The Officers of Trojan Aquatics wanted to update you on some recent successes for our organization.
Trojan Aquatics successes
1. The Wissahickon School Board yesterday approved the purchase and installation of a new ultraviolet light purification system to be added to the Middle School pool. This system uses high intensity UV light to kill algae, bacteria and other pathogens, but also prevents the formation of chloramines. Chloramines are the primary cause of the noxious irritating gas found in indoor pools that result in eye, ear, and respiratory problems for swimmers and coaches. When Upper Dublin installed a UV system, the chloramines problem was immediately corrected. Your Trojan Aquatics officers have been working on this problem and solution for more than a year.
2. A high school swimmers record board has been purchased and now needs record holder names and installation. Another 1 year success story.
3. Meet Manager & Team Manager software – another recent purchase. This software will help swim coaches and timers table quickly and efficiently create line-ups, run meets and collect results for our teams.
4. Other things – stay tuned for some other changes in the works
5. November tune-up – this is the first year we’ve run a fall session and it’s a big success. We suggest we get more kids out next week to get a jump on the swim season. Our first meet is approaching fast – Wissahickon has been the team to beat at the Relay champs!
6. Middle school polo program - long-term this may be our biggest success. For our first Fall season, we had 3 girls and 7 boys participate. The Boys team (with some added players from the Greater Philly Water Polo team) won their first two games at the Middle School Champs and only lost to North Penn 11-10 in a very close finals contest. Luke Waechter and Ben Tumolo received All-State team recognition. The Girls teamed up with Rebel Water Polo who ended up winning the Girls Championship.
Trojan Aquatics organization
7. A number of people are not aware of what/who is the Trojan Aquatics organization. This is very easy — it is you. There are no application forms or other initiation requirements. As a reminder, every family is a member that has a Wissahickon High School Swim team & Water Polo team athlete. It is similar to programs like North Penn’s K&M (which is owned and managed by a coach), but more comparable to Souderton’s Rebel or Wilson’s Kingfish programs (both run by parents). Kingfish has grown from 15-20 kids to a program that now boasts more than 300 participants for their summer programs. You will hear more about Trojan Aquatics in the coming weeks.
8. Trojan Aquatics will hold our Annual Meeting immediately following the swim team parents/coaches meeting in December. We will vote for new officers, discuss fundraising, the 2010 program plans and any other issues the membership wants to cover.
2010 Water Polo goals
9. Coach Rob Mida announced his plans to continue as Wissahickon’s head coach for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. He has made a commitment to our teams and also expects the teams to achieve some high goals. For 2010 he is projecting both boys and girls teams to reach the State tournament. To be one of the top teams in Pennsylvania, to be competitive with larger, established programs, we need to focus on three improvement areas, described below.
10. Swimming – Success in water polo is built on strong swimming skills. Opponents can’t defend against you if they can’t catch you. With the guidance of our outstanding coaches Laurie Hug, John High, Michelle Pietrangelo and Kate Devlin, all our polo players can get stronger, faster, build endurance and become a more capable swimmer. Each player needs to set personal goals to be a top swimmer.
11. Middle School program – all the top polo schools start with younger players. Players who learn the game at age 5 to 10 have a huge advantage over novice high school kids. Trojan Aquatics was fortunate to attract 10 young players to participate in the 2009 Fall Middle School League. We need to double or triple that number for the Spring and Summer programs. All current players need to “sell” water polo to younger siblings, friends and neighbors. We need to get the word out to the Middle School students to join our Spring program, and we need high school players to help with the coaching. Our high school players are key to building interest and skills with new young players.
12. Summer programs – all the top polo schools play water polo year-round. It is not possible to be the best and play only 2 or 3 months a year. Trojans Aquatics will have a summer water program, possibly partnering with Greater Philly, K&M and Rebel for practices, clinics and scrimmages. Both 15&Under and High School players need to come out 2 or 3 nights a week next summer. If we can accomplish these three goals, Wissahickon Water Polo will have a very bright future.
