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By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Hell Week (with a spot of Paradise)

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Back on August 25, the boys water polo program started practice in preparation for the fall season.  Hell Week is a common experience for many sports programs, highlighted by two-a-day or three-a-day practices.  For the Newport Harbor Aquatics Program, three-a-days are something they experienced in the winter and spring.  Hell Week takes it to a new level - practice is essentially all day with a lunch break.  For 11 days, the boys were pushed to their physical limits in preparation for the fall season.
In the middle of the first week of Hell Week, 19 members of the varsity workout group enjoyed a two day trip to Catalina Island.  Craig & Arlene Silvers and Dave & Mary Jean Harper were the gracious hosts, opening their boats to the team and coaches.

The trip started with a farewell dinner on the pool deck.  This was no fancy cotillion-style affair.  Hungry athletes + plenty of food = mass consumption.  




Practice ended at 4:00pm and the boys were done eating (inhaling) by 4:30.  The boys piled into the various cars and vans for the short trip down to the docks.


The next two days were filled with  laughter, eating, swimming, zip-lining, paddle-boarding, inner-tubing, fishing, and all sorts of fun activities.




Monday evening, parents gathered at the docks awaiting the return of their boys.  With beaming smiles, we could all tell they had just experienced the greatest time.  No one was thinking about the return to practice the next morning.


Towards the end of Hell Week, the team gathered for the first of several team dinners.  On Saturday, Coach Jason Lynch and his wife Kim opened their home to the varsity team and their parents.  No one got in the way of the boys once they arrived, as they headed straight for the food.  


A luxurious spread was prepared by the parents.  At the head of the table were plentiful quantities of grilled tri-tip, chicken and sausage - all prepared by Scott & Gina Carpenter.




With filled tummies, the boys gathered in the Lynch's living room to watch some college football.  


The parents mingled for hours, reminiscing over their summer adventures and looking forward to the fall season.




With Labor Day behind us, we now march on to the fall water polo season.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Junior Olympics: Boys Wrap-Up

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The final tournament has come and gone and it was a busy four days for the boys at Newport Harbor.  The team gathered for dinner at the home of Al & Teresa Duhoux on Thursday night before the tournament where they dined on tri-tip, twice baked potatoes and casear salad. 

The opening day of the tournament started early for the 18s team - 7:00 am in Whittier.  Their opponent was the Riptides, one of two teams in the tournament from the Miami Florida area.  An hour later, with a 12-5 victory under their belts, the team gathered for a leisurely breakfast at the California Grill in Whittier.  Fed and awake, the team slowly made its way back to Whittier for the 2nd game of the day against Pacific North West United at 12:50 pm.  Another 12-5 victory put Newport in the Platinum bracket.  The team would enjoy a long rest with Sunday's game starting at 1:00 pm in Whittier.

As the 18s were about to complete their first day of competition, the 16s were just starting at USC.  The 12th seeded Newport boys would face the 37th seeded Clovis Bears, who they handily dispatched 11-3.  Newport faced a surprising Foothill team in the second game of the day, falling 10-6.  This forced Newport to play a third game and a shot at the Platinum bracket.  The scheduled 8:30 pm game started late.  Despite the long day, the Newport boys prevailed over Greenwhich 6-5 for a slot in the Platinum bracket.

With the teams divided into Platinum and Gold brackets, Sunday would feature two games of bracket play.  Win 2 games and you are in the top 8.  Lose one and you play for 9-16.  Lose both games and you play for 17-24.  First up for the 18s was Davis, a team they had faced in the Commerce tournament two weeks earlier.  In a very physical game (a Davis player received a brutality), the Newport boys played their fast counter game and prevailed 11-3.

The second game for the 18s was against Regency.  The now Division 1 rival would be a tough foe, especially with Regency's addition of two graduated seniors.  The game was hard fought, but Newport made too many mistakes and fell 12-5.

The 16s faced Pacific North West United to start their day of Platinum bracket play.  With a strong showing and a 9-8 victory in hand, the team then faced a very strong (and silver medal winning) Stanford.  Despite their best efforts, the team fell 12-5 to wrap up the second day of competition.

After the 18s loss to Regency, team captain Andrew Duhoux organized a team dinner.  The usual tired/hungry faces disappeared at the boys dined on pizza and watched The Mask. As you can tell, everyone had their fill.


For the third day of competition, the 18s traveled to the Rosebowl Aquatics Center for a 10:00 am game against an older and much larger Stockton team.  Speed and conditioning prevailed as Newport advanced with a 11-5 victory.  The win meant the boys would not play until 6:00 pm in Commerce against Rosebowl.  The "Chloritorium" would not treat the team well and they fell to Rosebowl 8-5.

The 16s started their 3rd day of competition back at USC with a match against the SoCal Black team - an all-start team stacked with some of the best 16s in the county.  With too many weapons to counter, the Newport boys fell 13-5.  The second match of the day pitted Newport against the North San Diego Stars.  The boys bounced back from the earlier loss and prevailed 13-8.

The final day of competition would only feature one game.  The 18s faced Long Beach Shores at the Rosebowl Aquatics Center.  Shores came out quickly and put a few points on the board, leading Newport 8-5 at the half.  Newport turned up the defense and held Shores scoreless in the second half, but could not completely erase the gap and lost 8-7.  Newport ended up taking 12th place in their Platinum division.

The 16s ended their tournament at Los Altos High School with a 6-5 victory over Clovis to take 13th place in the Platinum division.

Pictures of all the 18s games (sorry, not the last game) can be found at the Newport Harbor Aquatics Photo Site.  With the completion of play, the teams now enjoy a 3-week break before returning to practice on August 25.

Tomorrow, the girls begin their Junior Olympics and Newport has teams in the 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Junior Olympics are here!

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Starting this Saturday, Newport Harbor begins its quest for JO Gold.  All information can be found on the Official Junior Olympics web site.

Follow the action with the Official Schedule.  Make sure to click on the correct tab, as all boys divisions are included (12U through 18U).

You can always find picture highlights on the Newport Harbor Aquatics Facebook Page.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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California State High School Championships

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It was a busy weekend for the Newport Harbor water polo teams.  Both boys and girls varsity squads saw action in the three day California State High School Championships.  And both team achieved a 3rd place finish for the weekend.

The boys played without starters Farrel South and Chris Whitelegge, who were in Italy playing with the USA '93 Junior National Team (the team took 2nd place in an 8-nation tournament).  

In addition, attacker David Jorth missed games due to a serious eye injury suffered in the opening game on Friday.  Even though there was still swelling and pressure on his right eye, Davey returned to action on Sunday and scored in both games.

Goalie Koby Yokota was the focus of Sunday's Daily Pilot sports section, which also featured photos of Curtis Fink, Luke Ronaldson and Daniel Stevens.  The extensive article highlighted Koby's remarkable play in the tournament as well as the broad scoring attack which featured five players with two goals each.  

The teams now focus on the upcoming Junior Olympics which start for the boys next weekend.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Newport Boys In Italy

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Newport Harbor's Chris Whitelegge and Farrel South are playing in an 8 nation international tournament as part of USA Water Polo's '93 Junior National Team.

Follow the games on Pallanuoto (Italian for Water Polo).  The English translation is here.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Busy Water Polo Weekend

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This past weekend was full of water polo action across Southern California.  The boys were involved in three separate tournaments (Commerce, Villa Park and Capo Valley) while the girls played in a major tournament in Santa Barbara.

This weekend:  The State High School Tournament for both girls & boys.  Check out the tournament schedule here.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Video Highlights

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You can catch some video highlights of Croatia and Hungary courtesy of Paul Fink's YouTube Channel.

Here is a sample:

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Home

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Budapest to Munich to LAX to Newport Harbor.  18 hours of travel.  The boys are home!

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Day 12 - Budapest and then Home!

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It is 7:45 am in Budapest and the boys have been in the pool since 7:00.  It will be another hot day here (temperatures were in the 90's yesterday).  We have another couple of hours to shower, pack and eat breakfast before taking our bus to the airport.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Day 11 - Budapest

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We start the day with 8:00 am breakfast at the hotel.  Unlike our prior hotels, this is a true continental breakfast with breads, cereals, juices and coffees.  A small plate of cheese and salami are the only protein available.

While the boys finished breakfast, one family sought out a familiar destination - the first one in Hungary.

At 9:15 the team assembled in the lobby to walk over to the National Training Center for our first scrimmage of the day.  Our competition was one of the primary club teams in Budapest.  Our host initially planned on sending their 16 & under team, but after Newport's performance in Eger, the Club sent 18 & under players as well.  The team clicked on all levels and the Newport boys prevailed.




Lunch was back at the restaurant near our hotel.  We started with a fruit yogurt soup that arrived at each table in one enormous bowl.  Once tasted, the boys devoured the sweet soup.  This was followed by either chicken fillets or spaghetti with meat sauce.  The boys ate their fill and then some.


After lunch we were treated to a guided tour of Budapest.  Our Hungarian guide spoke English and gave the team a detailed history of the city as we drove to different parts of the City.  Our first stop was Freedom Square, which features statutes of 12 heroes of Hungary.  


It was the perfect setting for a team photo.



The final stop on the tour was the castle that sits in the hills about Budapest.  Our guide gave us a brief tour, showing us some of the highlights and giving us time to explore portions of the castle on our own.  The team gathered in areas to take in the views and learn more about the history of the area.

 

Our second scrimmage took place at 5:30 pm at the National Training Center.  The team faced the same Hungarian club who they thoroughly trounced earlier in the day.  It appeared that the Club brought a couple of extra players, but it would not make a difference.  Newport rolled and scored at will.  After 90 minutes of play, the coaches signaled that the scrimmage would end after the next goal.  The Newport defense held strong to ensure that the Hungarians would not score.  I'm not sure the Hungarians realized what Newport did at the end of the game, but the team decided that the last goal would be scored by our starting goalie, Chris Whitelegge.  And sure enough, his goal would end the scrimmage.



Our final dinner in Hungary took place at our regular restaurant, Don Pepe's - a pizzeria with a name that suggested they served Mexican food (something we all missed).  The wonderful meal ended with closing remarks from both coaches and team leader, Andrew Duhoux.


The boys returned to the hotel to relax and prepare for the departure tomorrow.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Hotel Csaszar Budapest

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Talk about a hotel with proper training facilities!  The Hotel Csaszar Budapest has a beautiful Olympic sized pool right next to the hotel.  We will train here Tuesday morning before our flight home.  And, yes, I mean the pool is right next to the hotel...

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Day 10 - Eger to Budapest

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Sunday morning arrived early for the boys.  Breakfast was moved up to 7:00 am, then the boys returned to their rooms to pack their bags.  Back in the lobby before 8:00 am, the team left their bags and headed out to the pool for 2hours of practice.  Despite the limited sleep, the boys were sharp, executing the coach's drills with precision.

Shortly after 10:00 am, the boys returned and we loaded the bus for our trip to Budapest.  The ride was very quiet as the boys dozed off in the back.  The road to Budapest takes us through rolling countryside, with fields of wheat, sunflowers, peppers and grapes.  Off in the distance we can seen steam rising from the towers of a nuclear power plant.  Small villages are scattered across the landscape, all seeming centered around the town's church.


The morning journey to Budapest

Distance - 137Km, Estimated Travel Time - 1 hour, 39 minutes

We arrived in Budapest shortly after noon.  The team checked into the hotel, dropped off bags in their rooms and headed to lunch at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel. 

Nourished and refreshed, it was time for a little sight seeing.  Our destination was about a couple of miles from the hotel, so we traveled by tram.  This efficient form of transportation whisked us across the city in no time.


We headed to the Museum of Terror.  This museum focuses on the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.  The location is the former head of the State Secret Police.  Even though the majority of the exhibit was in Hungarian, it was a powerful experience showing the horrors of repressive regimes.

Following the museum, the team headed to Margarite Island, home of the Hungarian National Training Center.  For today, the boys would simply practice - tomorrow will be two scrimmages.  While individuals can pay to use the facilities, teams can reserve pool time only if they are invited by one of the clubs that trains at the National Training Center.


At 6:30 pm, the team exited the pool and grabbed another tram for a Danube River cruise.  This was a delightful experience as we cruised up and down the Danube as dusk turned to night.  The beauty of Budapest was evident all around us.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Day 09 - Eger

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The boys gathered in the lobby at 7:50 so they could all go to breakfast together as a group.  All were dressed in their Tour 2010 t-shirts and stripped shorts.  The morning routine includes parents checking in with each boy (how are they feeling, did they sleep well, etc.) and offering of Emergen-C or the "sting stick" if they suffered a mosquito bite. 

After 30 minutes, the boy headed up to the conference room for film review.  Coach has the video projected on a screen, pausing frequently to point out positioning, game flow, etc. with a laser pointer.

The first scrimmage of the day started at 10:00 am against the Eger 16 & unders.  Coach mixed up the lines and both controlled the games in convincing fashion.

Now, when we arrived at the pool, we were greeted with the most delicious aroma.  Behind the bleachers, Linda's father Imre was starting a fresh pot of goulash.  Bacon was sizzling in the large pot over the wood fire.  


Onions were chopped (and added to the pot) and Imre was busy peeling potatoes, getting some assistance from the Newport parents.  The pot will simmer all day and be ready for the post game meal around 6:00 pm tonight.


After the scrimmage, the boys wanted to take the first of many team pictures.  Today's would be underwater in the old Eger pool.  The team gathered together and prepared to take the plunge while Coach took the picture with Luke's camera.  I can't wait to see that shot!


Lunch was at our usual restaurant.  We sat outside under a collection of large, square umbrellas.


The meal started with a cold fruit soup containing pineapple, pears, grapes and coconut milk.  This was followed by a plate of rice and fried cheese patties.  Parents shared their plates with the team so the boys could get their fill of hot food.

After lunch, we headed to the main park in Eger.  


At the center of the park is a large fountain that originally stood at the Eger pool.  When the communists took control of the country, the fountain was knocked down (to be replaced by bleachers years later).  Once the communists fell from power, the fountain was rebuilt in the park.  This was the perfect setting for a team picture.


The park is beautiful and on a sunny Saturday in July, we found multiple brides taking pictures before their weddings - we counted about 10 different brides.  Now, the water polo team stands out amongst the students of Newport Harbor High School.  You can imagine how much they stand out in a town like Eger.  Sure enough, one of the brides approached us and asked for a picture with the boys.  They were more than willing to comply.


The Eger Candy Museum was our next stop of the day.  The museum featured the work of Gyorgy Kepes, a world famous artist and ten-time gold medal winner at the Culinary Olympics in Berlin.  The museum featured a wide variety of pieces, all made with different forms of confectionery.  


While this might not have captured the interests of all the boys, the candy shop next door certainly did.  Our tour ended at 2:00 pm and the boys had 90 minutes to rest before the next games. 

The boys returned to the pool at 3:30 for warm up.  At 4:00 pm, it was time for the final match in Eger.  City and National pride was on the line for the Newport Harbor v. Eger Water Polo Club match.  Both team came out with guns blazing.  It was a very physical match with aggressive (and clean) play.  When time ran out, the scoreboard read 14-14.  The teams played to a well-fought draw.

After a cool down, the boys changed and it was time for another team picture (at the request of Imre).  This was immediately followed by the special treat of the day - a delicious bowl of Imre's goulash.  Many of the boys went back for seconds of the flavorful, somewhat spicy pork soup.


The parents were also in for a treat with a wine tasting in a cave in the hills of Eger.  Our host and her family owned and operated a winery, so we had a wonderful experience.  


While the parents were away, Coach Cory was watching over the boys for their last full night in Eger.  Another beautiful day in Eger.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Day 08 - Eger

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Today, we started with the usual plan of breakfast at 8:00 in the Park Hotel.  The boys are finding their favorite items and eating their fill.  The cereals are popular (they have Coco Puffs and Golden Grahams), as are the breads, pastries and scrambled eggs.  At 8:45, the boys assembled to watch the film from the prior evening's games.  Coach Cory filmed the games from the top of the bleachers (providing an excellent view) and provided detailed commentary.  The team would be training all morning with film, weights and then a scrimmage at noon.

The parents took this opportunity to explore the city (a farmer's market was one of the discoveries), relax in the wellness center at the hotel, or simply catch up on work.

The noon scrimmage featured the same 16 & under group from the Eger Water Polo Club, but it seemed as if they had a couple of bigger boys with them as well.  The coach kept both lines of boys busy - while one scrimmages, the other did training drills with Coach Cory (the heavy balls were put to good use).  The weather here is perfect.  Mid 70's, light breeze and plenty of sunshine. 

The design of the Eger pool provides great views of the games.  On one side, there are benches approximately 4 feet from the edge of the pool and about 3 feet above the water.  The bleachers on the opposite side sit close to the pool and are fairly steep.  From the top row, you get an almost top down view of the action.  Here are a couple of views of Newport Harbor in defensive formation, and then countering:


Lunch was at the restaurant by the pool.  Today's offering was a vegitable noodle soup followed by spaghetti with meat sauce.  Needless to say, the plates were licked clean.  A couple of the moms offered their plates to the boys, and the team shared the extra at each table.

After lunch, it was time for some sightseeing.  Just up the hill from the pool stood the Eger Castle.  The medevial structure played an important role in Hungary's history as the location of a major battle between the Hungarians and the Turks (the Hungarians prevailed).  Before we started the tour, Linda gave us a great overview of Hungarian history (though our AP students may have learned a different version of a couple of the accounts).


Our tour included a number of interesting elements in the castle's design and history.

 
The castle tour lasted just over an hour, so the boys had a good hour back at the hotel for rest. 

 
The evening scrimmage again featured the mighty Eger 18 & under club (no 19 & 20 year old national team players for this match).  This would be Newport's first official game in Hungary.  The teams stayed within one point of each other well into the fourth quarter.  With only a couple minutes left, Newport was able to add a few more goals for a 15-11 final.

After the game, we headed to dinner at the White Stag - a famous game (as in hunting) restaurant located right next to the hotel.  We enjoyed a delicious meal of goulash, stuffed chicken with pomme frites (french fries) and a light, ice cream cake dessert.  A piano player performed a collection of familiar tunes and melodies (with a brief guest appearance by Dan Stevens).  With dinner over at 9:30 (relatively early for our European travels), the team decided to head out on the town for an ice cream.  What could be a better team bonding experience than a quest for ice cream in a foreign country?  It was a wonderful, educational and productive day for the team.

By Newport Harbor Water Polo

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Day 07 - Eger

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Our schedule today follows the same pattern as yesterday.  Team breakfast was scheduled for 8:00 am in the Hotel Park (the hotel connected to the Hotel Eger).  The buffet had most of the same items, but it was fun to discover any new or different items.  One of the best finds was the selection of fruit jams & marmalades.  If you bypassed this collection, you would have missed the one pot that contained Nutella.

After breakfast, the boys watched film with the coaches for about an hour.  At 9:30, the team met in the hotel lobby for the day's first adventure.  Instead of a morning workout, our destination was the Spekula Observatory located in the middle of the city - a short walk away. 


Once we arrived at the building, we climbed many stairs up to a tower on the roof.  Most of the was up the tower was an observation deck which provided incredible views of the city.



Further up the tower was a unique feature of the observatory - a 'camera obscura' - one of only two in the world and the oldest of its kind (built in 1779).  The best way to describe how this worked is by illustration.


The boys enjoyed a tour of this device as the guide rotated the mirror around giving us a nearly 360 degree view of the city.  Quite an interesting device and quite remarkable considering how long ago it was designed and constructed.  Here is what it looked like viewing the city on the screen:


After the tour, we headed back to the pool.  As with the day before, the team's first scrimmage was against the local club's younger players (let's say 16 & unders).  And as the day before, the game went Newport's way quite decisively.


After the scrimmage, we returned to the restaurant from yesterday for lunch.  The boys were somewhat skeptical of what they might be eating, so back-up plans were made involving a local pizzeria.  Lunch started with our first taste of goulash (a meat soup) followed by a heaping plate of spaghetti.  Now you might this spaghetti would be the perfect meal, and in most cases it is.  Today, however, we did not find a typical red sauce covering the noodles.  Instead, the spaghetti was covered with sour cream and grated cheese.  Hunger, however, ruled over the lack of familiarity and the boys polished off large portions of meal.  The immediate need for pizza was adverted.

Our next stop was the Eger Sports Museum.  This museum is dedicated to the Olympic athletes of Eger and boy are there a lot of them.  We were greeted at the door by our tour guide, who with Linda translating Hungarian to English, would explain all we would see.


The top floor of the museum is dedicated to swimming and water polo and was filled with trophies and medals.  We learned about the establishment of the modern Olympic games and the role played by Dr. Ferenc Kemény from Eger, the significance of the 1956 Melbourne games (which took place during the Hungarian uprising against the communists), and how Hungary has dominated in the sport of water polo.  The museum had all the boys sign a book recording their visit to the museum, which will include a team photo.


With a couple hours rest, we regrouped in the lobby of the hotel with the team before heading out for the next scrimmage.  Again, we were playing the big boys from the Eger Club Team (four of the players were 19 or 20).  The scrimmage was structured the same as yesterday, with both clubs split into two groups, alternating for the first four quarters, then each line playing 2 consecutive quarters each (for a total of 8 quarters).  And as the night before, the scrimmage demanded everything our boys had to offer.  With the new found perspective of the deep history of water polo here in Hungary (from the Eger Sports Museum), the team knew it was facing an incredibly talented, conditioned and disciplined foe.  This is why the team is training in Hungary.  The level of play is higher than anything the team has faced before and they are improving physically, mentally, emotionally and drawing together as a team. 

Back at the hotel for dinner, the boys found another array of meats, vegetables, salads and desserts.  After a brief recap of the games with Coach, the boys were off to bed (and for some, catching up on-line with the internet kiosks in the lobby of the hotel).