1.
When can I join SOCAL Water
Polo?
2.
What are the seasons?
3.
Do I have to tryout or
pass a swim test?
4.
How do I join SOCAL Water Polo?
5.
How much does SOCAL Water
Polo cost?
6.
What if
our family can’t afford to be members of SOCAL?
7. Do you teach kids to swim?
8. Why would I ever want my child to play water polo?
9. How old do you have to be to play water polo?
10. What equipment do we have to purchase or wear?
11. Does SOCAL accept players from out of the District?
12. I
am in High School or college, can I play for SOCAL?
13.
How do I find information about the high school aquatic programs at Beckman,
Foothill and Tustin?
14.
How come you don’t go year round with the youth athletes?
15.
When are you told what team you will play on?
16.
My player is not the best
athlete, but he/she loves water polo?
17.
Are you just an Elite program?
18. What are the age groups in water polo?
19.
What are the
attendance requirements for SOCAL Water Polo?
20. When should we schedule vacations?
21. My child wants to be a
goalie, what should I do?
22. What are the basic skills of water polo?
23. How do I learn the rules of water polo?
24. I
have a lot more questions, who do I ask?
When can I join SOCAL Water Polo?
You may join SOCAL at any time. Just find the pool where we are practicing
and introduce yourself to our friendly staff. Our water polo seasons are
split into three different times of year. The fall session commences around
Labor Day at the end of August or September and continues until the first
weekend of November. The winter clinics begin the Saturday before the
Superbowl in late January and ends before spring break. The spring/summer
session commences just after Spring Break and ends the first week of
August. We also have a year round swim conditioning program at Foothill
intended to make anyone swim much faster in a short period of time.
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What are the seasons?
You do not have to wait for a new season to start to join SOCAL. You may
join any time. Just check the Calendar section of our web site for practice
times, show up at the practice and say hello to the coach. Many of our
coaches biographies and contact information are in our website. Feel free
to contact them directly.
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Do I have to tryout or
pass a swim test?
Our tryouts are based on a young person swimming proficiently 100 yards of a
pool, or four laps of the pool at
Foothill
High School, or four
widths of the pool at Beckman or Tustin High Schools. We gauge your ability
by this “test”. As reference point, Junior Lifeguards requires its youngest
members to swim 100 yards in one minute and 50 seconds. The best water polo
players nearing high school swim 100 yards in about one minute.
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How do I join SOCAL Water Polo?
Please click on the “Join” tab in SOCAL Water Polo’s Home Page to register
and get going. All water polo players must be registered first with USA
Water Polo to protect us for liability reasons. Click on the USA Water Polo
web site in SOCAL’s home page and register.
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How much does SOCAL Water Polo
cost?
Fees are subject to change. Youth (14 years old and younger) programs cost
$400 for the spring/summer (April thru July), $300 for the fall session, and
$200 for the winter clinics. Currently, swim conditioning is $45 per
month. The total investment in water polo per year is about $1,000. There
are sometimes trips to away tournaments that cost more and are optional for
the players. Annual USA Water Polo dues are $65.
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What if our
family can’t afford to be members of SOCAL?
SOCAL has always been a fortunate and supportive community. If you have
trouble with the dues and fees, please approach Ed Reynolds. He will handle
your special payment request discretely. Scholarships are approved by
the Board of Directors of SOCAL. There are many creative ways to work
payments. We have a group of anonymous and supportive donors who make sure
that no players are denied participation for lack of ability to pay. Many
of our athletes participate by assisting with coaching, working the pool, or
jumping in the water and showing new athletes fundamentals of the game.
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Do you teach kids to swim?
No, we teach them to
play water polo. Beginning swimmers can go to
Blue
Buoy Swim School
located in Tustin to learn how to swim or join Tustin Unified School
District’s summer programs. Swimmers who are more advanced than beginners
may join our conditioning program for an excellent base or a number of local
swim teams such as NOVA Aquatics. See your coach to learn about which
option is best for you.
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Why would I ever want my child to play water polo?
Water polo is a
small sport and the ratio of youth playing water polo to number of athletes
playing in high school is VERY LARGE which means there aren’t 300 8th
graders vying for varsity training spots in high school their freshmen
year like in other land sports. Water polo is an Olympic sport. Many
colleges offer water polo. Some of SOCAL’s athletes have participated on the
National and Olympic teams. Many of SOCAL’s athletes play water polo in high
school. Almost all of SOCAL’s athletes have splendid high school water polo
careers. Water polo is a great background for participating as a lifeguard
at pools or the beach during summers. Water polo athletes
are the best physical specimens in sports. No one is better conditioned
than water polo players. Games last 45
minutes. When the game is over, your athlete is clean, exhausted, and
hungry. That’s much different than America’s other past times, where game
times are longer, very sweaty, and sometimes not always active.
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How old do you have to be to play water polo?
Being comfortable in
the water is the main criteria to playing water polo. We have players as
young as six playing with us. Please approach your coach and determine how
to ease into our sport. Remember, we have a swim conditioning program that
give young players a great foundation of fast swimming while they are doing
other sports or getting ready for water polo.
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What equipment do we have to purchase or wear?
A swim suit. SOCAL
prefers black Speedo’s. SOCAL’s colors are black and gold. Girls will find
it much easier to play water polo if they keep their hair in a bathing cap.
Rules dictate black caps or white caps depending what color caps the teams
is wearing for their game. Other merchandise like sweats, t-shirts, etc.
are available through our supplier Competitive Aquatics Supply (CAS). Click
on the CAS tab at SOCAL’s homepage.
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Does SOCAL accept players from out of the District?
SOCAL is an open
club located in the Tustin Unified School District. SOCAL will not deny
club membership to anyone on the basis of location. However, because we use
the facilities of Tustin Unified School District, we have a responsibility
to serve the TUSD community and be accountable to the TUSD community. Out
of season, our local school athletes affiliate with SOCAL for their year
round training needs. The long term success of SOCAL is attributable to our
local athletes and the athletes who commute to participate with us. We
believe that providing our athletes the best training opportunities means
having them practice with the best athletes. We strive to balance
development and the desire to win.
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I
am in High School or college, can I play for SOCAL?
High school or
college players are accepted on a case by case basis as determined by the
coach of that program. You MUST contact the coaches of these groups
DIRECTLY to determine if you can participate. Please be aware that the high
school and university coaches who are part of the SOCAL staff are subject to
local high school rules (CIF) or NCAA rules, they may be restricted from how
they can interact with you based on those rules or the time of the year.
Please use our web site to find the contact information for the coaches you
want to find.
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How do I find information about the high school aquatic programs at Beckman,
Foothill and Tustin?
Contact the Athletic
Director or talk to them. Talk to other parents. Remember that high school
coaches are severely restricted in talking to prospective athletes and
respect that. Transfers into Tustin schools and between schools in Tustin
are allowed on a limited basis and within very strict advance timelines. If
you are interested in such a transfer, contact Tustin Unified School
District or look on their web site.
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How come you don’t go year round with the youth athletes?
SOCAL is the longest
running continuously managed youth water polo program in the United States
and the most successful youth program. There is a tendency for athletes to
specialize in sports at younger and younger ages. SOCAL provides the best
coaching in the United States in the period of time we coach. Outside of
our seasons, we want and encourage athletes to swim and try other sports
until they have decided they really desire to play water polo. Then, we
think they need periods of rest during the year because when we are in
season, we are intense.
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When are you told what team you will play on?? My player is not the best
athlete, but he/she loves water polo? Are you just an Elite program?
Parents in youth
sports tend to forget that athletes continue to mature into high school and
beyond. SOCAL is the launching pad for the sport of water polo or a place
where older athletes can find great training and team opportunities. SOCAL
tries its best to provide opportunities for all of its players. We carry
numerous teams. If you ever feel you are on the short end of the stick,
please address your coach privately. If your concerns are not answered,
please contact a Board member.
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What are the age groups in water polo?
Quite simply, your
age in water polo is determined by the year you were born. Subract the
current year from your birth year and you know your water polo age. For
example, in 2006, someone born in December 1993 is considered to be water
polo age 13. It does not matter what month you were born, only what year.
In the United States, age groups are currently divided into 18&under,
16&under, 14&under, 12&under, and 10&under. So every player spends two
years in one age group. So if your child is water polo 11, for example, she
will be playing with 11 and 12 year olds for two years.
On the USA National
Teams, age groups are determined by born in years, such as born in 1991,
1993, 1995…. so a player is always associated with his “born in” year. Even
year birthdays are always behind. Someone born in January of an odd year
may have a physical advantage. That’s the way age groups are determined
for international play so the USA adopted that for its national teams?
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What are the Attendance requirements for SOCAL Water Polo?
Youth water polo is
most intense in September and October. If there is any time of year to
clear other activities for youth water polo, it is during the fall season.
For the travel teams, those going for championships, attendance requirements
are strict and subject to the individual coaches’ rules. Summer time is
less “intense” but offers the most hours of practice time and games. We
recommend that every player, NOT THE PARENTS, call the coaching staff
directly to arrange their schedules. This begins to develop maturity in the
younger athletes. All of our coaches are so crazy that we are generally
available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
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When should we schedule vacations?
If you are part of a
team that competes in the National Junior Olympics at the end of July, never
schedule a vacation in July. The best times for vacations are August
and from mid-November thru April. If you are on a team that is competing
for a title, advise your coach way in advance of obligations and commitments.
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My child wants to be a
goalie, what should I do?
Talk to the coach.
The history of goalies at SOCAL is unparalleled anywhere in the world.
Goalies are very athletic, have a special mentality, and train differently
than field players. At SOCAL, we require every player who wants to be a
goalie to have the “Goalie Talk” with your coach.
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What are the basic skills of water polo?
Comfort in the water
is the most fundamental water polo skill. Swimming is part of that. Being
able to stay high above the water using a leg skill called the “eggbeater”
is vital to success. We teach the eggbeater. Learning to handle the ball
is another skill that is important. Water polo is like soccer and
basketball played in the water. The object is to put the ball in the goal
on offense and prevent the ball from going in the goal on defense. SOCAL
believes that understanding defense before offense is vital to a player’s
ultimate success.
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How do I learn the rules of water polo?
Unlike other sports,
water polo action does not stop when the whistle blows. Action begins when
the whistle blows. The object of the game is to throw the ball in the
goal. Goalies can touch the ball with two hands. All other players can
only touch the ball with one hand. Fouls create free throws for the person
fouled. In some instances, when the person fouled is grossly impeded, the
defender has to leave the game for 20 seconds and the offense has a “power
play opportunity.” In the worst fouls, a penalty throw is awarded. Sit
back, relax, enjoy and learn. The player’s learn the rules faster than the
parents!!!!!
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I
have a lot more questions, who do I ask?
Ed Reynolds can
answer your questions.
Give him a jingle at
714-920-9310.
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