Thread specific to the 14U girls weekends.
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908 looks good for 14 girls in future finals. Also maybe give Newps a run for their money in Junior Olympics if all their players are there.
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Check your game times. A few schedule changes last night.
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908 can’t handle Newport. This is one of those years where 2nd-6th will be a lot more interesting. 908 likely finishes 2nd
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I was thinking 908 places 3rd until i saw the standings. I thought Patriot was gonna carry 2nd. No more. 908 looked dominate 
this weekend. 2nd place is theirs. Newport vs 908 might just be a really good game
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908 has a weakness at goalie. They also are losing their top outside shooter to worlds so JO team will be different. Patriot is as well and a few others. Newport loses one. That’s why 14U JO’s on even years isn’t the best measure.
San Diego Cup
Super finals
Futures league play
Newport is 7-0 vs 908 and Patriot and San Clemente They beat 908 by more than Patriot for what it is worth. Heck SC could only put up 1 goal per game against them while 908/Patriot has enough offense to score, but let’s be fair, they are all in a different class this year and that happens sometimes.
908 is 2-2 vs Patriot this year. Patriot beat them in San Diego Cup and they got them today I think.
Do not count out San Clemente as they don’t have anyone going to Worlds.
Due to this, your squad has a chance at top 5 for sure.
US Club champs are not a good indicator as all the top clubs are sending their 14U players up to 16U. Newport is fielding an all 7th grader team because their best players were prob not being challenged enough this year. 40-0 will do that. I think there is a very good chance they lose to 908 at US club because this isn’t their real A team so that doesn’t really count til JO’s. Superfinals were way more interesting and a better tourney than US Clubs for 14U girls due to all the roster shuffling. Next weekend is more like a scrimmage tourney at this age level
For US Club against the 7th grade Newport team, I think 908 will win.
For JO’s, I doubt it. But we shall see. Newport handled them well easily this year already.
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It seems we keep finding each other Evolve. Oh well, I’ll bite lol. Why do you think all or most clubs are pressing their 14s in to 16s? Will it really make them better at this point. I do see your logic, but i’m not sure if it will help all that much as we are so close to JOs? For most teams at this point growth will be incremental. I think maintaining team chemistry would be more important, but I do see the upside of getting another weekend to play stronger competition. I think those athletes playing up will have to sacrifice playing time. I would probably just keep the age group athletes in their age group. In the past USCC foretold basically who was going to win JOs.
I was curious about this statement above. What squad are you referring to?
Has USCC lost to Futures? I was willing to concede that against CalCup but not so sure about Futures being more competitive than USCC. Do all clubs play in Futures? It’s close for sure. If Futures continues at this pace then I think it may be a stronger tournament in a couple of years. Also, I don’t think Futures is sanctioned by USAWP. Why is that?
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Honestly, we’d have to ask each program because every situation is different.
Some of these are middle school athletes who have simply outgrown playing primarily against 6th and 7th graders. Some clubs are already thinking about preparing them for varsity high school water polo. I personally know five athletes across two programs who have already been asked to begin training with their high school teams this summer.
World Championships also affect roster decisions in even-numbered years, so there isn’t one universal reason.
For Newport specifically, I think it’s pretty obvious those athletes benefit from tougher competition. That’s healthy development.
Where you and I fundamentally differ is philosophy. To me, US Club Championships and even JOs, to a slightly lesser extent are still just tournaments at the middle school level. Winning them is great, but it’s not the primary objective.
The primary objective should be putting the athletes first: accelerating their development, exposing them to a higher level of play, giving more kids meaningful opportunities, and building trust and culture that lasts for years, not just one weekend.
That’s why we keep “finding each other.” We simply value different things. I’ll almost always lean toward long-term player development over maximizing the odds of winning one tournament at the younger 10-14 ages. Winning can be important. Development comes first. Always.
Futures has full rosters of every club for 12 and 14 girls. Almost every club. USCC this weekend is going to be different rosters. You have worlds pulling people away. You have 16U pulling up. And some that came to futures aren’t traveling for USCC. That’s a lot of travel. This is especially true on even numbered years. This is also the time of year when some clubs go to Spain, Croatia, Malta, etc. to bond and train.
To me, if you were to rank tourneys, CIF for high school is by far and away the biggest and the ones every young athlete wants to win. Plus it doesn’t put all the games crammed into a weekend. Better water polo than club.
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I don’t think the difference between us is that one of us values development and the other doesn’t. I think we simply view development through different lenses because we’re coming from different environments.
If your athlete is in a high school program that consistently competes in the Open Division or Division 1, then yes, preparing for HS varsity early can be an incredible developmental opportunity. The level of competition, daily training, and meaningful games can provide a tremendous return for those athletes. I completely understand why those programs would prioritize that.
But not every athlete has access to that environment. For many players, especially those whose high schools don’t compete at that level, club water polo becomes the primary avenue for elite development. That’s where they find the highest level of coaching, competition, chemistry, and exposure. US Club Championships and Junior Olympics aren’t just “middle school tournaments” to those athletes. Most of those children train all year for those events. Each practice, scrimmage, tournament, develops them into the athlete they may become. They’re some of the best opportunities they’ll have to test themselves against the strongest competition available. You talk about how you are for development, but in reality you seem to be very biased in how the development is achieved. Let me ask you this. Does a CIF win matter to you outide of a certain Division? No offense, but theres not alot of scouting/recruiting happening outside of Div 2. How else would an athlete gain exposure outside of JOs or other tournamnets to showcase their abilities.
So when parents, athletes, etc. prioritize those events, it isn’t because they value winning over development. It’s because, for many athletes, those tournaments are part of their development. They build experience under pressure, learn to compete against the nation’s best, strengthen relationships with teammates they’ll play with for years, and continue growing in ways their local high school season may not provide.
In the end, I don’t think we’re as far apart as it may seem. We both want what’s best for the athletes. We just disagree on where the best developmental opportunities exist, and that often depends on the individual athlete and the program they’re in. There’s more than one path to becoming a great player.
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I think this is why we keep talking past each other.
I never said US Club Championships or JOs don’t develop athletes. Of course they do. I said they shouldn’t become the primary driver of roster decisions when they conflict with what’s best for an athlete’s long-term development.
You’re arguing against a position I don’t actually hold. Straw man fallacy
Where we fundamentally differ is that I don’t think middle school national tournaments are the destination. They’re one stop along the journey. If moving a player up, sacrificing short-term chemistry, or even reducing your odds of winning gives that athlete a better chance to become a stronger high school and college player, I’d make that trade every time. The best clubs do this and the weaker clubs don’t. That’s not clutching pearls my friend. That’s reality and I’m sorry that it hits close to home
That’s why we don’t agree. You see the tournament as a major developmental objective. I see it as one developmental opportunity among many. The athlete’s long-term growth always comes first for me.
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With futures being the last tournament of the year with teams being at full strength. How do we calculate the teams losing athletes to the national team vs the teams that don’t. Will this have any bearing on the top four teams for 14’s. Or are they deep enough with subs on the bench that this has no bearing ?
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I think there has been too much talk about missing players to be honest. Depth matters and when I hear even number years don’t carry as much weight I think we are undermining accomplishments. Teams in all sports at all levels miss players all the time, but I never hear as much about it as I do in youth water polo. Teams change, players get sick, travel, etc. Just go with the outcomes. I hear it in the stands too. After a team loses a parent frequently says, yeah we were missing so and so.
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I feel like this year is different as kids will actually miss JOs. Teams have been short at superfinals before. If any youth tournament matters, it is only JOs.
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Worlds taking top players certainly waters down the roster and gives a chance to other clubs to break through. I try to see that as a positive for sure.
It will certainly have an impact on clubs.
The least affected is Newport. They have by far the deepest roster in 14U, and even with players missing, they’re still the clear favorite at JO. Heck, they aren’t even going to field their normal team at US Club championship the weekend and instead run out the bench. They prob lose one game finally but it won’t be a real loss imho. Star players at 16U or Worlds training. Different goalie. Etc.
People think 908 will give them a run at JOs, but they’re also losing a critical player to Worlds. They have enough depth to remain one of the top teams, and I still expect a Newport vs. 908 final. That said, I don’t think the gold medal game will be particularly competitive. Prob tight early but turns into a 5 goal win for Newport. Just my two cents
I actually think the most entertaining games will be the bronze medal game and the fifth place game. That’s where I expect the closest, most competitive water polo that still has strategy and fire. At 14U, the division still feels very developmental, and the gap between middle school aged players and high school aged players can be significant. That’s why I think 16U will have more compelling matchups overall.
From what I understand, San Clemente won’t be affected because they don’t have anyone leaving for Worlds. They also benefit from a much more favorable path to the semifinals thanks to JO Qualifying, and I expect them to be playing for bronze, but they could beat 908 in the semifinals. I don’t think they will, though, and they already lost pretty convincingly in San Diego against them.
Santa Cruz looks solid until they run into the Southern California teams. Lamorinda is in a similar position. I haven’t seen enough of Diablo to make a strong prediction, but they always seem to find a way to be in the mix.
Patriot, on the other hand, lacks the depth they’ve had in previous years. Losing a critical player to Worlds on both offense and defense, combined with a difficult bracket draw, makes me think they’ll finish somewhere around 5th-10th. If they had their full squad, they were the ones that could take 908 and have a 2-2 record against them. I think they beat 908 in semifinals and took silver in San Diego and Super finals. I believe 908 took bronze then and gold in the same tournaments though Newport didn’t enter. Only Diablo was missing from SD, so that went Newport 1, Patriot 2, 908 3 and then over the weekend it went 908 1, Patriot 2, Lamo 3 (with Newport absent)
Because of Worlds pulling away top players and some athletes moving up early to high school divisions, I think this creates an opportunity for several fringe teams to sneak into the top five. That wouldn’t surprise me at all.
San Diego Shores isn’t losing anyone to Worlds and has an excellent goalie. The margin between Shores, Lamorinda, and Santa Barbara is often just one goal. Any one of those teams could finish anywhere from 5th-8th, and I wouldn’t even be shocked if one of them made a run into the top four given the roster displacement among the traditional contenders.
CHAWP finished 4th at JO Quals. While I don’t think they’re on the level of the top three, they have a favorable opportunity to take advantage of some of the shorthanded teams. I also think they match up well enough to beat some of the NorCal teams and remain in that conversation. I think they will finish around fifth and have a chance to sneak in to the top four with the roster movement.
Overall, I think the most entertaining water polo this year will be around the bronze medal and fifth-place games.
Personally, I still prefer the odd numbered year Junior Olympics because you get the true rosters. This year is unique with Worlds and early high school movement affecting so many teams. I’d enjoy the tournament for what it is and be careful not to overreact to the results…especially after US Club Championships, where some of the top clubs intentionally entered seventh-grade-heavy teams as their A teams for development.
Of course, every year someone will overinterpret the results and use them as an opportunity to chest-thump. 
If I left anyone out, I apologize.
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Hey, at least we aren’t as bad as 12U boys thread. These are just middle school girls after all let’s give them a break. The fact that Newport bench would be starters on pretty much every other team says something. In fact, if I had a kid that good getting so few playtime minutes, I would definitely move them to a club to get more playtime, but for some they would rather be on the bench for a medal then developing elsewhere and I understand that mentality especially if there are friends on the team. They want the “brand” of Newport or a top club more than anything. Osmosis
I agree that it shouldn’t take anything away from anyone regardless of result the same way that any positive results shouldn’t be thumped out at this level. I have heard the same comments on the pool deck. The truth is that sports dads are living vicariously through their daughters and they feel that their child’s accomplishment is theirs, and their child’s failure is theirs. It’s sad to see so often.
Instead of excuses, parents to take a step back and realize these are 7th graders and 8th graders, kids. The teams that have fun together aren’t just winning and losing together. Find programs that bring that side of them out or I guarantee you they will not only burn out of the sport, they will burn out of you
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Well said. I think you are on point with where the commentary is coming from.
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I am so happy this level of chatter didn’t exist when my kids played age-group. I never could have kept up with it all and it may have driven me crazy. This isn’t a criticism. It’s a confession.
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@EvolveTheGame salient points. & the burnout is real! Getting back to the tournament weekend, San Clemente seemed to struggle early on in the tournament when they’ve had strong performances over the last few months.
908 and Newport seem to be the top 2 contenders at this point.
908 seems to build a descent roster. Does that club feed into a specific highschool like Newport, Regency, Legacy, SET etc. or do many of them branch off to multiple HS. Is their success related to coaching, 6/8 academy, Steffens, Acevedo etc. My understanding is 908 doesn’t have a 16u girls team. I can’t say I’ve seen them anywhere except 14u and below for girls. Does anyone know?
Hey Gibson I was just going to say similarly that I am loving all the back and forth on the girls side. The 11 year old boys have a few more years before high school. Love the energy out there from the girl dads (and moms). Happy Belated Fathers Day
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