SD Dons could win the tournament
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It will be hard for SD Dons to win this tournament. They have four or five kids from their 12u A team selected to PSW zone teams, and PSW has an ODP practice on Sunday in Chula Vista.
I find this talk among 14u and 12u parents of missing a tournament to go to a development-level odp practice a rather odd prioritization, but I guess to each their own. Can’t get cut from an odp team after you make it and the rules are that you must play equal playtime so not sure what the point is.
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Considering SD Dons has probably one of the top few coaches in 12U (based only on history of results, which can be biased by talent pool but still requires coaching) it seems like an ODP practice is not likely to garner improved individual development. Would politics be the primary motivator? Does 1 practice day really influence team dynamics (trust, communication, etc?)?
Seems it takes more time (weeks) to really have a team gel and know/trust each other in the water, or am I very wrong there?
how many times do the majority of ODP zones teams actually practice?
Anecdotally in PSW, there might have been a single workout before ODP national championships (for example, for 2025 Youth there was one, don’t know about prior years). I don’t recall there being a pre-Championship workout for Dev 2021 or 2022, or Cadet 2024.
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This is year 3 for my son in SPA and there has never even been a mention of a practice in Development or Cadet.
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The Pacific Zone is trying to have two practice sessions for the DEV teams
Hmmmmm
Seems like another disorganized aspect of ODP. Zones doing practices will outperform zones who don’t, and historically number of NTSC slots has correlated well with placement in the tournament. The number of practices needs to be mandated across zones to keep the playing field fair.
Also @NCWP I believe playing time is not guaranteed equal in the semis or finals.
I don’t have any problem with doing ODP zone practices but I do wish PSW had scheduled their practice for Saturday instead of Sunday. For the top tier teams, Saturday games are usually blow outs. Missing chunks of the starting line-up likely wouldn’t change the results, and it would give non-starters extra playing time. Then on Sunday everyone would be at full strength.
This weekend is the end of week 24. It is the midpoint in the 48 week club season. We are halfway to JOs. All of the 15 year old 8th graders are playing 16u, and the 14 year old high school kids are playing with their 14u teams. This is typically the weekend where we see how everyone really looks in the run towards Junior Olympics, and PSW just tied up the most potent parts of LJU, Dons, and Shores.
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I think the real question in my mind would be does 1 or 2 practice sessions change the way these “high level” players interact with each other (assuming they are from different clubs and dont normally practice/play together)?
Seems to me that is unlikely. Either their communication skills and ego/bias are already in check and things click, or they dont (and it seems that it would take more than 2 practice sessions to rectify some disconnect like “that kid i play against often and dont like”).
Alternately I have no idea what i am talking about… just hope all the kids have a really awesome time/experience and maximize their own potential.
I just look at it as another practice with other athletes and coaches. Can’t hurt. Will it improve the team play. Very little.
Zone Practices are not a part of or requirement of the ODP System. Zone coaches will seek out pool time on their own if they want to get the teams together for a couple practices before National Championships. Practices after choosing teams have never been a part of the ODP system, unless the coaches go out of their way and volunteer their time and resources to secure pool time. If some zones aren’t hosting practices, that is on the coaches of that zone, has nothing to do with ODP, and therefore cannot be mandated. Those coaches are the disorganized ones, not ODP.
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My point is that zone team practices need to be uniform across zones. Several 2-3 hour sessions playing as a team for the first time can have a very large impact on performance in the tourney. Bravo to the coaches going above and beyond for free but ODP should step in and say “sorry you can’t do that, it’s unfair to the other zones”.
I don’t really think that’s realistic for USA Water Polo and ODP to govern that and they shouldn’t want to either…coaches are going to find ways to secure pool time, especially because a lot of the zone coaches are pool admins. Are they going to be checking pool reservations at every facility in the country? Are they going to have a USA Water Polo ODP Admin at every practice checking rosters of kids participating? Also, are you saying you’d prefer none of the kids to get extra high level training and coaching as opposed to only some? As an olympic sport with no professional league, stepping and saying “sorry you can’t host a practice to get ready for a national championship tournament because other coaches can’t get their you know what together” goes against both the mission of USA Water Polo and the growth of the sport in our country.
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ODP should provide an even playing field for the tourney and for NTSC selections. Having some teams practice while others don’t defeats that purpose. Both CIF and the NCAA limit practice times with similar motivations. Right?
All it would take is guidance from headquarters and no, of course, ODP staff would not be checking pool reservations…sigh
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The zone practice doesn’t bother me in the least. ODP has much bigger problems than the number of zone practices happening. The issue most prominent right now for me is that ODP doesn’t have any suits bigger than a size 34. The kids worked hard to earn a spot on the team and now most cannot buy the ODP USA suits to show off their accomplishment this year due to someone at USA Water Polo not doing their job.
Size 36….that’s very large boys.
Not for Cadet and Youth.
Did the shop reopen?