Water polo event highlights sport, Brentwood

Photo courtesy of Rosy Ayers

The Lamorinda Brentwood Water Polo team will be hosting the Pacific Junior Olympics qualifier.

The Lamorinda Brentwood Water Polo team is hosting the Pacific Junior Olympic Qualifiers at Liberty High School on Saturday, June 3, and Sunday, June 4. The event is being hosted in Brentwood for the second time because this is the only pool in the East Bay east of Mount Diablo to host this tournament and it is the first year in which the 12 and under coed (12U) team is participating in the tournament.

"Earning an entry to (Junior Olympics) is a big deal," said Lamorinda Water Polo Director Jack Doria. "It is the culminating event in age group water polo each year. It means you’re competing against the best clubs in the nation. We’re really proud of the fact that we have had athletes compete at (Junior Olympics) since 2016."

The USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics is the largest club water polo tournament in the nation. Each July, teams from all over the country come to California to compete over a four-day period. USA Water Polo divides the country into 11 zones: Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Mountain, Pacific, Central California, Coastal California, Southern Pacific, and Pacific Southwest. Brentwood is in the Pacific zone, one of the largest zones in the country. Each zone then receives a certain amount of allocations by USA Water Polo. From there, teams then play each of their Junior Olympics qualifier zone tournaments in June to qualify for the Junior Olympics, which alternates locations each year between Northern California (Bay Area) and Southern California (Orange County). The top teams in the country get a chance to compete, and it is the biggest tournament USA water polo hosts.

The Lamorinda Brentwood Water Polo team is sending three teams to qualifiers this year: 12U Coed, 16U Girls, and 16U Boys, Doria said. "For the first time, we are sending a 12 Coed team. We have been asked to be a host location for the (Junior Olympics) qualifying tournaments for a few years now, and were asked to be a host location for (Junior Olympics) last summer as well. The Pacific Zone has once again asked that we host again this year at Liberty High School with games in the 12U Coed and 14U Boys divisions. This gets our kids home games, a very rare circumstance in these kinds of tournaments."

Every fall, all athletes begin what is a year-long training effort, with an ultimate goal of qualifying to compete at Junior Olympics. Athletes 8th grade and under begin training in the fall, while high school athletes play for their respective schools in the fall, then begin training for winter Junior Olympics.

This weekend will feature the qualifying tournament for 10U, 12U, and 14U age groups. The 12U team will play at 12:10 p.m. and 2:40 p.m. at Liberty on Saturday and then a third game Saturday at either 5:10 p.m. or 6 p.m. depending on results of the previous games. Junior Olympics qualifiers for the older kids (16 and under girls and 16 and under boys) will be held on the weekend of June 16-18. Lamorinda Brentwood will enter the tournament this weekend as the fourth seed. The top eight teams will qualify for Junior Olympics. The free event is open to the public.

"The field has some very good teams, and competition level will be high," said Doria. "That said, our 12U coach, Rosina Ayers, has done an exemplary job developing the athletes, creating a positive culture with the team, and preparing them to meet the challenge of this tournament. I believe they will rise to the occasion and successfully qualify for (Junior Olympics). It is our hope that all three teams we entered into the (Junior Olympics) qualifiers successfully earn the right to represent our community and our club at (Junior Olympics) in Orange County in July."

Ayers, who has coached the Lamorinda 12U coed team for the past three years, says they will be without one of their starters for the first two games. But Ayers says the team has been working hard and still hopes to make it into the Junior Olympics tournament.

"We expect to qualify, and to have home games at Liberty High is a plus," said Ayers. "Many will be very nervous, but also very excited. If this group of kids qualifies, it would be the very first 12U group from Brentwood area to make it in."

Ayers’ daughter Erin, 11, has been playing water polo since she was 8, starting with the City of Brentwood's Splashball program along with teammates Charlie Campbell and Hailey Siino. Due to not having enough kids for the 10 and under Brentwood team, Erin and Charlie were forced to compete with the Orinda Lamorinda Team. This year however, there are enough members for a whole team, which means Erin Ayers will compete this weekend with the 12U coed Lamorinda Brentwood Team. Ayers says it is exciting to be able to not only practice in Brentwood, but also compete here as well.

"I’m super excited to compete at (Junior Olympics qualifiers), and I love that we are doing it at our home pool," Erin said. "I love water polo, and I can't wait for Saturday's games."

Doria and Ayers highlight the importance of hosting a home tournament not just to the team, but also to the community, helping to expand water polo in the area, bringing jobs to local kids, helping local businesses, and being a fundraiser for local high schools, officials said.

"This event is very important to the aquatic community," said Ayers. "We have also never had a local team have a home tournament. This helps the local team not have to travel over an hour to a tournament, and be able to have a tournament at a pool we are familiar with. It's definitely an advantage particularly since we will have late games on Saturday and early games on Sunday. The 12U kids, most with their very first (Junior Olympics qualifiers) ever would love the support of the community."

Doria added that the opportunity to host a tournament locally results in getting visibility from other water polo clubs, as well as the USA Water Polo Pacific Zone and USA Water Polo themselves.

"They have consistently complimented the community, the facilities, and the professionalism of our crews when hosting these events," said Doria. Such events "bring in many teams from all around the Bay Area to compete for a spot at Junior Olympics. Families and athletes have enjoyed our farmers market, the small-town feel here, and have frequented many downtown businesses. The public is absolutely invited to attend. It is a community event, and we’d love to see the stands packed to support these kids."

For details, visit https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/2018/12/19/junior-olympics.aspx. For details about the Brentwood team, visit Junior Olympics (JOs) - Brentwood SeaWolves

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