Dual Meet Storm Kamloops      

Cadet/Youth                                      
October 7-9, 2011            

The Kamloops training Camp proved to be a very valuable experience for the Cadet boys team.  Although we were forced to travel with just 6 players due to injuries/illness/family affairs, the boys that participated enjoyed a very solid weekend of scrimmaging against the 2010 National Champions, Pacific Storm.

We played 4 sessions against the reigning champions, and while scores were not kept by either side, it was quite evident that the two teams were very evenly matched.  The Calgary boys showed both their physical and mental toughness by competing hard every minute of the camp, despite playing against a much more rested opponent who benefited from having a full bench.

As a coach, this weekend was immensely important as it gave me an opportunity to see our players in action for the first time, allowing me to better assess our current level and properly tailor both the team and individual training objectives for the remainder of the season.  Training against the reigning Cadet National champions was also a great competitive value as it provides me with a clear measuring stick for this coming season.  While the 16 hours of bus required to make this camp happen is invariably tough on everyone, seeing the athletes enjoy themselves together while making the best of it showed once again why long bus rides are perhaps the greatest bonding experience a team can enjoy.   

Besides how well the boys played, the ultimate and unmistakable proof of what a valuable trip this is for our team, and for the club as a whole, could be found on the cheek-to-cheek smiles on the faces of every athlete who got off the bus late Sunday night in Calgary.

All in all, a great trip!

Nathaniel Miller

Cadet Boys Head Coach

Torpedo Youth vs Storm

The Torpedo Youth played a very strong pressing defence all weekend and got outstanding performances by everyone who took turns playing goal . Finally settling on a injured  Devon Thumwood who provided us with a ball stealing goalie which augmented our press.  The Youth also won 3 out of 4 scrimmages and in fact lost only 1 quarter – showing a game more mature than expected at this time of year. Strong hole play by Trevor,  Nic and Oscar as well as very strong hole checking by all (dominating hole checking by Bryce)  resulted in achieving our goal of a solid press game – we also saw the emergence of Scott Hunter playing way beyond his experience level. Dylan took on the job of setting the tempo and work ethic to a level Storm could not achieve – while Matt made strides in playing intense but relaxed Polo.  Next up Fraser Valley Nov 5-6  where we will incorporate more offensive tactics and perfect our press with a little zone added.

A final comment :

The players that attended this training event benefitted enormously – it was worth countless hours of home training --- I hope that, especially on the boys side, we all realize this  before we encounter Valley next month.

It is not a fluke that the Renegade Girls have dominated Water Polo in Canada for the last few years – it is that we have had girls who simply don’t miss out – over 100% of practises is normal attendance  and very close to 100% of attendance at all competition events – usually the ones missing are away playing water polo CSL etc…   !!   

John Csikos

Head Coach