Great Results at the 2016 Duke City Tournament
Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 8-10, 2016
The Pirates had a great weekend in Albuquerque and took 2nd in the 10U, 1st and 2nd in the 12U, 2nd and 3rd in 15U, 3rd in 18U Womens, 1st in 18U and 2nd in Masters.
Pirates Shine in LA at the 2016 Winterfest
Los Angeles, California, February 12-14, 2016
12U went 4-1 and played in the championship game. 14U took 7th out of 12 teams in the top boys division. 18U took 6th out of 12 teams in the AAA boys division. We were the only team outside of California in all of our divisions.
Pirates Excel at the Grier Laughlin Memorial Tournament!
Thorton, Colorado – November 6-8, 2015
Congratulations to all of our Pirates on a great finish to the Fall Season at the Grier Memorial! Our 12U and 18U Mixed took first, 18 Girls too second, and 15U and 10U took third.
12U’s Capture 10th in the Nation at Rocktober
Mesa, Arizona – October 23-25, 2015
Our 12U’s did a great job in this weekend’s national 12U championships.
They went 3-2 against very strong competition to finish 10th out of 24 teams.
Game 1: Oregon 14, CWP 8
Game 2: CWP 13, SoCal 12
Game 3: CWP 16, Coronado 12
Game 4: CWP 16, Vanguard B 12
Game 5: Pacific 9, CWP 8
Great job, Pirates!
Coach Craid Ackley Recognized for Coaching Excellence
Coach Craig was recognized by USA Water Polo with the 2015 Bill Barnett Distinguished Coaching Award for the Mountain Zone.
Two Pirate Teams Compete at Junior Olympics
Orange County, CA – July, 2015
After losing their first four games against very strong competition, both our 14U teams and 18U teams ended their Junior Olympics tournament with wins on the final day.
Our 14U’s led all the way in a close game to earn a two-point victory against Puget Sound (Washington). They won their final three games to finish with a 3-4 record.
Our 18U’s came from behind for a one-point win against Kearns and had a 2-5 record.
Link to 18u JO Photos courtesy Bill Cole
Congratulations to both teams for taking on this challenge in an effort to improve… and have fun!
Pirates are 2015 Mountain Zone Champions in Two Divisions!
Thornton, CO – June 19-21, 2015
Both the CWP 12U and 14U A teams captured 1st place in the annual Mountain Zone Championships, going undefeated. Our 16U and 18U teams both took 2nd place.
2015 saw the biggest and most competitive Mountain Zone touranment to date. Colorado Water Polo hosted this event for the first time and we thank the fabulous effort from our parents to organize this event which included hours and hours of planning and volunteer work as well as an exceptional fundraising effort.
We are very proud of our athletes and families for doing such a great job at this event!
Pirates Take 4 Divisions at Duke Tourney
Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 27-29, 2015
Congratulations Pirates! Our teams claimed 1st place in the 10U, 12U, 15U and 18U boys divisions.
Coaches were thrilled by the development and determination of our other three teams, all of whom played very, very well!
Victory in California!
Los Angeles, California, February 13-15, 2015
The 12U and 14U teams did very well at Winterfest in LA! 14U took first in their Division and 12U took second.
Friday, February 13th
12U’s – Defeated CHAWP 16-3
14U’s – Defeated 714 WPC 11-4
Saturday, February 14th
12U’s – Defeated Brentwood 14-4
Defeated Admiral 13-12
14U’s – Defeated South Bay United 14-2
Defeated Power AC 12-5
Sunday, February 15th
12U’s Defeated Pacific Polo 13-2
12U’s Lost to International 8-11 to claim 2nd place in their division
14U’s Defeated Pacific Polo 13-2
14U’s Defeted Clovis Red 12-5 to finish 1st in their division!
Great showing at the Grier Tournament!
Thornton, Colorado, November 1-3, 2014
Congratulations to all of our Pirates for a great showing at our Grier Laughlin Memorial Tournament. We won the 18U Mixed, 15U Mixed and 12U Mixed Divisions. The 18U Girls team took third with a sudden death overtime victor.
Pirates at Rock-tober National 12U Championships
Mesa, Arizona, October 24-26, 2014
Friday October 24
Lost to Shore Aquatic Red, 1-15
Lost to San Diego Shores, 3-18
Saturday, October 25
Beat Mesa 21-3
Beat AWPC 18-3
Sunday, October 26
Lost to Chelsea Piers 6-7
Beat SoCal 10-5
Took 11th place in this national championship.
Congratulations 12U’s!
Congrats Pirate 12U, 16U, and 18U Teams! 2014 Mountain Zone Champions!
Albuquerque, June, 2014
This was our best Mountain Zone Tournament yet. First place in three divisions, second place in 14U’s and third place in girls 18’s. We also had a second 14U team which took 5th place in a crowded field of entries.
All of our athletes deserve congratulations for a year of hard work leading to team-wide success at Zones. In addition, we are recognizing a few special performances:
12U Team:
MVP: Mason Maclear
Most Improved: Aden Dravenstott
Pirate Captain: Maddie Raab
Iron Pirate: Grayson Mix
13-18 Teams:
MVP (16U and 18U): Cooper Krause and Ian Dretzka
Pirate Captain (16U and 18U): Fiona Dretzka
Most Improved (16U and 18U): Jake Salinas
Most Improved (18U Girls): Jessica Porter, Andrea Jewell, Madi Mix
MVP (14U Black): JP Aro and Esteban Rivero
Most Improved (14U Black): Georgia Batson
Up and Comers (14U Black): Nobel McMaster and Drake Hampton
MVP (14U Gold): Minna Uhr
Most Improved (14U Gold): Derek Moran
Iron Pirate (14U Gold): Maya and Emi Short
Pirates Storm Duke Tournament
Albuquerque, April, 2014
10U’s, 12U’s, 15U’s and 18U’s all claimed 1st place in the Duke City Tournament. Our girls 18U’s took 3rd place.
12U Pirates Take First At Winterfest
Los Angeles, February, 2014
Congratulations to our 12U Pirates for taking first place in the prestigious Winterfest Tournament in Los Angeles. The Pirates finished with a tournament record of 5-1 and were the only non-California team in the division. Below are the results from each game:
2/14
CWP (13) v. Valley Falcon (12)
2/15
CWP (17) v. Empire (3)
CWP (8) v. Gold Coast (4)
2/16
CWP (17) v. Aliso Polo (1)
La Serna (5) v. CWP (3)
CWP (14) v. Renegades (4)
Two Pirate Coaches Earn Mountain Zone Awards for 2013
December, 2013
Coaches Kyle Davenport and Maureen Mitchell are being honored as the Mountain Zone male and female development coaches of the year.
Coach Kyle is receiving the Ted Newland Distinguished Coaching Award and Coach Maureen is being recognized with the Brent Bohlender Distinguished Coaching Award. Both awards are named for USAWP Hall of Fame coaches.
Pirates Take Their Home Tournament
Denver, November, 2013
Congratulations Pirates on taking 1st place in four of five divisions.
Thanks to our amazing parents for helping us make our home tournament a great event!
Great job everyone!
PHOTOS HERE!
Click here to view Grier Day 1
Click here to view Grier Day 2.
Colorado Girls take 2nd Place in Rock-tober 12U National Championships
Denver, October, 2013
Coach Maureen led a team of girls from our club, the Rocky Mountain Neptunes, and Albuquerque Water Polo to 2nd place in this national championship tournament. Thanks to Coach “Mo” and Coach Kyle for their great work in preparing this team and to the athletes for working so hard and doing so well.
Our co-ed team placed 11th in this tough and prestigious tournament.
Pirates Storm Albuquerque – Claim 1st in Two Divisions
Albuquerque, September, 2013
This was a great trip for several reasons. Many new players competed in their first tournament and every participant earned a ribbon as six CWP teams earned two 1st place finishes, three 2nd places awards, and one 3rd place result.
In both the 12U and 15U divisions we had two entries which went undefeated until they faced off for 1st and 2nd place.
Our 18U boys finished with a tie for best record, but fell to 2nd place on a goal differential tie-breaker to Duke.
Our girls team, full of many very new and/or very young players, finished 2-2 to capture 3rd place in their division.
12U Division: 1st Place – Pirates; 2nd Place – Pirates
15U Division: 1st Place – Pirates Gold; 2nd Place – Pirates Black
18U Boys Division: 2nd Place – Pirates
18U Girls Division: 3rd Place – Pirates
Four Pirates Recognized as 2012-2013 USA Water Polo Academic All-Americans
September, 2013
We’re proud to announce that four Pirates qualified for this prestigious honor during the 2012-2013 year. Fiona Dretzka, Hannah Harm, Mitchell Stieg, and Ander Thompson were all recognized for this award. Three of these athletes are captains this year. The fourth, Mitchell, is a freshman at Cal-Berkeley.
Athletes must maintain a 3.6 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and participate in a national level competition such as JO’s or a national championship to be recognized.
Hannah, Mitchell and Ander were all further recognized for achieving 4.0 GPA’s during the school year.
Congratulations Pirates!
CWP 14U’s – 2013 Mountain Zone Champs
Salt Lake City, April, 2013
Thank you all for a great weekend! We took our largest group of athletes yet, more than 50 kids making up six entries in the tournament. Of those six teams, three made their division final and our 14U team can now say they are the Mountain Zone Champions for 2013! The 12U Green team and 16U Black team both lost to Kearns teams in the finals to finish in 2nd place. Our 18U team claimed third place.
Check your e-mail for a couple of other stories and details on leftover gear and upcomign events.
Pirates Take 1st in 18U, 2nd in 15U Divisions at 2013 Duke Invitational
Albuquerque, April 2013
We had another fun trip to Albuquerque and brought home some loot to boot. Our 18U team went undefeated prevailing in two tough games against Albuquerque and Duke to wrap up first place.
Our 15U Black squad met Utah powerhouse Kearns in the 15U final and came up just short, falling 11-10, and earning second place.
Our 15U Gold, 12U Green, and 12U Blue teams all played hard earning kudos from our coaches and opponents.
Alex Alcock and Fiona Dretzka also played with the Murray Spartans girls team which dominated their division to take first place. Congrats to them on claiming two titles this weekend!
Thank you to all of the parents who made this trip possible. We simply could not do it without your financial support and planning help. Also, numerous parents travelled with us and helped make sure our athletes were well-fed. THANK YOU!
Finally, thanks to the Duke City club and head coach Janet Huffman for organizing this event and allowing us two entries in the 15U and 12U divisions.
2013 ODP Regional Updates
March 2013
The Mountain Zone Boys 14U team, featuring many Pirates, took second place in their ODP rregional last weekend (March 22-24). This is a strong finish for a Mountain Zone squad. Congratulations Pirates! And, Adam Cole was invited to take part in the14U national team selection camp.
Current Pirate Fiona Dretzka and former Pirate Brigitta Games played in the girls 18U regional final as the Mountain Zone A team won 14-11. The game was close for most of the contest until the Mountain team pulled away in the final minutes. Brigitta was a force for the team, leading them to victory. Congratulations to all of our ODP participants.
Fiona, Brigitta, and Hannah have all been invited to their age group’s national team selection camps.
If you missed it, it will still be available to watch later here:
http://new.livestream.com/accounts/3280352
Pirate Alumni Prevail in Overtime
December 2012
I I can’t talk about this game without first saying how much fun it was to see so many of our former players return to play again! It was great to see Anna, Kari, Jill, Mikhail, Cory, Kevin, LJ, Sean, Ben, (Scuba) Steve, Ryan, and, of course, Kailin.
Now, to the game… our 18U’s got out to a good lead in the 1st quarter, but the alumni roared back to force a close game at the half. Regulation ended in a tie, so we went to overtime. This meant two quarters of 3-minutes each. Six more minutes of play seemed to concern the older alumni team, but they still prevailed on a last-minute goal to win 15-14.
Thank you to everyone who took part! It was great to see some old Pirates take to the “seas” again, and to give our older players a good, strong challenge. We will try to do this more often.
Pirates Claim 2nd Twice in Albuquerque
October 2012
Congratulations to our Pirates who made the finals in both the 14U and 16U divisions. The 16U’s and the 14U Black teams both lost to Team Vegas in the finals, but had strong showings throughout the tournment. 14U Black was undefeated going into the final.
Both our 12U team and our 14U Gold team improved in every game of the tournament, making all of our coaches proud. And, the 18U’s survived a hectic schedule and injury to team Captain Sam Buchholz to play great polo in three of their four games.
As another treat, players and parents got to see some of our coaches compete for the Denver Masters team in the masters division. The Denver Masters took 1st place after surviving a very tough semi-final game.
Hannah’s dad, Glenn, took some great photos during the tournament. If you’d like to see them, just go to: http://glennharm.zenfolio.com/2012octoberalbuquerque
Team Drake Wins Regular Season
October 2012
Team Drake defeated Team Barbarossa Saturday to claim the regular season title for our first ever League of Pirates. Team Rackham defeated Team Morgan. Here are the final standings.
Drake 4-2
Barbarossa 3-3
Rackham 3-3
Morgan 2-4
There are still two weeks of practice and one more Saturday in this inaugural league. League members are welcome to practice with us through the end of the month. On October 27th, we would still like to have our playoff games, but we’re hearing from some people who will be out of town for fall break. If we have enough athletes, we will still have our playoffs. If not, we will take the athletes who show up and have a fun day of scrimmages. See you there!
Pirates Get an Olympic Boost
August 2012
There was tremendous turnout at the first practice following the 2012 Olympic Games in London. With more water polo on television than ever before, dozens of new players showed up to a practice at Hinkley High School on August 11th. Combine new players with established Pirates and more than 70 kids filled the pool to enjoy some water polo.
JO Team Gets First Win!
July 2012
After three tough losses, the Pirates played strong defense in their second Sunday match to win 10-6 against the Raiders. The game was tied 6-6 at the end of the third. That’s when our Pirates turned it up at both ends of the pool, shutting out their opponent and putting in four goals. Coach Kailin said the difference in the game was how aggressive the team was and how they played with more intensity, going strong after loose balls and making plays. Congratulations Pirates for getting our first team victory at the Junior Olympics!
You can track results here: https://www.dbwebwhim.net/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/02604.1.025367203690603363
Pirates Bring Home Some Bling from Utah
June 2012
Of the five teams entered in the 2012 Mountain Zone Championship Tournament, three came home with trophies and medals. Our 14U Black team took 2nd place in their division.And the 16U’s and 18U’s each took third place.Congratulations, Pirates!
This tournament was the first competition for many of our players. The coaching staff is very proud of the way our athletes performed.
It was a great chancetosee the speed at which the game canand should be played.We want all of our players tostart practicing and scrimmaging at that level all the time so our level of play will increase.
Pirates Take Duke to the Limit
April 5-7, 2012
Another great Pirate road trip!We had fun and played some great water polo! On the final day, Saturday, we faced off against Duke in three straight finals for the 12U’s, 15U’s, and 18U’s.
Our 12U’s claimed another tournament win. They went undefeated for the tournament! Thank you to the Neptune players who joined us for the tournament.
Our 15U Black team took 2nd in a hard-fought final. Our 15U Gold team, featuring many of our newest players got better in each game. All of the players on the Gold team grew tremendously during the tournament.
Our 18U’s lost their first game of the tournament against Duke, then won three straight games to earn another shot at Duke in the final. After falling behind early, the 18U’s fought back to tie the game in the final minute, but lost by one point.
All of our coaches are so proud of the effort and level of play we saw during the tournament. We hope everyone is motivated to work even harder in the coming weeks as we get ready for our great annual trip to Utah!
Great job Pirates!
Bill Cole took a lot of great photos. Check your e-mail for the link and password to see them all.
Our Community Service Project
March 17, 2012
Another great day for the Pirates! We had more than 50 people show up to take part in the city of Aurora’s High Line Canal Cleanup, March 17th. The crowd included Pirates, siblings, parents, and some friends. Thank you all for taking time to help one of the many great communities represented by our team members.
Attacking our segment of the canal with real Pirate Power, we finished up earlier than expected. That gave us time to support David Papp’s baseball team for a few innings before heading to our Saturday practice.
Thank you again for taking part. We’ll be looking for more opportunities like this in the future!
2012 Grier Laughlin Memorial Tournament
March 9-11, 2012
The 2ndAnnual Grier Laughlin InvitationalWater Polo Tournament was a huge success!From thebig smiles I saw all around, everyone had a good time. Our coaches are so proud of the effort our athletes made and how much they grew as water polo players. We are also grateful to all of the parents who helped in so many ways: housing visiting athletes and coaches; staffing the scorer’s table; providing food and service in the hospitaly suite; tending to the entry station to guide guests, pass out programs, and sell t-shirts. You were all amazing. This teamwide effort from our players and parents resulted in a great event.
The head referee, Tyson, who has reffed all over California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and more came up to me after the final game to tell me it was one of the best run tournaments he’s ever been to and that the hospitality was outstanding. Thank you all.
Our coaching staff hopes that all of our players will use the energy and excitement from this tournament to approach practice with more effort and dedication. We have another chance to play in a tournament in just four weeks in Albuquerque. Please email both coach Mark and coach Kyle if you plan to attend. Once we see how many kids we’ll have, we’ll talk about transportation and costs.
Back to this tournament, we earned trophies in all three divisions including 1st Place in the 12U’s. CONGRATULATIONS PIRATES!
You can review game results under the “Grier Tourney” tab at the top of this page. And we’ll have lots of great pictures soon from Glenn Harm and Bill Cole. Keep checking back.
Friday, March 9th
TimeDiv Dark Caps White Caps
3:00pm15U 10 Colorado A 9 Colorado B
4:00pm18U 9 Colorado 15 Pirate Alumni
5:00pm12U 6 Colorado 4 Rocky Mountain
6:00pm12U 14 Albuquerque4 Force
7:00pm15U 12 Duke City 6 Mountain Combined
8:00pm18U 11 New Mexico12 Rocky Mountain
Saturday, March 10th
7:30am 15U 6 Colorado B 15 Duke City
8:30am 18U 20 Colorado 5 Rocky Mountain
9:30am 12U 13 Rocky Mountain 6 Force
10:30am 12U 11 Colorado 4 Albuquerque
11:30am 18U 7 New Mexico 18 Pirate Alumni
12:30pm 15U 11 Colorado A 9 Mountain Combined
2:00pm 18U 6 Rocky Mountain 15 Pirate Alumni
3:00pm 15U 6 Colorado A 20 Duke City
4:00pm 12U 14 Colorado 7 Force
5:00pm 12U 12 Albuquerque 7 Rocky Mountain
6:00pm18U 18 Colorado 7 New Mexico
7:00pm 15U 11 Colorado B 12 Mountain Combined
Sunday, March 11
8:00am 18U 9 Rocky Mtn. 11 New Mexico
9:00am15U 7 Mountain 2 Colorado B
10:00am 12U 13 Rocky Mtn. 5 Force
11:00am 12U 9 Colorado 4 Albuquerque
12:00pm 15U 10 Duke City 5 Colorado A
1:00pm18U 9 Pirate Alumni 8 Colorado
Final Standings
18U Division
1st Place: Pirate Alumni
2nd Place:Colorado Water Polo
3rd Place: New Mexico
4th Place: Rocky Mountain Neptunes
15U Division
1st Place: Duke City
2nd Place:Colorado Water Polo A
3rd Place: Mountain Combined
4th Place: Colorado Water Polo B
12U Division
1st Place: Colorado Water Polo
2nd Place: Albuquerque
3rd Place: Rocky Mountain Neptunes
4th Place: Force Water Polo
TOURNAMENT NEWS
Pirates Take 5th at 2011 12U National Championships
The Pirates won their final three games to take 5th place at USA Water Polo’s first ever 12U National Championship Tournament. Teams came from Connecticut, Florida, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado.
The final game for the Pirates was the most closely-contested against a very strong Neptunes team. The Pirates led by one at half-time. But the Neptunes came back to tie the game by the end of the 3rd quarter. But tough defense and an aggressive attack by the Pirates led to victory.
Congratulations Pirates! We’re very proud of you.
TOURNAMENT NEWS
Our Most Successful Utah Trip Yet!
7-1-11
Congratulations on a great weekend! Twice in the past a Pirate team has managed to finish in 2nd place at the Kearns tournament, including our 12U’s last year. This year, the first for the Mountain Zone Championships, three of our teams finished in 2nd place with another taking 3rd. You helped us achieve our best results yet even though we added a lot of new players in just the past few months.
12U mixed – 2nd Place
16U girls – 2nd Place
18U girls – 2nd Place
18U boys – 3rd Place
I know Grier would be proud.
In addition to collecting trophies and medals, we got a lot of good polo in against strong competition. You all grew and improved so much in your play. You made your coaches proud! And… we all had a lot of fun!
We are trying to figure out a year-end party for fun and to thank our seniors. We are considering three dates in July. Please check your e-mail.
We are also taking one more order for this year’s trip t-shirt. We are opening this up to parents and anyone else who would like one. Pleae e-mail Mark by the end of the week with your size if you would like one.
TOURNAMENT NEWS
1st Annual Grier Laughlin Memorial Water Polo Tournament a Huge Success!
4-4-11
This tournament was organized as a way to honor Grier’s memory and his contributions to water polo in Colorado, and to benefit the memorial fund which helps Grier’s children. We entered teams in the 18U division and in the youth scrimmages.
The 18U team won all four of its games.
Saturday:
16-7 over Ft. Collins
16-12 over Rocky Mountain Neptunes
Sunday:
11-4 over Ft. Collins
15-7 over Rocky Mountain Neptunes
Our youth teams played a team of Boulder and Ft. Collins three times, coming out ahead each time.
All proceeds from the tournament went to the Grier Laughlin Memorial Fund. Grier’s wife Karen and their three children came by Saturday evening for some special presentations.
USA Water Polo sent a plaque commemorating Grier’s contributions to water polo in Colorado. Matt Anthony presented donations to the family memorial fund, and three pirate captains presented Karen with a scrapbook of player memories of Grier.
Sports Authority donated $2,500 to the memorial fund. The Los Alamitos Water Polo Club in California sent $500. Added to proceeds from entry fees and donatons from people visiting the tournament, we raised just over $4,500 for the Grier Laughlin Memorial fund.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the fund.
TEAM NEWS
New Year Begins Saturday September 11th with Fun Events
UPDATED September 1, 2010
We’re doing something special to start off the latest season of Pirate Polo. Our ‘kick-off’ day will include scrimmaging and a potluck picnic after the games, so save the date!
Practice begins at 9:45am at Hinkley for stretching and warm-up, followed by a team picnic at General’s Park at Colfax Avenue and Quentin Street (just 5 minutes from Hinkley).
Fried chicken, plates, and soda are provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert according to the following schedule.
Families with a last name beginning in A-G: side dish or salad
H-M: dessert
N-Z: bread or rolls
Families and friends are welcome. This would also be a great chance to bring a someone new who has thought about trying our sport.
At the picnic, Grier will talk abou the upcoming year, and we’ll introduce you to our new Pirate Captains!
See you all soon!
Pirates Bring Home Booty from Kearns
Feature First Ever 12U Team
Summer 2010
The Pirates faced many challenges this year in Utah, but earned trophies in three divisions for the second straight year.
This year’s teams were all co-ed and featured our first 12U team. New players and parents joined us for this Pirate tradition and made it a great trip!
Our 18U co-ed team competed in the Boys 18U division and finished in third place.
Our 15U co-ed team took third in their division.
And our youngest team finished the highest, taking 2nd place in the 12U division in their very first tournament! A fine treasure for their maiden voyage. AAAARGH!
All Three Teams Earn Trophies at ’09 Kearns Tourney
Summer 2009
The Pirates enjoyed their most successful trip to Utah yet, with all three teams bringing back booty from our favorite road trip.
The Girls 18U team took 2nd place for the second straight year, fighting back to come within two points of tournament champion, and perennial Utah state champion, Kearns.
The Boys 18U team took third place, matching their best finish from two years ago. Despite losing many scheduled starters, this team pulled together, fought hard, and finished strong.
The Co-ed 15U team also finished third. Many of the top players on this team played significant minutes on the 18U teams, with several starting for two teams. Despite that grueling schedule, meaning 8-10 games in 48 hours, this team also performed very well!
In years past, one team or another earned a trophy. This is the first time all three teams did so in the same year.
CONGRATULATIONS PIRATES!
Colorado Cup November 15th & 16th
11-17-08
Our 17&under boys team winner of Colorado Cup!!!
Pirates 11 CSU 9
Pirates 16 DU Masters 13
Pirates 16 CSU 12
Congratulations Pirates!
Also congratulations to our young girls for beating CSU Club 14-11. Way to go!
Other women’s results:
Pirates 5 Colorado College 7
Pirates 4 Air Force 11
Pirates Take 18U Division of Davey Jones Classic
10-22-08
Colorado Water Polo hosted it’s second tournament October 17-18 at Hinkley High School in Aurora. CWP welcomed the top club teams from Utah and New Mexico. Boys and girls competed together on teams in two age divisions, 18 and unders and 14 and unders.
The Pirates 18U team finished on top with a record of 3-1 after beating Duke City (New Mexico) twice and splitting two games with Kearns (Utah). Kearns finished at 2-2. Duke City was 1-3.
The Kearns High School teams are Utah state champions. Their girls have won the state championship for the past three years. The Kearns boys have won the past four state championships. While Kearns did not brings its top players, this is a very strong and talented program we are proud to have hosted for the first time here in Colorado. Head Coach Brad Peercy hosts the Kearns Invitational Tournament we play in each June.
New Pirates Making Big Splash
CWP is benefitting from a number of players who joined the Pirates after learning the sport elsewhere. Two big contributors to the 18U team are Luis and Ramon Vidal who moved to the Denver area after playing at the highest levels in Puerto Rico. Both were members of Puerto Rico’s 18U National Team. Two of their siblings play at Colorado State University. Their older cousin Lorene is a member of the women’s NCAA program there. Older brother Raphael, who was a member of Puerto Rico’s Senior National Team, plays on the men’s club team at CSU.
Jasmine Griffin and Brigitta Games helped support the 14U team. Both played in California before moving to the Denver-metro area in recent months.
Many younger players had fun and gained valuable experience playing in the 14U division despite losing three games to Kearns. This was the first tournament for a number of Pirates who recently learned the sport. Many have come from the Youth League, while others heard from friends. CWP coaches and players welcome new players of all ages, so keep inviting friends and neighbors to practice!
Thank You to our Guests and Supporters
CWP also wishes to thank Brad Peercy and Janet Lyon-Huffman for bringing their teams to the 2nd Annual Davey Jones Classic. It was a great experience for us and gave our players a chance to play in front of family and friends at home.
Thank you to Don Lewis, a national level referee, who refereed every game of the tournament and also ran a clinic for potential referees Saturday morning. Colorado coaches, a former player, two parents, and two DU Masters players attended along with the visiting coaches. Don is a long-time supporter of Colorado Water Polo, always encouraging our efforts whenever we see him in Utah each June. It was fun to have him here in Colorado.
We also want to thank the parents who came out to cheer and help with food and medical support. Your help is greatly appreciated and will help us make this event better each year.
Schedule and Results
Friday October 17 at Hinkley
Game #1 6:00 18&U Duke 3 CWP 6
Game #2 7:00 14&U Kearns 9 CWP 1
Game #3 8:00 18&U Duke 5 Kearns 12
Saturday October 18 at Hinkley
Game #6 2:00 18&U Kearns 7 CWP 5
Game #7 3:00 14&U Kearns 8 CWP 6
Game #8 4:00 18&U Duke 10 Kearns 4
Game #9 6:30 18&U Duke 7 CWP 10
Game #10 7:30 14&U Kearns 6 CWP 4
Game #11 8:30 18&U Kearns 7 CWP 11
Rankings
14&Under:
Kearns 3-0
CWP 0-3
18&Under:
CWP 3-1
Kearns 2-2
Duke 1-3
ZONE NEWS
Six Pirates Make Girls Mountain Zone Traveling Teams
4-21-08
Six more Pirates will be competing in a national tournament as part of their age group’s traveling team.
Heather Frank, Bailey Gadd, Kalina Grabb, Tori Holtestaul, and Cecilia Paciaroni all made the traveling team for the Mountain Zone Girls Junior Team for girls born in 1991 and 1992.
Mitra Ghaffari made the traveling team for the Mountain Zone Girls Youth Team for girls born in 1993 or later.
The girls Junior Team tournament will take place in Irvine, California over Memorial Day weekend.
The girls Youth Team tournament will be in San Juan Capistrano, California on the same dates, May 23rd-26th.
Of the 24 Pirates who took part in the first Mountain Zone tryout at Hinkley High School back in March, 12 have made their traveling teams and will play in a national tournament. That is an oustanding individual, and team, accomplishment. Congratulations to all of you!
ZONE NEWS
Six Pirates Make Boys Mountain Zone Traveling Teams
4-17-08
Six Pirates will now have the chance to compete in a national tournament as part of their age group’s traveling team.
Matt McCurdy qualified for the Mountain Zone Junior Boys Traveling Team. The Junior Team national tournament will take place in Annapolis, Maryland over Memorial Day weekend May 23rd-26th.
Marshall McCurdy qualified for the Mountain Zone Boys Youth “A” Team.
Jake Anderson, Wyatt Oerman, Ryan Schmid, & Conner Skeen-Gaar qualified for the Mountain Zone Boys Youth “B” Team.
There are two teams this year for the Boys Youth Team because the Mountain Zone will host the national tournament in Kearns, Utah over the Memorial Day weekend.
Congratulations Pirates! And good luck at Nationals
ZONE NEWS
Record Number of Pirates Make Zone Teams
Updated 3-27-08
17 Pirates qualified for their Mountain Zone teams this year, the most in team history. Each of the chosen players is invited to their Zone Team Training Camp for more training and a chance to make the zone traveling team. Players chosen for their traveling teams will compete at a national tournament against other zone teams from across the country. At that tournament, national team members will be chosen from each age group.
Congratulations Pirates! Good luck at your zone camps!
Pirates Take 4 Divisions at Duke Tourney
Congratulations Pirates! Our teams claimed 1st place in the 10U, 12U, 15U and 18U boys divisions.
Coaches were thrilled by the development and determination of our other three teams, all of whom played very, very well!
Two Pirate Teams at Junior Olympics
After losing their first four games against very strong competition, both our 14U teams and 18U teams ended their Junior Olympics tournament with wins on the final day.
Our 14U’s led all the way in a close game to earn a two-point victory against Puget Sound (Washington). They won their final three games to finish with a 3-4 record.
Our 18U’s came from behind for a one-point win against Kearns and had a 2-5 record.