The TXWaterpolo Podcast

Can you believe it? Season 2 of the TXWaterpolo Podcast kicks off with a bang featuring two of the biggest names in American water polo, Adam Wright and Merrill Moses, both visiting Dallas to school some Texas youth on fundamentals. UCLA Head Coach Adam Wright talks (in the car) about the suspended MPSF season, shares his thoughts about adding Austin College to the men's conference, and enters...

Greg Mescall is the face and voice of USA Water Polo. But his title is actually Director of Communications, which means he leads the efforts to publish the Skip Shot Magazine, push content to social media, produce videos, call games, and a lot more. He speaks with Joe about those things and much more. Plus Greg wears a powder blue Buc-ee's shirt (see the Youtube video ), and Joe confesses his...

Cathy and Dewey Newsom are a Texas waterpolo powerhouse couple. Dewey, who grew up in Albuquerque went on to be part of the famous Texas A&M varsity teams of the 70s that competed at NCAA Championships twice. He’s been involved in the game since the age of seven as a player, coach, and referee. Cathy was part of the successful Aggies’ women’s program around the same time and has continued to b...

No music, no promos, no requests for gifting... This week, while James is on vacation, Joe spends some one-on-one time with Austin College Head Coach Mark Lawrence covering everything from the cancellation of the Roos' fall season, having a new baby, and Home Depot.

First, listeners will notice us speculating on playing the Welcome to Texas Shootout as scheduled for September. News emerged on Wednesday that that tournament and two others have been cancelled . Also, the UIL has provided guidance for its fall sports programs, relevant to water polo since so many clubs and high school teams utilize district facilities. Austin College, meanwhile, has suspended it...

A podcast special with Ohio's Spin Lob Podcast where Joe recently talked about growth in Texas and how it could possibly be mimicked in the Buckeye State. Plus, host Nick Hellwig interviews Napoleon HS coach Mike Nye and his daughter and fellow coach Maddie.

Today's show features a conversation with Jonathan Landero who has led the rapid rise of aquatics, including water polo, in the Rio Grande Valley. He talks about how he got to where he is, the future of aquatics in his region, and - in an interchange charged with tension - about how his PSJA team tied James' Round Rock HS boys a couple years ago. That's preceded by a bunch of Joe and J...

We're coming up on season two of the show (thanks for all your support!) and today cover some ODP coaching changes and cancellations, the victors of our Best of Texas Tournament, and more. Then legendary Naval Academy coach Mike Schofield speaks with Joe about the Texans who helped his program succeed and much more about his multi-decade career leading the Midshipmen.

For our 50th episode (!) we bring you one of the greats. Brenda Villa was recently named Co-Chair of USA Water Polo's Racial Equity and Reform Task Force. One of her first efforts was taking part in a Southwest Zone Town Hall on Tuesday. She and James cover that, her overall aims for the new organization, the success of Commerce Water Polo, her thoughts on growing the Rio Grande Valley and bey...

Eight clubs in Texas are back in the pool with a couple situated in North Texas where James visited a Pegasus practice at their temporary outdoor solution. Plus Joe observed a UIL meeting where virtually nothing was said about water polo (good news). And Mihai Oprea gets a send-off appropriate to the times. Then a review of the semis of the Best of Texas programs as we head to the final week of vo...

Today’s TXWaterpolo Pod Special features the entirety of Joe’s conversation with George Block, the ‘godfather’ of San Antonio aquatics. The Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame inductee is renowned throughout the state for his successes in swimming. But for water polo fans, he was the driving force behind the huge success of the sport in that area beginning in the early 80s. He and Joe talk abou...

On the heels of several requests for information about where in Texas those thinking about a relocation to Texas should consider, Joe and James share some different perspectives, one as a relative newcomer to the state, the other a lifer. That and a discussion of humidity. Then, following Joe's conversation with George Block, we're sharing a plea with our followers to nominate Texas water...

Setting aside our banter about Joe's move to San Antonio, we start with a brief discussion about efforts to expand diversity in water polo in our state after an historic week in the US and elsewhere. Then we revisit our Best of Texas tournament where results changed little since we covered preliminary results last week. And finally, Joe spoke at length to the legendary George Block, the "g...

Amidst some historic turmoil we offer our little show to, perhaps, give something more hopeful to think about. We stick to our water polo roots with an encouraging discussion of the programs that have plans to get back in the pool, and a team that is ramping up operations in Fort Worth, an area with tons of potential for growth. Then, on to our Best of Texas Tournament II (polls remain open!), whi...

It’s a TXWaterpolo Pod Special, this week featuring Lena Skinner, water polo parent extraordinaire. She helped make hospitality at Thunder tournaments a topic of discussion throughout the state and beyond. Her leadership with the club was prompted by parenting two boys who excelled at the club and continue to play at the collegiate level with Austin College. Joe had a chance to speak with her last...

We resurrect the Best of Texas idea, this time focusing on the great high school programs in Texas history. Check that out in the second segment where we lay out the brackets for our newest stunt. It's kinda like selecting the greatest ever NFL franchise which, I'm sure everyone would agree, is the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. But first we cover more on how practice is go...

It's another pod special, this week featuring Houston Hall. We shared excerpts of his conversation with Joe last week but here's the entire interview. Houston was a member of St. Mark’s first state championship team in 1975. He went on to play at Harvard University after which he returned to Dallas where he was an important member of Dallas Water Polo, perhaps the state’s most successful m...

Not only is Texas leading the nation in resuming water polo practice but it's James' team! On monday AquaTex held it's first training in Round Rock since March 12 while maintaining two-meters distance at all times. James and Joe discuss it and go over some of the new requirements that teams may have to adhere to in order to hop back in. Then, we introduce a follow up to the massively p...

As we wrap up our Best of Texas high school tournament we speak with a member of the victorious 2007 Baytown Sterling team, Zayne Belal. In that year he also earned a TISCA Water Polo MVP award followed by three national championships with the USC Trojans. We talk about that high school experience, working with the great and controversial Jovan Vavic, med school during a pandemic, and much more.

AquaTex is going back to practice! James' team may be the first in the US to actually get back to training, and is likely the first in Texas to do so. He and Joe talk about the technical aspects of actually doing training and how it will be so profoundly altered by the restrictions placed on human contact. Bittersweet news. Then we talk about the (not hugely surprising) sweep by the '07 Ba...

Amy Olsen left Baytown already one of the most decorated players in Texas high school history. But that was just the start. An effective recruiter and the allure of the big city brought her to Iona College, located in New Rochelle, just 15 miles from bustling Manhattan. There she emerged as one of the most dominant players on the East Coast participating in three NCAA Championship tournaments and...

Amy Olsen, one of Texas' most decorated water polo athletes and a former professional player in Europe, chats with Joe about her experiences overseas, Sterling's dominance, and her new puppy. Excerpts of that conversation can be found in today's show to be followed by the entire interview later this week. Before that we cover the semifinals of our very popular Best of Texas High School...

The voters have spoken and the quarterfinals of our Best of Texas High School Tournament are complete. After collecting over 500 votes the semis are now set. Joe and James go over all of them. Plus, Texas businesses are slowly re-opening after the governor announces a phased approach, but explicitly rules out public pools until May 18 at the very earliest. And finally, Doug Andrew and his son Tom...

Justin Pudwill ended a hugely successful 10 years at the helm of Whittier College's men's and women's water polo programs to make his Houston return and take advantage of some slightly lower home prices compared to pricey SoCal. His journey started in Huntington Beach though, and he and Joe talk about the transition from surf-crazy HB to playing polo for the legendary Mac MacDonald at...

It's almost as hard to believe that this is our 40th episode as it is that James hasn't gone past his front gate in five days. The quarantine goes on but we try to fill the water polo void with the very sad but not surprising news that the Texas high school season is over. Then, a smashing success as we received over 1100 votes in our first round Best of Texas High School Tournament. And f...