Eligibility

View Ridge members between age 9 and 18 are eligible to play on our team. Eight year-olds who are also strong swimmers (must swim 25 yard freestyle in under 19 seconds) are also eligible to play. A new rule as of 2003 is that members only may play at established clubs (View Ridge, Aqua Club, Sheridan Beach, Innis Arden). Developing teams that are two years or younger (Blue Ridge, Klahaya, Sand Point, Wedgwood, south-end teams) may include non-members. Even if you are not a member at one of the clubs you can still play on one of the newer teams. If you’re not sure how to get on a team, just contact Sam Shabb or Doc Zimmer, or just show up to a game or a View Ridge workout (you can practice as a visitor until we find a team for you). We’ll try our best to hook you up with a team.

League and Team Philosophy
The Seattle Summer Water Polo League was started by a very dedicated group of people that promote the game for the love of the sport. Most notably, the growth and success of the league is due to the tireless efforts of Stan “Doc” Zimmer, former University of Washington Men’s Water Polo Coach. Nearly all the coaches and referees have known each other for years and most have played water polo in college at some point. All of us are committed to coaching and want to see water polo develop as a legitimate sport throughout the entire Northwest. The league wants to provide as much water polo playing opportunity for as many kids as possible in the Seattle area. The basic league and team philosophy can be summed up like this:

1. Have Fun!
Water Polo IS fun - mix the best elements of basketball, soccer, and hockey and just add water! It allows for the development of individual skills while retaining the elements of teamwork, camaraderie, and sportsmanship.

2. Play Hard!
Water Polo is a competitive sport with a league championship at the end. We do play to win games, however we hope that all athletes will come to understand that doing your best is more important than winning or losing. True athletes love a challenge, and always winning probably means that you aren’t really challenging yourself. Learning to be a good, gracious loser and respecting your opponents is an extremely important part of the game. Win or lose, I encourage kids to play their best and that’s all that really matters.

3. Play Safe!
Accidents happen. A stray elbow might find its unintended mark just like in basketball or soccer, but water is still a much more forgiving playing field than a hardwood court or a hard dirt field. We all strive to play as safely as possible by avoiding reckless play and controlling our tempers. All games have referees that have the authority to calm down a game that seems to be getting too rough. Unnecessary aggression, rude behavior, and lost tempers will result in exclusion from a game. Coaches will remove players for a “cooling off “ period if necessary. Again, the ultimate goal is to have fun!

Practice
Practices are scheduled from 8:15 to 10:00 am Monday through Friday. Some Fridays we will be hosting games so we will not have practice on those days. Check the posted schedule for updates.

Age groups will be split during practices. Depending on numbers, girls may or may not mix with the boys. We will typically have three coaches on deck and up to six goals set up for shooting drills.

Typical practice set-up:

13-18 Boys & Girls
In dive tank with two goals (1 floating goal, 1 wall goal)

• 8:15-8:30 Warm-up 200yd swim, swim widths with head up, dribbling, & treading water (advanced players such as Roosevelt High School players sometimes tread water holding chairs)
• 8:30-8:40 Passing in pairs
• 8:40-8:50 Shooting drills (triangle drill, accuracy training on Sniper – a canvas covered goal with holes in the corners)of the goal is to make sure each person takes AT LEAST 10 shots
• 8:50-9:20 Offense/defense drills, controlled half court scrimmage
• 9:20-9:50 Controlled FULL COURT scrimmage
• 9:50-10 Clean up

12 & Under Boys & Girls

• 12 & U boys in deepest end with one goal (floating goal)
• 12 & U girls in deepest end with one wall goal (depending on numbers, girls may mix with boys in scrimmages)
• 10 & U boys in mid-depth with one PVC goal
• One extra PVC goal set up with sniper for general use
• 8:15-8:25 Warm-up 200yd swim (8 lengths), swim widths with head up, dribbling, & treading water
• 8:25-8:35 Passing in pairs
• 8:35-8:45 Shooting drills (triangle drill, accuracy training on Sniper – a canvas-covered goal with holes in the corners) of the goal is to make sure each person takes AT LEAST 10 shots
• 8:45-9:00 Offense/defense drills, controlled half (or full) court scrimmage
• 9:00-9:20 Controlled FULL COURT scrimmage
• 9:20-9:50 Move to shallow end. This part of the workout is optional for 12 & Unders largely due to space limitations because the 18 & Unders need to use a full court. Everyone who wants to stay is welcome. We will do passing, shooting, offense & defense drills, controlled “mini” scrimmages, or “5-alive” (a fun shooting/goalie game)
• 9:50-10 Clean up

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Games
(See the Quick Facts for more details about how the game is played.)

Each age group will play one regular game per week at the times posted. Doc Zimmer is the league coordinator and does most of the game scheduling. He typically publishes exact game times one week before the scheduled game to allow for some flexibility to incorporate new teams. I will try to make copies available as quickly as possible. We are developing an experimental website that will hopefully carry updated game schedule

Northwest Water Polo Website: click “Summer League”, Seattle: http://northwestwaterpolo.com/

Due to the large number of new clubs there will be some shifting going on with game schedules. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience a shifted game time may cause. The best advice is to pick up the latest schedule available and check the website for new info.

Games last about 45 minutes, and you should arrive at least 15 minutes early so allow about an hour per game. Usually, each player will have one game on a game day, but occasionally I might invite some players to play up an age bracket if we are short players in a particular age group.

My general philosophy about how to coach a game varies with each age group and the particular make-up of the team. Given the rapid increase in numbers, how substitutions occur and providing adequate game time for each player is important for me to address.

The factors I consider in allotting game time:

1. Conditioning – the players in the best shape with the most endurance will get more game time. If a player is too tired to swim up and down the pool they will be substituted.
2. Seniority – the older, more experienced players will get more game time.
3. Participation and Work Ethic – players that attend practices regularly and work hard will get more game time.
4. Ball-Handling – good ball skills, especially good catching & passing, earns more game time
5. Goalies – A good goalie is the most important position on the team. If a player exhibits a gift for blocking shots, that player will get more game time.
6. Left-Handers – left-handers with good ball skills are valuable and will get more game time.

Ideally, all players need to be able to play the whole field – both defense and offense (much more like basketball than soccer). Players that can play the whole field will get the most out of the game. Again, this comes back to conditioning.

12 & U games:
I will generally try to play everyone as much as possible – even if it means putting in a less experienced player. I like to encourage as much participation as possible, however conditioning is ultimately the key. I will sometimes rotate goalies to let players gain experience.

13 & Over games:
The level of competition is more serious here so I will be more judicious about substitutions. Goalies are usually more specialized by now and usually stay with that position. In the 15-18 age group, 17 & 18’s get highest priority but I will still work in as many of the younger crew as I can. I will try to schedule separate games for 15 & 16’s if needed. Also, since our 18 & Under boys team is the defending champion, the championship games can get fairly intense especially with a strong rival like Innis Arden.

Coaches
All the View Ridge coaches (with the exception of lifeguards) are unpaid volunteers that dedicate themselves to the program because they love water polo and they enjoy working with kids. The coaching staff for 2003 is as follows:

1. Sam Shabb (head coach): played at Stanford University, currently plays with the Seattle Masters, and has been coaching View Ridge since 1999. Will be present at all practices except when games conflict on Fridays. Will coach all games for all ages.
2. Patrick Kirk: currently a View Ridge Lifeguard and Tennis coach. Played goalie for two-time Championship-winning 18 & Under View Ridge Water Polo team in 2002 and 2000. Currently playing for the adult View Ridge Water Polo Team in the Adult Summer League at Lincoln Park. Attending Western Washington University. Will help full time MWF, and from 9-10 on T & Th.
3. Justin Ferrari: played at Brown University & in California high schools. Currently plays with another local Master’s team (Seattle Doggies). Will help MTW.
4. Nicole Glazer: played at Stanford University. Currently plays with Seattle Otters Coed & Women’s teams. Will help T & Th.
5. Heather Walenga: played two years at University of Maryland, Varsity at George Washington University, and Northwestern University in graduate school. Will help Th.

Contacts:
Sam Shabb (View Ridge Coach) (206) 528-9879 sshabb@highline.edu
Stan “Doc” Zimmer (206) 524-9120

Web Links:

• View Ridge Water Polo: http://www.vrstc.org/waterpolo
• Northwest Water Polo Community: http://northwestwaterpolo.com/
• United States Water Polo: http://www.usawaterpolo.com/