The TXWaterpolo Podcast

In one of the most fascinating conversations we can recall we speak with the highly successful Head Coach at St. Mark's School and Trident Water Polo Club in Dallas. Mihai Oprea has turned St. Mark's in to one of the most consistently excellent high school teams in Texas having won five of the last six state championships, a subject we discuss at length. But more absorbing than his coachin...

The NCAA canceled this year's final four (tm). Be we haven't. In fact, we've created the first ever Best of Texas high school tournament pitting teams from nearly a half-century of prep water polo. After you listen to Joe recall nearly every detail from every team since 1972 go to TXWaterpolo.com for a link to the brackets, and then VOTE! The Best of Texas is up to you, so spread the w...

Part two of a conversation with Mac MacDonald, Head Coach at Lamar HS and one of the pioneers of the sport in Texas. Plus some vamping about the first three decades of prep water polo as we kick off our Best of Texas programming.

It's a long one, but what else do you have to do? Today, a few items are still on the calendar and the UIL hasn't shut the season down (yet). Then, we start getting in to the history of high school water polo in Texas. We talk with the legendary "Mac" MacDonald about the sport from its inception in the 70s through the 90s. And, we introduce a new feature, the "Best of Texas,&#3...

Back in December we spoke with 2008 Olympic Siver Medalist and Stanford All-American Peter Hudnut after his visit to Houston where he led a clinic for Houston Storm. We spoke about his connections with Texas, his career at Stanford, and, of course, about that amazing run in Beijing. A poor internet connection and some pretty horrible earbuds didn't really help our conversation. But if you can...

You know things are pretty slow when Joe and James chat about Tiger King. Well, not only that, but: Austin College wins the (virtual) CWPA DIII Championships! Which are the best high school teams in Texas history (what do you think?) How to teach eggbeater (biggest takeaway, dance around like a possessed sumo wrestler) A forthcoming online Texas Water Polo Academy Haba Waba in 2021 And Angela Uno,...

What a week. Though it came as no surprise the Olympics have been postponed until 2021 after several Olympic committees and sports associations declared they would be absent from games held in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the delay of an Olympiad for the first time since World War II. And plenty followed from that including speculation that the summer club season could be altered dramati...

We are living in strange times. As the COVID-19 pandemic makes its mark on Texas and the rest of the world our small, tight community of water polo athletes, fans, coaches, families are dramatically affected too. We discuss what we know as of Tuesday knowing full well that events are changing by the hour. What’s been cancelled? What have school districts decided so far? What will happen to the hig...

On this week's episode: Austin College wins four straight on the road, a conversation with Thunder, ODP, and Braswell Coach Sabrina Carlile, and Joe loses his voice in San Antonio. That amidst worsening news about COVID-19 pandemic as its effects on everyone, including the water polo community, magnify. Music Scott Holmes Mail the Horse Twelvehourmary

There’s too much stuff to cover for a clever description here. How about some bullet points? ODP is over and James is proud of his Southwest Zone boys. Then he whines about two one-goal losses to California teams. Joe insults his ability to coach defense. Joe gets his coaching fix at the Thunder Spring Invite and shouts. A&M kicks off the women’s CWPA season with a barn burning 4-3 win over th...

We asked for your input and we really got it. The first week of prep (sorry. high school) water polo ended with St. Mark's and Foster on top of the tables according to our very first coaches' panel vote. Then with your nominations we give credit to those high school athletes who stood out over the past week: Offensive, Defensive, and Rookies. Finally, ODP National Championships approach fo...

You’ll know the theme of the show because James and Joe begin the thing by debating whether “prep” or “high school” is the more accurate term (“prep” wins). That’s right, the high school season is actually here with games being played in the West and Houston on Tuesday evening. So which schools will be on top at the end of this spring? We introduce our new coaches’ poll feature and churn out some...

Cowtown's second tourney ever is in the books with clubs from as far away as Albuquerque taking part. But the biggest story, clearly, is AquaTex's 3rd place result in the 14u bracket... Meanwhile, the high school girls of Thunder went out to Cali and brought home a Kap7 tournament championship trophy! They were joined by boys' teams from Thunder and Pegasus who had some impressive resu...

The Austin College women put the scare in two strong East Coast D-1 teams at the Bruno Invite but return to Sherman without a win after a very challenging weekend. At the same time NYAC won gold twice at the Spin Lob Tournament completed on Sunday in Austin – just in time to watch the Big Game on Southwest Airlines. Then, Joe and James introduce some features TXWP will be rolling out as the high s...

The Spin Lob Tournament is finally here which means a big collection of very talented players are coming to Austin. And if tradition holds, they will *really* enjoy their time here - 6th Street will never be the same. Meanwhile, the AC 'Roos women are getting some serious pub on ESPN+ where all their Bruno Invitational games will be streamed this weekend. Thank you, Entertainment and Sports Pr...

While a gaggle of kids age 12 and under descended on Houston for the (biggest ever) Dare to Dream Tournament, the varsity women of Austin College will be tested very soon by some of college's best programs. We talk with Head Coach Mark Lawrence about what training has looked like so far and expectations for this coming season, which gets under way at Brown on January 31. Plus, Luis Nicolao, He...

The calendar has turned and we haven't talked Texas water polo yet. The wait is over. We're back along with a lot of Texans who braved the snow of Utah to compete at USA Water Polo's Olympic Development Program West Region Championships in Kearns. Plus, there's movement in the high school water polo scene. And, TXWaterpolo has plans! Tune in for all the exciting details as James an...

It's been a monumental year for water polo in Texas. We re-cap the top stories of the year, good and bad. Plus, there's so much growth going on we have to cover it. And we share a few new year's resolutions that there's little chance of us actually following. That, the usual nonsense, and low quality audio as we tip the calendar toward 2020. Enjoy! With huge gratitude for all our l...

This one is for everyone who has asked, "why don't we hear more podcasts featuring someone driving up I-35?" You're welcome. It's the week before Christmas, which means the sport goes largely dormant. But that doesn't prevent James and Joe from vamping about on-the-ground efforts to grow high school water polo, more encouraging results from California, and how masters athle...

Austin College completes their second-ever varsity men's season improved but still looking for more as they go 1-1 against rivals Penn State - Behrend to close out the MPSF Tournament. We talk with Head Coach Mark Lawrence about the tournament, his impressions of the Big Four® as Stanford wins NCAAs, and Monty the 9-week old great dane. Plus, James and Joe cover the Cowtown Stampede (shout out...

Yes, the wait is over. We’re back, just in time for the biggest weekend of intercollegiate water polo all year. Could a program not from the Big Four™ win it all? Could we be talking about the Pacific Tigers, National Champions, a week from now? Well, we’ll give you some (poorly informed) predictions to help you win your office pool. Plus, ODP hits a milestone after a very busy weekend with some o...

The title says it all. A frenzied ODP Thanksgiving weekend returns to Texas when two camps will be held back to back, one in North Texas, the other in NE Houston. The season ends for the UT men after a tight opening round loss to Penn State at CWPA Men's Collegiate Club National Championships. They recovered nicely to finish 3-1 and earned ninth in the nation. And Austin College will finish it...

This week is all about the dedication of this show, traveling all over the state to watch three events located well over 300 miles apart. Actually, that's what Joe did from Wednesday to Monday while James just sat in a chair in Austin. What Joe got to see was Austin College on a three-game win streak while hosting games in Sherman, and we talk to Head Coach Mark Lawrence about the 'Roos&#3...

If you think that there's no water polo going on this weekend in Texas we will prove you wrong. The unofficial 8th Grade, 14 and under championships are in Houston with some of the best clubs in the country headed our way for the Champions Cup. Meanwhile, 300 miles north, the Austin College 'Roos will be stuffing as many fans as possible in their natatorium where they will host four and pl...

Your mighty 'Roos returned from Pennsylvania with their first win of the season, a thumping of tournament hosts Washington & Jefferson. We talk about that, upcoming games, and the (still buzzing) UIL decision to add water polo with Austin College varsity Head Coach Mark Lawrence. Speaking of UIL, have you heard that they added water polo? Well you're gonna hear more as James and Joe va...