Water Polo Academy will offer an online course Table Management and Scorekeeping for Water Polo beginning May 1, 2010. This is a 5 day online class and with no prerequisites. It is appropriate for everyone from beginners to those who want to learn standard terminology and international practice. Cost of the course is $25.00. Class begins May 1st and concludes May 6th. Anyone interested may register at www.waterpoloacademy.com

Lamorinda Water Polo would like to honor one of the true hero’s of our sport who passed away last week. As a referee, Stephen Pal was a fair, enthusiastic, and a technically sound official. He was one of the most noticeable people on the deck as he was always smiling and talking to fans, players, and coaches in a friendly, positive manner. He grew up in Saratoga as an accomplished swimmer and polo player. His nieces and nephews play for 680, so his affinity for our program and area was clear. He was a true gentleman and will be sorely missed by our sport. Our sympathies go out to his wife and family.

Help raise additional funds for the Lamorinda Water Polo Club, at no cost to you, by registering with eScrip. Our Group Name is Lamorinda Water Polo Inc and our Group ID is 500000945. It's as simple as going to eScrip. Click on "sign up"; and follow the instructions.

In the National Water Polo League's benefit event, OCWPC defeated Lamorinda Water Polo Club before a sold-out crowd at JSerra CHS. Although it was an exhibition game, both teams came out and played strong. The game was defined by strong defenses on both sides. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Three Angels Children's Relief Program. A program dedicated to "coming together to help the children of Haiti by enriching their bodies with food, empowering their minds through education, and enlarging their spirits with love and compassion."

On February 9, 2010, Lamorinda's Hall of Fame Athlete, Peter Varellas, played in the World All-Stars vs. Italian Greats benefit for relief in Haiti. Check out the great clips Peter sent to Boyd. Team Introduction Varellas' Goal

Congratulations to our WinterFest athletes for their great performance. In the AA Divisions: 14Un Boys - Silver Medal; 18Un Boys Blue - 4th Place; 16Un Boys - 5th Place; 12Un Boys - 8th Place; 18Un Boys Gold - 11th Place. In the A Divisions: 16Un Boys Black - 3rd Place; 14Un Boys - 5th Place; 12Un Boys - 12th Place; and 16Un Boys Gold - 18th Place. In the Open Division: 16Un Girls tied for 7th

Boyd Lachance would like to extend his congratulations to all of our collegiate All-Americans for their successful 2009 season! In the Division 1 programs: Spencer Warden CAL 1st Team; Ivan Rackov CAL 3rd Team; Zach White CAL 3rd Team; Brian Dudley CAL Honorable Mention; Cory Nasoff CAL Honorable Mention; and Kent Holland BROWN Honorable Mention. In the Division 3 programs: Stephen Andron CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS Honorable Mention; and Brian Baier CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS Honorable Mention.

From now on your age for USAWP Zone Qualification Tournaments and National Championship events will be determined by your age on the first day of the respective National Championship competition. For example: Boys competing at the 2010 Junior Olympics in a 14U division will need to be 14 on Jul 31, 2010, similarly, Girls competing at the 2010 Junior Olympics in a 14U division will need to be 14 on Aug 5, 2010. This will allow players with formerly bad birthdays to complete in the lower age divisions longer, if they and their clubs choose to do so. This change applies to all age groups.

Congratulations to our LWP athletes recognized to the 2009 High School All-American Rosters. Nick Hoversten 1st Team; Jon Sibley 1st Team; Mike Kimble 3rd Team; Bryan Snyder 4th Team; Nick Cooper 5th Team; John Holland 6th Team; Joey Fabian 8th Team.

The coaches for each respective age group will distribute the suits to the players at practice the week of January 11th through 15th. Coaches will not distribute unless the player is at practice. Unfortunately, our order was shorted three men's smalls. These will arrive next week and will be distributed accordingly.

January 1st marks the beginning of a new calendar year for USAWP. Those athletes whose membership expired on December 31st, renewing your membership is required for continued participation. To register, go to USAWP and select member login.

Break Reminder: There will be no practice from Monday, December 21, 2009 through Saturday, January 2, 2010. Practices will resume on Sunday, January, 3, 2010. We want to wish all our members a very Happy Holidays and we look forward to seeing everyone back on the pool deck in 2010!

Adjusted to December 19th only and cost is $195.00 The Boys High Performance Water Polo Camp and the Sean Nolan Goalkeeper Academy will teach water polo skills and tactics to young men in a team and camp environment with an optimal amount of pool time. For more information, go to Cal Camps. or contact Boyd Lachance at blachance@berkeley.edu

LWP Athletes named to the NCS All-Senior Team are Nick Cooper, Ryan Higgins, Tyler Hill, John Holland, Nick Hoversten, Morgan Kennedy, Mike Kimble, and Jon Sibley. Game is Saturday, December 12th at 1:30pm at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton following the Girls All Star Game.

The Pacific Zone Olympic Development Program (ODP) schedules for all ODP programs are now posted on the USAWP website.

Today, the #3 seed California Bears defeated #2 seed Stanford Cardinals in a 12-11 overtime semifinal match to earn their advancement to the championship match. The Bears will face the UCLA Bruins in the championship match at 3 pm PST on Sunday, November 29th at the McDonald's Swim Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern California. All LWP athletes and parents are asked to wear their LWP colors proudly tomorrow in support of the Bears. Go Bears!

As the high school season winds to a close, LWP would like to congratulate its athletes for their valiant efforts put forth during their high school season.

The following players have been selected for the Commerce 12U Boys team: Matt Zurnacian, William Hughs, Max Murphy, Mark Preston, Nima Anjedani, Jordan Hoover, Ben Westphal, Scott Zurnacian, Andrew Deaver, Grayson Judge, John Winther, Marc Davis, and Peter Brassinga. Good luck boys!

The pumping surf at Huntington Beach was no match for the Lamorinda 12& Unders. Saturday morning started early with a 7am match against Laguna. Lamorinda came out hot with precision passing from Mark Davis, Wylie Hughes and Jack Winther. Great teamwork and defense lead to a 9-1 victory with Jordan Hoover executing on several shots out of the hole position. The next match against San Diego Shores was an eye opener defeat that would serve us well for our next games. Coaches Trevor Wagner and Spencer Rodman instilled intense motivation, and inspired the team to a roadkill 11-3 win over Kahuna in a brutal physical battle lead by Ben Westphal and Yuri Hanley in 100 degree heat at the Tesoro High complex, the last game on Saturday. (Select News from main menu to see part 2)

On Sunday morning, the fog was low over the El Toro pool, but the passing and shots were crisp and clear. After a 3-0 lead, Foothill came back, and using a double hole- man set up, tied the game at 6-6 at the end of regulation. Time for a shoot-out. The first round of the shoot-out ended in a 4-4 tie. With Max Murphy, Jordan Hoover, Andrew Deaver, Nima Andejani, and Scott Zurnacian firing bullets into the corners, the next round of sudden death ended in a 5-5 tie. In the 3rd round, goalie Matt Zurnacian stopped a Foothill shot, and Jordan Hoover was able to fire the victory goal, a laser inside the left post, winning the match 17-16. What a great experience for all the players. Newport Beach was the next hurdle, and after a quick 2-0 lead with goals from Max Murphy and Jordan Hoover, a tough defensive battle ensued lead by Grayson Judge, Nima Andejani and Ben Westphal. Ultimately, the Newport team had to bite their way back and eked out a 3-2 victory over Lamorinda after several suspect referee calls. The last game of the day was for 5th place in the 18 team tournament against our long time nemesis – SOCAL. An early 4-1 lead evaporated in the 4th quarter, and Andrew Deaver made a backhand shot from hole set which found the back of the net, saving an 8-6 victory, and securing 5th place – the best finish ever for the Lamorinda12 & Unders. Great job guys!

At the 14U parent's meeting, Coach Derek spoke of the importance of nutrition for water polo athletes. The article Derek referenced, "What Should You Eat Before and After Water Polo" by Dante Dettamanti, can be found on the home page of Water Polo Planet www.waterpoloplanet.com.

Congratulations to LWP teams for their great performance in the National Junior Olympics. In the Platinum Division, the 18U A team had an outstanding tournament finishing in 2nd place. Both the 16U and 14U A teams each finished 10th their respective age groups. In the Gold Division, the 12U A team finished in 3rd place and the 12U B team finished in 8th place. The 18U B and 14U B teams finished 13th and 17th, respectively. Great job LWP athletes!

Congratulations to all participants of Lamorinda's 1st Annual Swim-a-thon. It was a successful event. A special thank you to Chris Watson for orchestrating and organizing the night’s festivities.

Congratulations to our USCC athletes and their accomplishments in Santa Barbara this past weekend. The 18U boys battled a tough game in the champsionship round to place 2nd. The 16U boys placed 8th and our 14U boys placed 10th.

Lamorinda received a letter of appreciation from USAWP CEO Chris Ramsey for our outstanding performance in hosting the USAWP's national tryout for the senior program. Thank you to the following members who volunteered their services for a very successful event:

Nancy Daniel, Scott Ostler, Jeff Nash, Rob Higgins, Steve Crocker, Bruce Nelson, Richard Whitmore, Jon Kennedy, Jake Kisner, Connor Mattox, Tyler Hill, Lynn Garrett, Noel Murphy, Nick Hoversten, Karen Brickman, Julie Whitsitt, Chris McCracken, Sonia Chan, and John Briskey.

Congratulations to the following Lamorinda players who were named to the California All-American High School Water Polo Teams: First Team: Stephen Siri & James Perry Second Team: Nick Hoversten Third Team: Tommy Briskey Fifth Team: Jon Sibley (G) Seventh Team: Danny Crocker Eighth Team: Bret Lathrope Tenth Team: Nick Cooper

Congratulations on a super performance! 12U Boys - 11th - AA Division 14A Boys - 3rd - AA Division 14B-Gold Boys - 4th - A Division 14B-Blue Boys - 7th - A Division 16A Boys - 2nd - AA Division 18U Boys - 2nd - AA Division