Thoughts Inspired by USAWP Senior Nationals
Or how attending USAWP Senior Nationals refreshed my love of the sport
On Sunday, 5/19, I traveled down to UCSD to watch the final day of the USAWP Senior Nationals. My intention was to watch the day’s slate of games and, as I have done in the past, give a quick reaction or reflection on the games and players I saw participating. The level of play at these National League events has continued to improve and more clubs and players are maintaining their fitness and participating. Seeing LA Athletic Club represented in the final with perennial contender NYAC was excellent. Likewise, I enjoy watching the mix of masters club teams competing with (some) college teams and seeing the differences in play style between these groups based on training, personnel and philosophy. Hungarian legend Viktor Nagy participating with one of the teams was another treat as a spectator.
The event was fairly well attended as these things go (maybe 75-100 spectators for the final game), and I will always enjoy seeing crowds of young players rushing around the pool deck trying to get a little face time and an autograph from players they idolize -– something that didn't really exist in this country even 15 years ago. I must add that every single player I saw approached was kind and gracious with their time. But ultimately, I didn't leave the tournament with any hard ideas about what I could write about. I was worried I wouldn't be able to produce anything at all. However, after thinking about my time on deck on the drive home, I decided I did have something I needed to say.
For frequent readers of my articles, I will preface this by saying that this is not the same type of article as I normally produce. You will not be reading game analysis or have me wax philosophical about the rules of the game. Instead, today I'd like to write something more personal, and I hope everyone will find something of value in these personal thoughts.
For those of you who may be unaware, my coaching background includes nearly a decade coaching at various levels in the USAWP ODP System. I attended innumerable camps in the coastal zone (where I was a coach) as well as ODP National Championships, National Team Selection Camps and other events. Additionally, I had the privilege to travel as a coach representing Team USA at the Youth and Cadet levels, once to Peru and once to Spain. Due to the prominence of the Coastal zone and this work in the ODP pipeline, I was given the opportunity to work with some of the greatest young water polo athletes our country has produced in the last several years.
However, the fact that I have not actively coached at any level in a number of years as well as the nature of the ODP process means that my time with many of these athletes was limited and that there have been large stretches in between times when I have seen them in person. Although I may follow their careers as they matriculate to college programs across the country or continue to develop in the ODP program and I watch as many games as I can both online and in person, the opportunities to see these players and catch up are very limited.
And that is why Sunday was such a special and meaningful day for me. Unintentionally, USAWP Senior Nationals served as a small reunion for me with several players and a couple coaches whom I had worked with in various capacities throughout my career. Hopefully it will not embarrass them too much to call them out by name, but I will reiterate here the same thing I said to each of those athletes this weekend. So to Daniel Mnatsakanian, Christopher Arakelian, Peiro Arienti, James Peace, Baxter Chelsom, Bernardo Herzer, Aaron Wilson, Ethan Parrish, and George Avakian: I love watching you play and will never not want to see you doing so. It is a great joy to me that I am in some small way a part of your water polo journey. Likewise, I would like to express to Brett Ormbsy and Jack Grover that it is always a pleasure talking to them and an even greater pleasure to see them coach. It's a joy to watch two coaches I know and respect in their element leading and teaching the game we all love.
Ultimately, the time that I got to spend with each of the above athletes was limited. While my personal coaching career was long, it is surprising how short the time with each individual group or athlete can be. Often, it is as little as one ODP season or a single overseas trip and then that unique group of athletes is never going to be together again. It can be difficult to know where each athlete’s individual journey will take them. As a coach, you may not even get a chance to see the finished product, the athlete reaching their potential. That's what Senior Nationals was for me: an opportunity to step back into these players' lives one more time and see the growth and development and fulfillment of potential, to see the boys I briefly coached as young men full of poise and confidence and ability.
And so, this article is for all of those players and coaches, but it's also for all the players I have ever coached and coaches who I have shared a pool deck with. I am grateful for every opportunity I had to share time in this sport with you. I am thankful for all the work and knowledge and collaboration. I am often critical of the sport and the people in it, but sometimes it is worth reminding myself that the sport of water polo and more importantly the people in it are the reason I care. They are the reason I am critical. They are the reason I want the best things for this sport. Because the sport is meaningless without the connections it makes between people. I always told players I coached that once they are on my team they are always on my team, but it is at events like USAWP Senior Nationals that I really realize that what that ends up meaning is that we are all on the same team; so thank you to water polo for giving me a lifetime of teammates.
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