The TXWaterpolo Podcast

New and Improved! A truncated, solo version of Wednesday's podcast with ONLY the stuff that James wants to talk about. Enjoy.

The summer is over though it certainly doesn't feel like it. That means, we chat about JOs and how Texans fared both in California and North Texas at the end of July. Then shifting immediately to year two of UIL water polo. The athletes had virtually no break after JOs and headed to their first high school practices the day after it was complete. We cover some of what to expect in 2023. With i...

'Tis the season for the world's biggest water polo tournament. The 2023 National Junior Olympics are here with the most ever clubs in Texas taking part, both in SoCal and NorTex (we just made that up). All the signs are pointing to a big year for teams from the Lone Star State, and toward a second UIL high school season with more teams and more organization. Plus, an overview of what's...

Did you miss us? James and Joe return from a self-imposed four-month exile to produce this magical new show where they cover all the water polo events that highlighted this past spring. But really, the spring is over and we've entered the summer frenzy of JOs-related competition. Did you ever want to know the difference between the Southwest Zone Qualifying Championshp, and the Southwest Zone...

Listeners get some special inside info about how high flying podcasting actually works. That and we intro the new year with a review of the USA Men's National Team friendlies in North Texas, ODP's new and improved Super Regional tournament, and we preview the coming spring highlighting just how different it will be from past years. And, to punctuate, we introduce the subject of the Leander...

Year 2022 is at an end and it was an eventful one. Do you like high school water polo? Well you had two full separate seasons for the first and only time. Want the US Men's National Team playing in North Texas? Done and done. JO's a permanent fixture in the Lone Star State? Maybe. We're gonna pretend it's a done deal. James and Joe recap the entire year and then delve in to a bunch...

The first-ever UIL-sanctioned state high school water polo champions were crowned last Saturday at the end of a truly historic season. The Foster girls finished the season undefeated, and the Brazoswood boys took down first-year program, Boerne Champion, to hoist the top prize. Joe was there and shares his insights about how the tournament went, and how the UIL appears to feel about it. He and Jam...

Regional championships are already here as the (very exciting) first UIL water polo season comes to a head. We go over some of the brackets and some of the surprises of the earlier rounds. Meanwhile, plenty of club water polo on the calendar in the coming month, and breaking news: The US Men's National Team is slated to host a four-nation friendly tournament at the end of December in North Tex...

Another 8th grade and under tourney in San Antonio is in the books where Coaches James and Joe (kinda) met head to head with one coach leaving far more frustrated than the other. Plus UIL playoffs are well under way. Joe talks with the man of many hats, Ty Halford, about his role in growing the sport at the high school level and beyond. And a rant by two old men who've been coaching a few deca...

We're in district play for UIL water polo and the championship brackets are taking shape. Bi-district games begin on October 11 and feature some teams new to the sport, an exciting sign for future growth. Plus, Pegasus boys edged Thunder in a unique playoff game this week to earn a spot at the Champions Cup in Chicago, a national 8th grade championship tournament. Austin College is headed to R...

Friday morning again. This time Joe get in the weeds with the way UIL playoffs will actually happen. It might surprise you. We also do our coaches rankings and players of the week. Finally, Joe talks with Round Rock HS Head Coach Tom Arredondo about the (positive) switch from full-time swim coach to water polo AND swim coach.

Austin College hosted four noisy matches on campus last weekend coming away from it with a 3-1 record, including a surprising loss to Augustana that James brings up and Joe evades… Meanwhile, MaxPreps has put Texas water polo on the map with Foster atop its national girls’ prep rankings this week. The Highland Park boys get some love too, and both teams are the top-ranked in this week’s TXWP Coach...

Donzie Lilly has dived knee deep in to the water polo coaching world in the past few years. Now Head Coach at Texas Mavericks, Hebron High School, and with the Olympic Development Program, he speaks with Joe about the first UIL season and the first ODP camps that are just a couple weeks away. Plus, Austin College will host four NCAA men’s games in Sherman this weekend where it is highly likely to...

Look, we could spend all day placing blame on someone for not posting this podcast right after it was recorded but what, really, will that accomplish? Mistakes were made, right? Who's to say? Let's not dwell on the past. Let's move forward. Water under the bridge. Tomorrow's another day, and so on. On this "classic" podcast we talk to Mark Lawrence about their upcoming tour...

The nest is empty at James' house and it shows in this maudlin edition of the TXWaterpolo Podcast. We recap the new-look Kangaroos as Austin College returns from their season-opening tournament in the Northeast where they defeated DIII opponents Connecticut College but fell to the pesky Engineers of MIT. Plus Joe talks with Kari Brothers, Water Polo Coordinator for the Northside ISD, about San...

More players of the week and high school rankings as the UIL season plugs along with games all over the state of Texas. Plus, the ODP program is changed for the 2022-23 season with some big news about where regional and national championships are headed. And Austin College is wrapping up its pre-season training and getting ready to both travel back east for its opening games but will then host fou...

Here we go. We've been waiting and now it's fully underway. We celebrate the high school season with our Players of the Week, our coaches' rankings, and a conversation with the highly successful head coach at Cy Creek HS, Jeff Chandler. Plus, upcoming events for those not playing the high school season. Several tournaments dot the schedule this fall punctuated by TAGS in November for T...

The biggest youth tournament in the world wrapped up with another successful foray in to the Lone Star State. Will there be a third Texas JOs in 2023? We talk about that an many other observations from the tournament. Which leads immediately to the first ever UIL water polo season (finally!). It's here. Not in theory. For real. Can you believe it? It's going to be an exciting, chaotic, edu...

You might have thought we were gone but no such luck. We recap the Spring high school season, look very much forward to the fall prep season, honor the Austin College women for their 3rd place finish at DIII Championiships, and talk about Junior Olympics, which are soon to swamp North Texas in water polo. Let's get ready for some UIL ball!

It's the 50th and final TISCA High School Water Polo Championship this weekend. We give a bit of a tribute to just how impressive that run has been especially in comparison to prep water polo elsewhere in the USA. Plus, Austin College will vie for a national championship after just four years in existence. The Kangaroo women travel to SoCal to take on Whittier in their opening match of USA Wat...

The ODP season is pretty much done except for National Team Selection Camp and our Southwest Zone athletes and coaches have returned from National Championships with some good results. Plus, Austin College remains the top-ranked team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III poll and head to Ohio for a four-game tournament against their fiercest rivals. And the high school season is he...

Yeah, this is vary late. Recorded on 2/23 it covers the recently concluded Spin Lob tournament in Austin and precedes the Thunder Spring Invite which took place in Lewisville on February 26-27. And now the high school season is here! Much more to come of that but first, reminisce a little about events that took place a week ago, which today seems like a very long time...

The kiddos of Texas descended on the Cy-Fair Natatorium last weekend where Joe and James faced off in an epic and shouty 12-and-under cage match. After some brilliant tactical moves, which included telling his team to "guard that guy!" it was James's squad who emerged triumphant. [Joe would insist on saying here that it was a really fun match and everyone had a great experience... and...

At least it wasn't as bad as 2020. The water polo world returned to some sense of normal in 2021 even though Covid was never too far removed. Nonetheless, Austin College had it's most successful calendar year so far, Texas showed it's capacity to host more national events, the high school season actually took place, and a new Linehan was brought in to the world. We talk about all the t...

Dare to Dream is approaching quickly and will be hosted in January by the CFWPC, led by Head Coach Chris Ellis. Joe speaks to him about that event and much more going on with his club. Plus, James puts Joe on the spot to answer a lot of questions about National Junior Olympics Session 3 in North Texas next summer. First of all, it IS going to happen. So then what? Who qualifies? How? What about se...