By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor
As the academic year draws to a close, thoughts of summer—and new educational opportunities—occupy the minds of many high school students. It’s no different for prospective water polo athletes; with USA Water Polo’s Junior Olympics national tournament looming next month, now is perhaps an ideal time for forward-thinking polo players to plan their college futures.
Over the next few weeks, three different—though related—programs are available to help prospective varsity athletes gauge their value in a highly competitive recruiting market. From June 23 – 24 the Chicago Water Polo Showcase, run by John Abdou of USA Water Polo, will take place in the in the Chicago metropolitan area; on July 2 – 3, Jack Kocur of Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Villages, California, will offer a Collegiate Showcase; and from July 10-12 in Pittsburgh, Nikola Malezanov will oversee the 2018 Water Polo Combine.
All three are prospect camps and will include coaches from Division I programs evaluating high school sophomore, junior and senior water polo athletes for possible inclusion on their college rosters.
With 50 men’s and 60 women’s NCAA varsity programs in America—a relatively small number when compared to mainstream intercollegiate athletics—eligible athletes need to be savvy about their options. Only half that number of colleges are Division I (approximately 26 men’s and 35 women’s), meaning that scholarship money is extremely limited: 4.5 scholarships on average for men’s programs and a relatively luxurious 8 for women’s.
Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne
Putting together the right stuff
Attracting notice from college coaches is an art in itself, and for a sport like water polo, finessing prospective scholarship offers requires the right approach to be successful. Of course, prospects have to begin with a base of experience and ability; determining which level of intercollegiate competition is best—DI, II or III—is the first challenge.
At a clinic last month with coaches Dave Andriole and Devin Hurst in Stamford, Connecticut, Kocur—head coach for theOaks Christian boy’s and girl’s teams who previously was head men’s coach at Pepperdine as well as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team—spoke about the conceptions and misconceptions of how to get the attention of college coaches.
Foremost is that athletes have to sell themselves. Kocur, whose boys’ team won top honors in the 2016 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section, emphasized that college coaches generally don’t know the majority of eligible athletes. So it’s imperative that polo players take the initiative. This means making contact; even though NCAA rules prevent coaches from contacting athletes during certain periods, there are no restrictions about prospective athletes contacting coaches by phone or letter.
“The coaches don’t want to hear from your parents; they want to hear from you,” Kocur said to 50 clinic participants at the Chelsea Piers Sports Complex. Starting as early as eighth grade a prospect can build a relationship with a coach, though it’s not until junior year that coaches are allowed to respond by email or phone. Athletes are allowed to make unofficial visits until their senior year of high school when they can make an official visit to the colleges of their choice.
In describing a plan for making contact, Kocur explained in a follow up email that the NCAA has recently changed its rules about interactions between coaches and prospects—which is why he values the information available at combines.
“Now that the new NCAA Official Visit Rule applies to juniors in high school, it’s crucial for water polo athletes to be seen by college coaches at an earlier grade level and as frequently as possible,” he wrote.
“These college combines focus on informing athletes and their families about the NCAA recruiting process. They provide an opportunity for athletes to showcase their talents. The combine experience creates an environment which motivates and inspires athletes of their future possibilities.”
Crucial to any recruitment discussion is grades; many of the county’s top academic institutions feature water polo. Therefore, prospects must be aware that—unlike other NCAA scholarship sports—if they don’t make grades they won’t be in consideration for scholarship money no matter how impressive their polo accomplishments.
Photo Courtesy: Gerry Lindner
Chicago Water Polo Showcase
The Chicago Water Polo Showcase will be held at Hoffman Estates. Illinois. Abdou, USA Water Polo’s Chief High Performance Director will be joined by Gavin Arroyo, head coach at Long Beach State, assistant coach with the U.S. Senior National Team, and Olympian (1996, 2000), John McBride, Bucknell University head men’s and women’s coach, and Pat Beemer, University of La Verne head men’s and women’s coach.
This showcase is for prospective athletes entering 10th grade. It consists of college-level instruction as well as position-specific training for goalies, centers, defenders, and attackers.
The cost is $225; please contact Timothy Daniel; Nepolo7@hotmail.com / 847-208-3428
Oaks Christian Showcase
According to promotional materials, the OC Showcase is geared towards sophomores (class of 2021), juniors (’20), and seniors (’19). With as many as 20 college coaches planning to attend, Kocur, Richard Corso—a three-time Olympic coach, including a stint as head coach of the U.S. Senior Men’s Team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics—and Alex La, associate head coach for men’s and women’s water polo at Pomona-Pitzer, will oversee an information and demonstration session.
The OC Showcase bills itself as the first of its kind to give underclassman a chance for recognition by college programs well before their senior year. A key take-away is a recruitment packet that consists of a profile sheet, high school transcripts, ACT/SAT scores, and what is described as a “water polo IQ test.”
There will also be 4 and a half hours of drills, combined scrimmages and an “Azevedo Combine Test” designed by the five-time Olympian. Tony Azevedo himself will be at the showcase on July 3, which is the date for boys; July 2 is for prospective girls, when three-time Olympian Kami Craig (2008, 2012, 2016) will be in attendance.
The cost for the day is $295; for more information please visit oakschristian.campbrainregistration.com or contact Jack Kocur at jack.pridewp
Photo Courtesy: USA Water Polo/KLC Fotos
2018 Water Polo Combine
The 2018 Water Polo Combine at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool—for boys and girls graduating in 2019, 2020 or 2021—is a multi-faceted event that may host as many as 30 representatives from varsity college programs in the U.S. and Canada. There is the combine itself, which will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 11.
As stated a link on Water Polo Planet: “One of the biggest challenges for high school water polo athletes and parents is gaining exposure to and making connections with collegiate coaches and programs. This is particularly true for male and female high school water polo athletes outside of the State of California.
“At the Combine, athletes will get the opportunity they need; to showcase their abilities in front of coaches by whom they are rarely ever seen. This is an opportunity to shine, to make contacts and most importantly to possibly open doors to the next level of education and athletic participation.”
For athletes who want the benefit of both practice and performance, there is the Combine PLUS+ package: attendance from July 10 through July 12 which includes skill measurements, drills, and participation in a one-day tournament with teams made up of Combine PLUS+ attendees as well as feedback from tournament games.
The cost for Combine is $195; the Combine PLUS+ costs an additional $150. For more information please contact Jim Staresinic at 724-544-7680.
+1
Good morning:
Not sure what “+1” means – though I do think of this piece on high school water polo combines as complimentary to the piece I posted last week on Emerson Sullivan (www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/the-pursuit-of-emerson-sullivan-top-water-polo-prospect). As I understand it, getting to play water polo at a varsity level is no small feat – even for the best prospects – so why not get a little bit of help?!
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