Thanks to One Very Important Person...

Your coach!

So, today on the fine morning of Thanksgiving, I have decided to power through the rest of my homework. Yes, I know, I probably won't do that, but I thought I would try by starting off with a post! Thanksgiving Day isn't all about the drumsticks and the mashed potatoes (even though thats what my stomach thinks it's about). It's about giving thanks to everyone that has helped you achieve your goals. You don't have to thank EVERYONE per say, but you have to thank the ones that have been an important asset in your life recently. Here is a mini history lesson on The First Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving History!
Photo Courtesy of: Wikipedia

Since this blog is about water polo, I have decided to talk about thanking your coaches. Coaches take time out of their day to help other people achieve things. That is the most unselfish thing ever! Some people may take their coaches for granted, which is totally unacceptable. Now for the ideas part.

If I think of Thanksgiving presents, I think of pie. Well, when am I not thinking about pie? So, bake your coach a pie and drop it off at their doorstep, and he may make practice a bit shorter on Monday. Here is a great recipe for pumpkin pie from my friend Amy's Blog. If you are not the baker type, pick up a card from the store, and send it to your coach.

Our Thanksgiving Dinner!
Photo Courtesy of: Me

On Thanksgiving day, it is important to help out with everything possible. A lot of stress may be going on your parents, so they would probably love for you to help out. Let's get a little extra love from our parents this fined day by grabbing some marshmallows from the pantry and sprinkling them over the sweet potatoes. (Okay I am seriously joking about the marshmallows for my family because we don't like the whole sweet junk and sweet real food mixing) - Come to think of it, I forgot to tell y'all that I am an American Citizen as of last weekend! I am now a dual with Canada as well.



Well I hope you enjoyed these fun ideas! Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Wait... What?

So everybody knows that I have a huge problem with procrastinating and I really want to just get all my homework out of the way before the weekend. So then I was thinking "let's get this party started" and then it struck me. All of you non-water polo players have no idea what I'm talking about half the time! I mean I have never really explained the whole game rules and stuff. So that's why I have called this post, "Wait... What?" just to enhance what everyone is probably thinking when reading this blog.

Photo Courtesy of: Tails Doll

So I am basically just going to go through the game start to finish... At first, everyone lines up on their opposite walls, and the swimmer is the one closest to the lengthwise wall (I'm one of the swimmers on the team). When the ref blows the whistle he drops the ball right in between the two swimmers, everyone on either team swims towards the middle of the pool. The swimmer goes the fastest to try to get to the ball first, so they can have the advantage.  In higher level games, the ball will be placed in the very middle of the pool, on a magnetic ring.

Next it goes on like any other game, and the offense lines up in a D-shape. Look back at my previous post for a view on how the offense lines up. Your team has thirty seconds to get the ball into the net. A variety of passing and plays happen during this thirty seconds.

If the ball is shot into the net, the ref blows the whistle, and everyone lines up again; this time in the middle of the pool. The ball is given to the opposing team. If the ball misses, and the goalie gets it, then the previous defense switches to offense and attacks the opposite goal. If the thirty seconds has gone up, then the ball is turned over (this is usually a good time to swim as fast as you can).

Photo Courtesy of: Download CNet

Above is a picture of a water polo score board. There are four quarters with breaks in between each quarter and an even bigger break during half time. They are all 6, 7, or 8 minutes long, depending on the age of teams playing. The top number shows the time. The period (actually the quarter) shows what number out of four. The two numbers on the side of the period number are the goals scored for each team. underneath the goals scored are the T.O.L 's which are the ejections for each team. Finally, in between the ejections, is the shot time which counts down from 30. Here is a video (courtesy of YouTube) of the beginners guide to water polo (the video doesn't work on this site, but it will give you an option to watch on YouTube)

I hope you enjoyed learning what water polo is, and your time on this blog isn't just a whole lot of "wait... what?"'s. Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

My Thoughts On ODP

Two weekends ago, the ODP camp took place. Overall, it was pretty fun. I met a lot of new people, and practiced my skills. Haha skills is a really funny word. Anyway, I feel like I was in the top area of the girls which is pretty good I guess. My sister also tried out, and she did well as well!

The only problem with the camp was that we didn't even get to show our skills (no comment). The reason for this was because we didn't have enough time. We spent way too long on learning how to play center defense which guards the set. Here is a good picture to show the basic diagram of water polo positions: (for more help go to www.waterpolobasics.net)

Photo Courtesy of : Rain City Polo

Only one person is the center defense on a whole team! Also, we didn't really scrimmage at all, so swimmers like my sister and I couldn't show our skills talent in beating people across the pool. there is going to be another camp in January, so hopefully we actually PLAY WATER POLO. 

I couldn't quite tell if the girls from New Mexico were being rude or just shy. At first, they seemed pretty nice because they wanted to be partners on this drill that we did, but then it was different. They seemed really annoyed whenever I missed a shot, but that was probably just my imagination. I really hope that we become good friends, since we will be spending a lot of time together if we make the team. This is how I feel about my feelings towards the girls feelings on me. Confused yet?

Photo Courtesy of: Illustration Source

One thing that I didn't know about before was the fact that there is a select team! They take three people from each team to go to this National Camp. If you get to go to the camp, you are trying out with people from all over the United States to get on a team for your age group. That team then goes all over the world! Last year they went to Hungary, and I am pretty hungry to go to Hungary, if you know what I'm saying. Just joking, I probably won't even make it to the camp, but it would be a great opportunity if I did. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts because I enjoyed sharing my feelings with you. Anyway, stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

ODP But Not Really

With the Water Polo Fall Ball season coming to an end, the tryouts for ODP commence! ODP is the Olympic Development Program and has different zones. The zone that I will be trying out for is the Mountain Zone Team. This team includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. There are two tryout camps that are both two days long. The first one is in Salt Lake at the Kearns pool. The second camp is in Albuquerque, where we will be traveling to shortly before winter break ends. There are a few players on our team that are hoping to make it.

The reason why I have called this blog post "ODP but Not Really" is because we are trying out for ODP, but they make it sound like we are getting ready for the Olympics. In reality, it is just a step up from the club sport. Now, don't get me wrong. I am REALLY excited for this opportunity because you get to travel places, and you might even get to go to Nationals! The team that I would be trying out for is the U15's. There are about eleven people to a team, so I am hoping that I am one of these lucky few.

It's really important to get out of your state sometimes to see how sports work in other states. In Utah, water polo isn't very good because they don't play the way that should be played. In California, they teach Olympic-style water polo which would obviously be the best choice. There are a few techniques that are taught in Utah that should definitely be shut down if a player ever wants to get past the club level.

Team Suit

Team Jacket

Overall, I am very excited to start ODP camps, for I think that it will be a great experience. If I make the team, it will be even better! Below are some pics of the cool gear you get if you make ODP. Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!


All photos courtesy of : USA Water Polo

Team Bag

Team Shirt

Team Pants