Akron and OU rosters as of 3/31

Here is the list of those signed up for Akron (this weekend) and OU (next weekend). Please contact me if you want to be on either.

Akron will not require lodging, but carpools can be arranged. OU will require lodging, and I would like to ensure everyone has a place prior to hitting the road, so please let me know if you are interested in sharing a room.

Akron, April 5-6 - game schedule:
Spots are available, email me now.

(updated 4/3)

1. Bob B.
2. Tom F.
3. Steve T.
4. Kevin Z.
5. Dave Du.
6. Wade
7. Johnny
8. Eric F.
9. Eric S.
10. Brian B.
11. Ari
12. Carl W. (main team is Cleveland)
13. Steve H. (backup only - main team is Akron)
14. Greg M.?
15. Dylan
16. Audry

Ohio University, April 12-13
Spots are available, email me now.

1. Steve H.
2. Wade
3. Matt Y.
4. Brad S.?
5. Kevin
6. Steve T.
7. Carl

CMU Recap

Cleveland Water Polo Club ripped it up in Pittsburgh this past weekend going 3-1.

Scores recap:
vs. Millersville, W 15-3
vs. Grove City, W 13-10
vs. North Allegheny (Pittsburgh club), L 8-9
vs. Carnegie Mellon, W 18-8

Our only loss was a very well-fought battle against an experienced Pittsburgh club team. (rivalry in the making?)

If you missed it...the team benefitted from a deep bench, some much needed speed to win swim-offs (Ari, Dave), Carl (aka the bus) spinning people around at 2m, Hany and Matt shutting down 2m on defense, Brad's sneaky tricks, Sully and Steve H. sharing cage duties, Kevin (that's me) scoring some nifty goals while saving enough breath for halftime talks that would make Bobby Knight proud (NSFW, rated R), and plenty of fun.

Akron and OU signups are coming. Practice Tuesday and Thursday this week at CSU, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

no HB Sunday

No practice at HB on Sunday because the team is traveling. We will look to make it up during the week.

Help grow Cleveland Water Polo

Following our practice tonight where a whopping 24 guys showed up, I have sped up my effort to bring more leaders into the management of the club.

Plain and simple, we are growing and it is awesome. The club needs help from committed players to make sure we keep growing and that the quality of the club keeps improving.

There are a bunch of positions available, with descriptions detailed here. Of couse I appointed myself President, but there are some real opportunities to contibute.

Here is a list of the postions available:
- President (Kevin Ziegler, self-appointed)
- Vice President
- Treasurer
- Social Chair
- Coaching Committee Chair
- Coaching Committee Member
- Cleveland State Liaison
- Hathaway Brown Liaison
- Akron Liaison
- Fundraising committee member
- Marketing, promotions and recruitment committee member

If you are interested, please talk to me ASAP. We even need help coordinating the club's participation in Akron and OU tournaments.

practice tonight, travel to CMU

Practice tonight at 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Please join us even if you aren't traveling, we always like to have plenty of people (we had 15 on Tuesday). Be on time so we can get a lot done.

For this weekend, I apologize for the less-than-organized travel arrangements, but please let me know if you are lacking a ride or a place to stay. I think we have rides, but we may need a room or two.

Videos, photos

Here is a good video showing some water polo basics on YouTube.

This one gives a very nice breakdown of offensive sets using a chalkboard-like animation

Another chalk talk about 6-5 set ups.

Post some cool videos if you find them.

Also, if anyone ever wants to tape practice or tournament games, or just take photos, please do, we can post them here and prove water polo is alive in Cleveland.

Tues/Thurs, no Weds

Practice this week is Tuesday and Thursday. Both are from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at CSU.

We will not have a Wednesday practice as mentioned as a potential option via email.

The following week we will stick to Tuesday and Thursday again.

CMU travel, OU signup

Players who are signed up for CMU (see below) please email me to let me know the following by Monday night:

1) Driving separately or wanting to carpool with teammates?
2) Arranging your own lodging or would like to share a hotel room with teammates?
3) Commuting Saturday and Sunday or staying overnight Saturday?

Carnegie Mellon signup, no Sunday at HB

This post has been updated to reflect roster updates for CMU and to cancel Sunday at HB in observance of Easter.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

The Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh) tournment is fast approaching on March 29 and 30. Car pools and travel arrangements will be made fast, but first we must finalize our roster.

Players confirmed for the tournament: (updated 3/20)
1) Wade
2) Steve H.
3) Gabe
4) Steve T.
5) Carl
6) Kevin
7) Hany
8) Matt Y.
9) Brad
10) Brian B.
11) Larry K.
12) Andrew S.
13) Greg M.
14) Ari
15) Dave D. (CSU swimmer, not Dietz)
16) Eric S.

Sunday at HB on 3/23 is cancelled in observance of Easter.

Sunday practice, Tuesdays added

Practice today is at HB from 4 to 6 p.m.

We will be having Tuesday and Thursday practices at CSU from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. This week.

About CMU and Athens - I am going to post updated rosters, but I have not received confirmations from a number of people. Look for reminders coming this week.

Practice tonight - parking tips

Practice tonight at CSU, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A heads up there is a large student science fair in the gymnasium lasting until 7:30 p.m., so give yourself a few extra minutes to find parking, whether it is a metered space along Chester and adjacent streets or in the REC lot below the rec center, or the above-ground rec center garage.

Add Tuesdays?

I posed the possibility of adding Tuesday practices at CSU from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. I got encouraging responses from those in attendance on Thursday.

Please post a comment here (no login needed) or email me to confirm interest. I would like to ensure we bring value to everyone's time. There would be no additional cost in dues for CSU practices.

While we are here...get ready for Thursday practice. We had 12 last week, we would love to have 16.

Sunday practice?

UPDATE (12:30 p.m. on 3/9): Practice will take place as scheduled at HB from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Please check here for updates on practice at HB for Sunday. If the winter weather continues, practice may be cancelled for 3/8.

Sign ups needed ASAP

Tournament organizers from Carnegie Mellon and OU have requested roster information and entry fees. Please download the form linked on the right sidebar if you have not already.

This information is due by the end of next week, which is Friday, March 14 so we can maintain our entry into each event.

If you have turned in a form but not payment, please catch up on fees by March 14.

For those listed as signed up for Carnegie Mellon, I need your payment or confirmation by Thursday (bring to Sunday at HB or Thursday at CSU).

If you don't respond by Thursday, your spot will be offered to others. Also, email me if you are not on this list and you should be.

For OU, signups will be taken by turning in your registration form and payment. I will post an updated roster at the end of the week for this one.

practice tonight at CSU, Sunday at HB

Reminder - practice tonight at CSU from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Please arrive on time. Some people like to stroll in around 8 p.m. while the rest of us worry if we are going to have enough guys to play. Please don't make us sweat it out.

Join us Sunday at HB from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. These practices have been underattended. We get the whole pool and its a great facility with great equipment.

Believe it or not, this past summer we used to have 15+ guys coming to HB each week for scrimmages. We can definitely get back to that...

Dayton recap, practice Thursday

Cleveland Water Polo made a very strong showing at our first offical tournament in Dayton. Our 1-3 record does not tell the whole story.

The team played four strong quarters against the Ohio Squirrels, University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University. We lost to UC and OSU by a combined three goals. No one knew this was our first tournament, they thought our club had played together already.

On the up side, we handled our NE Ohio rivals, Akron, to get our first official win. It felt good.

Other positive notes:
- Our 2m defense was outstanding. We had very few goals scored from this position
- We ran several successful 6-5 offensive sets with good ball movement and a strong shot
- Overall, we managed to control the pace of the games, this will get tougher in big pools
- We played as a team, even with new players and a short bench

We will continue to work on:
- Press defense and pressuring shooters
- Offensive movement in a half-court set
- Anticipation and transitions
- Conditioning (but don't fret, we can do this with scrimmages instead of swim sets)

Let's keep the momentum this Thursday at CSU at 7:30 p.m. with strong attendance and a good scrimmage. We also will play on Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at HB.

No practice Sunday 3/2, practice on for Thursday 3/6

Because of a number of players traveling to Dayton, there will be no practice on Sunday at HB on 3/2.

We will have practice as scheduled on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at CSU