Surely we are all awaiting with bated breath the always anticipated @Marco rankings for 12U boys. Here is the space for that and the other 12U boys specific discussion.
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The initial 14u rankings will drop after next week after this weekend’s EC Cup. 12u will be the following week, after Rocktober gives me a chance to see teams outside California.
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EC Cup today was HOT HOT HOT!
I was a little disappointed that North Irvine didn’t take C bracket. I totally thought they coulda woulda shoulda.
Tomorrow’s round robin will be Dons, Mission, and Newport (likely the finishing order). Will see how they shake out. The Dons most certainly have the most size I have ever seen at the 12U level.
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Final between Mission and Dons in 12U was a good game. Dons has a lot more size, Mission was up by 3 at the half. Final score 13-11 win for Dons.
You mean 13-9 i believe.
Was present for that game…the score table screwed up the score at least 13-10 not 9
At least 10? So you’re saying they screwed up the score not once but possibly twice? Taking 2 goals away?
2 point swing when you apply a goal to the wrong side.
Yes, our coach and team watched from across the pool because we knew this was the game to watch. Mission did pretty well considering the size of these Don players…not a total blow out as others might have thought.
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Credit to the Mission players for sure.
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Pretty close game between SD Dons and Tsunami this morning at Rocktober, Dons squeaked by 8 -7 and then beat Pegasus in the final 13 - 5.
Tsunami brought players from their 2026 12U JOs team including their notorious #2 (perhaps he was dressed as Freddy Krueger for the occasion). They travel home with bronze.
Looks like Greenwich who landed in 5th place will go back home with some motivation for their winter training.
Seems to me there is a pretty clear pecking order for the time being in 12U. SD Dons with 3 kids pushing 6’ tall and crazy depth at the front of the pack. Mission one step behind them on size and depth, then Socal who has more size and could likely take down Mission at some point, followed by the usual suspects in Newport, and others.
Last year we had a good show at SPA Championships but with SPA ODP camp scheduled the same weekend teams are likely to be short on players. I find it comical that USA WP cannot get out of their own way like a bunch of drunken sailors knocking each other off the boat when it comes to scheduling. Both of the SPA region ODP camps were scheduled over top SPA League events.
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All region are the same day for development so many will miss either ODP or Spa championship. And honestly kids that are 2015 were having a hard time with kids of 2013
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I believe it’s early in the season and teams will continue to develop but SOCAL did lose to Dons by at least 10 and Mission lost by 2 to Dons, Newport lost to Mission pretty bad. I’m a little confused about the rankings, Dons are very strong for sure and might take it all the way but Mission is right there. SOCAL has no depth that I could see but will improve for sure. Again too soon to tell but excited to see..
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As I stated Mission’s problem is size and depth. Dons outscored them in the second half by 5 I think. That is a pretty good routing once the front line got softened up.
Totally agree it is early. Perhaps some of the Mission players step up and perform at a higher level as the year goes on. I would love to see some parity. I guarantee the Dons will be focused and driving 5-7 days a week to dominate and there is zero doubt they will squeeze everything out of those very large boys. Guess time will tell if some of the Mission squad can be better. Heard a great coach once say that the team is only as good as the first man off the bench.
Only time will tell 
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My only problem with rocktober is team bring some older kids so it doesn’t give a good perspective on how well the team is. Dons, 908, Vanguard, Greenwich, Temple city were probably the only team with their full 12u squad with not ringers lol. So when Marco puts his ranking number one is dons and two is Mission, the rest is scramble. We will see a great competition ahead and teams will solidify during the season, but Dons and Mission are way ahead in the pack in my opinion.
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Top 20 12u Boys Water Polo Teams
week #9 – thirty-nine weeks to JOs
#1 SD Dons – The team to beat this season.
#2 Mission WPC – Came out on top of everyone not named SD Dons, and even pushed the Dons in the EC Cup championship game.
#3 CC United – Lost to Mission at EC Cup but won in every other EC game they played by at least eight points.
#4 SOCAL Patriots – Was bracketed versus SD Dons in their very first game at EC Cup. Won every game after that by at least five points.
#5 Newport – On the wrong side of lopsided losses to Mission and SD Dons, but took care of business otherwise to snag bronze medals at EC Cup.
#6 Tsunami –Won gold division at EC Cup and had a phenomenal showing at Rocktober.
#7 Pegasus – Were a buzzsaw at Rocktober before running into the Dons in the finals.
#8 Orange County WPC – Quietly had a great EC Cup. Versus Mission was their only loss.
#9 Temple City – Fourth at Rocktober highlighted by a 19-3 thrashing of North Irvine’s Rocktober team.
#10 North Irvine – Shootout loss to OCWPC and a win over Vanguard at EC Cup after winning Back to School outright.
#11 LA Premier – Second place at Back to School after a shootout loss to North Irvine.
#12 Stanford – Played tough at EC Cup to come out with a win over Vanguard and a narrow 1-point loss to OCWPC.
#13 La Jolla United – Played up in 14u Gold at EC Cup where they notched a victory over SOCAL-Patriot B.
#14 Greenwich – Had a good Rocktober where their only loss was to Tsunami.
#15 Vanguard –Went 4-1 to finish tied for 5th at Rocktober, including a nice 12-4 win over North Irvine’s Rocktober team.
#16 680 WPC – This is my best guess based on their roster and coach. I have not seen 680 play this season.
#17 CDM – Emerged victorious from their shootout against ORWP to ultimately come away with 9th place at EC Cup.
#18 ORWP – Took third at Back to School before having a rough weekend at Evan Cousineau.
#19 Diablo – Showed some promising signs at Back to School on their way to a 4th place finish.
#20 908 WPC – Solid run at Rocktober where they ended tied for 7th following a tough 2-point loss to Greenwich.
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