine (neck) or your lumbar spine (lower back), these are areas that don’t require increased mobility."

The Merrill Moses Blog USA Water Polo

2012-02-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

Check out this blog to read Merrill Moses' story and the USA Men's Water Polo adventures leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

"Now we are close to 200 days away from the London Olympics and are in a familiar position: we are ranked 6th in the world and most people are counting us out of medal contention. We believe as a team that we can shock the world again and this time bring home a Gold Medal."

Serbia - Australia 12-9 (2011 FINA WCH: Group B, 22.07.2011)

2012-01-31T07:14:00.000-08:00

Water Polo By The Sea @ Bondi Icebergs

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Click for more photos from the Australian Water Polo Facebook Album:

European Water Polo Championships Streaming Live!

2012-01-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Tony Azevado for posting this link on Facebook to Watch the European Water Polo Championships live.

Game Dates:
16-01 Preliminary Round 1 Men
24-01 Quarter Finals Women
17-01 Preliminary Round 2 Men
18-01 Preliminary Round 1 Women
19-01 Preliminary Round 3 Men
20-01 Preliminary Round 2 Women
21-01 Preliminary Round 4 Men
22-01 Preliminary Round 3 Women
23-01 Preliminary Round 5 Men
25-01 Quarter Finals Men
26-01 Semi Finals Women
27-01 Semi Finals Men
28-01 Finals Women29-01 Finals Men

Check out the quotes from the coaches and athletes after the games: Click Here for European Water Polo Championship quotes

USA Men Win PAN Pacs, Women take 2nd

2012-01-17T06:58:00.000-08:00

Congrats to both the Men's and Women's USA Water Polo teams for their hard work at the Pan Pacs! USA Men's water polo team defeats Australia 11-10 in overtime while USA women fall to Australia 7-4.

(If anyone has any water polo video of the pan pac games please let me know!)

How hard are you willing to work?

2011-12-09T15:17:00.001-08:00

Hip Mobility for Water Polo Athletes

2011-11-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

This page will be the start of information related to hip mobility so that we can improve athletic performance and reduce injury. To avoid hip injury make sure you stretch and strengthen your shoulder properly. Include a dynamic warmup before getting in the pool and try to warm up your passing going from simple movements to more complex full body movements. Also make sure to do your SMR exercises daily so that you avoid problems, don't wait until you have problems to start these.

These two videos cover the couch stretch in a more advanced setting with bands to get more out of the stretch:

Croatia - USA, water polo WC 2009, bronze medal game

2011-11-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

They take a good portion of this video to look at the ladies in the stands, and I am pretty sure I heard "Sweet Chest" in spanish, but there is also some good water polo in this clip. Check out Azavedo's shot on the quick after the ejection at 1:20. Croatia has some good outside shoots in this game.

Guadalajara 2011 Video

2011-11-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Check out the finals of the USA Men and Women's victories over Canada with highlights from Guadalajara 2011 clips:
USA Men & Women's Water polo victory over Canada

Team USA Water Polo Video Library

2011-10-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Check out the Team USA Water Polo video Library to watch full water polo games, youth junior olympics, Olympic trials, Olympic athlete profiles, and exhibition games.

Check out the boys 18 and under final featuring regency vs. stanford:
Stanford vs. Regency

Hollow Rock for Dynamic Stability

2011-09-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Work on your hollow rock to "learn how to transfer body tension from top to bottom, and see if we can maintain the neutral position or neutral spine where everything is connected and linked—meaning we have some kind of traction through full range of motion, and thats what we kind of talk about dynamic stability—meaning that I can do anything at high speeds but feel like i have control of that movement, at any point of time at the movement that i'm never slacking, i'm never off tension, everything is connected. So any time you hear a coach tell you to stay connected and what the hell does that mean it just means stay tight, feel like you have control of the movement and that your hollow body or your center of position from your hips to your head is controlled and it extends out from your hips to your extremities." - Carl Paoli

In water polo we have a lot of transfer of energy from our hips to our extremities and we need to maintain the spine to make sure that our extremities stay in good load position so that we don't cause injuries. Work on your hollow rocks to build that midline stabilization, keep a strong core, stay healthy so you can play hard and minimize your risk of injury.

Calvin Coolidge Quotes

2011-09-15T19:58:00.001-07:00

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race" -Calvin coolidge

Carbs Are Bad?

2011-09-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is another video discussing nutrition and insulin response to carbohydrates. Nutrition is extremely important for the water polo athlete both in season and out of season. In season it becomes difficult to maintain muscle mass for a water polo athlete. And many high school players gain fat as soon as the season is over, probably because they keep caloric intake similar to their in season amount without the benefit of the 30+ hours of training a week.

In this video Dr. Oz makes a good point about sustainability when trying to eat a basically Paleo diet. Of course you could just try the Primal diet which is about 80% Paleo, the primal diet is pretty sustainable, and you will still be much healthier for doing so. The struggle for the water polo athlete is the same in season, making sure to get enough of the right kind of food to maintain muscle mass so that you can perform at the best of your ability.

Dr. Oz and Gary Taubes debate the effectiveness of exercise for weight loss Pt. 1

You are what you eat

2011-06-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Is fat the enemy? Take a look at this article from the Los Angeles Times to get some insight on carbs and sugar and what these macronutrients do for or to our body:

A reversal on carbs

Sports Mantras

2011-06-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sports Mantras can become powerful message for success in life. Here are a few listed below. Post your own favorite Sports Mantras to the comments.

No excuses, No regrets.

Just Do it.

No pain no gain.

Nothing to it but to do it.

It's go time.

No guts, No Glory.

Do or do not, there is no try.

Pain is weakness leaving the body.

Do the work.

Act of Valor

2011-06-11T17:51:00.001-07:00

Check out the article about the Navy Seal Movie: Act of Valor

Navy Seals look at Water Polo for competitive athletes to join the Seals!

"Assigned to retool the Navy's outreach, Smith suggested competitive athletes as a likely resource. SEAL recruiters began to appear at endurance races, triathlons, water polo and lacrosse tournaments. Smith also wanted to mount a more credible effort to publicly share the ethos."

I like the quote from Rorke, a Navy Seal who is also an actor in the film,

"We've seen our buddies in caskets draped with that flag. They didn't end up there because they were chasing a paycheck. You know your brothers on the teams have your back, and you've got theirs. You will give up everything for each other, and for this country, so we can move the ball down the field for a better world."

In the Game of life the Seals work as a team to move the ball down the field for a better world, awesome.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/06/MN301JPQVF.DTL&ao=2#ixzz1Op0G7L7n