The 18U boys division was light in competition with Futures pulling in the top teams.
My thoughts on the Turbo Cup results were that Del Mar 10u is ridiculous. They came away with silver medals in the 12u Gold division. Del Mar 10u’s semi-final game was a 15-3 blowout win over Vanguard 12u Silver. There may be no U10 team in the world who could take them down, and I don’t make that claim lightly.
It does bring up a question in my mind about what is good for water polo and how you’d even measure such a thing. If the goal is to make the best water polo players in the world then Del Mar is showing we are probably on the right track, but is it better for the sport to have one club with four different teams or four different clubs each with one team?
To prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening in the NCAA, they have imposed roster limits to somewhat preserve the competitive landscape.
I don’t want this to come across as taking anything away from Del Mar or Coach Brendan Patterson. I have mad respect for both. I believe they are developing athletes the correct way. There is a reason athletes are flocking to that program.
It is more about a random thought that any other 10u team versus Del Mar’s dominant 2025 10u A-team seems almost unfair. That said, if you haven’t watched Del Mar 10u play a game, it is worth your while so that several years from now you can be watching the US Olympic team and say you remember watching that kid play 10u.
I have other thought too, but that was my main one.
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Coach Brendan is an incredible teacher of the fundamentals and it is easy to pick out kids in 16u, 14u, 12u, etc. who got their start with Brendan. He’s an absolute treasure to youth water polo in San Diego and should be credited with a lot of Del Mar’s success beyond the age group he coaches!
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Brendan is incredible. One of the best youth coaches to do it. His teams are super skilled and always come out to play HARD. His program has made significant steps since he got at Del Mar.
Last year Del Mar was in a similar situation at this point of the season. They beat the brakes of everyone. At JOs things got closer as Commerce, Patriot and 908 came close but ultimately got beat by Grace’s leadership. It’s impressive that a restocked team is this good. This year Newport, Commerce and Patriot have big steps to make but, maybe, could compete come July.
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10U coaches at all of those programs named are top notch
I don’t believe Del Mar 10U coed had close games at 2024 JOs though. USAWP highlights shows 7-0 at half vs Patriot in the finals. Smallest margin of victory in the tourney was +4.
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Brendan is a great guy and teacher of the game.
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On this note, look at the LB Shore 16s and 18s who got their start with Brendan. Solid fundamentals and a joy of game.
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Del Mar was close with 908 in the semi final until late in the third quarter when they took control. In the final Grace shut down Amelia, giving Patriot a tough first half. Patriot had played Del Mar to 2-3 goals twice that season so that was the game there.
Del Mar was top of their class last year and looks to repeat this year.
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As I’m going over the Socal futures schedules this weekend, I’m surprised how no changes have been made leading to week three on the 12U Boys side. Los Alamitos has clearly proved they belong i Division 1. They’re undefeated in division 2 as San Clemente seems to be struggling in Division 1. Only swap that I noticed was Temple City & Newport B.
Looks like some additional changes may have been made:
The 12U Boys spreadsheet now shows Los Alamitos “A” in Div 1 (with 4 points) and San Clemente in Div 2 (with 16 points).
Temple City now sits in Div 2 (with 7 points) and Newport “B” is in Div 3 (with 16 points)
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That is a fantastic slate of games.
Newport tournament 16U / 18U - https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=6F253EF3AFCFE1C8!66694&authkey=!AO8pyWY0qwL2sYE
Top 20 12u Boys Water Polo Teams
end of week #29
#1 Vanguard – Posted dominating wins over Mission and La Jolla United in Futures week #3 after going 3-1 at Turbo OC Cup in 14u Gold to prove they are the top team in 12u Boys at this point in the season.
#2 Newport – In the past two weeks they beat La Jolla, Patriot, and Mission twice. The issues that dropped NBWP in the previous ranking appear to have been addressed. This team is looking great.
#3 Mission WPC – Mission has had a rough couple of weeks with a loss to Vanguard, two losses against Newport, and barely squeaked out a one point win versus Patriot.
#4 Del Mar – Del Mar lost to SOCAL in a shootout in Futures week #3 but is holding their spot in the rankings. Outside of the first quarter in that SOCAL game, Del Mar has looked formidable.
#5 Lamorinda – Week #3 of Futures saw Lamo top CCU (8-4) and SJX (9-7). They are the dominant PAC zone team this season.
#6 La Jolla United – This team seems to have taken a half step back, going winless in Futures week #3. Their opponents were the teams ranked #1 and #2 on this list. It would be a mistake to read too much from those losses, but there are open questions about LJU.
#7 Greenwich – I still haven’t seen them play since Patriot Games but based on where they were earlier this season, they are at around this level.
#8 CC United – Posted a four point win over 680 and a four point loss to Lamo in Futures week #3.
#9 SOCAL – The embodiment of less is more. Their 7-player A-team, that all appear to be upper-year 12u’s, trounced 908 WPC and defeated Del Mar Blue in a shootout at Futures week #3.
#10 Stanford – They’ve been blowing out the teams they’ve faced lately in Futures and had a victory over CIU at Vanguard Showcase.
#11 Channel Islands United – This team has been steadily improving all year. They had a great Futures week #3 which included a two point win over a Patriot team that beat them the previous week at Turbo OC Cup.
#12 Patriot – Almost knocked off Mission, did hold off North Irvine, and then lost to CIU. More than perhaps any other 12u team this season, they are mix of strengths and weaknesses.
#13 Los Alamitos – Celebrated their promotion to D1 with a hard-fought victory over 908 WPC and nearly took down CIU in Futures week #3.
#14 North Irvine – Week #3 at Futures was not a good outing for North Irvine. Their early season success may have painted a target on their backs.
#15 San Jose Express – Played tough against Lamo in a narrow loss at Futures week #3 and easily took down 680.
#16 Temple City – They promoted from Futures D3 to D2, and then beat two of the stronger D2 teams. This team of giant killers had previously notched wins against Newport, Patriot, and Stanford.
#17 Pegasus – It was great to see Pegasus WPA at Turbo OC Cup where they went 3-1 with their only loss being to #2 ranked Newport.
#18 ORWP – Has been quietly putting together a nice season, and had a good showing at Turbo OC Cup.
#19 680 Drivers – They suffered defeats at the hands of CCU and SJX in Futures week #3.
#20 San Clemente – Did not have a good Turbo OC Cup, but seemed to have taken being demoted from D1 to D2 as rage fuel. They annihilated both D2 teams they faced in Futures week #3.
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Am currently working on a top-20 for 14u as well.
For #9 SOCAL, out of that group of 7, four are 2nd year 12s, two are 1st year 12s, one is 10U.
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They’re big, fast, and play well. I was impressed.
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Marco
This is fantastic thank you for putting this together. Is there any chance of hiring you for the girls side as well?
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Touche agree 
on girls side
Any reason why 908 isn’t on this list? They’re doing okay in Futures Division 1.
908 WPC is winless in D1. I have nothing against the club and I did wrestle with giving them one of the bottom three slots. Their loss to Los Alamitos puts them below #13. North Irvine at #14 has looked better versus common opponents, and currently has 11 points in D1 versus 908’s 6 points. SJX at #15 has been lighting it up in Nor Cal Futures. Temple City at #16 has been on a tear and I don’t know where their ceiling is.
Pegasus, ORWP, and San Clemente all had wins. 680 Drivers and 908 WPC both had rough weeks. That #19 spot was a mental coin flip.
I do not expect 908 WPC to stay off the list. I was at the 908 v Los Al game. It is not difficult for me to imagine that game going the other way.
I think that was the game where one of the parents told the ref to “that’s okay, keep doing a bad job”. The referee turned around and said “that’s okay, keep being a bad person”. The person next to the original parent said “he’s an attorney.” The referee thought for half a beat then said “that doesn’t mean he’s a good person.”
I don’t remember which side the parent was cheering for, but I think it was that game. Tangents aside, if 908 WPC wins, they will be on the list.
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