When Drake Hamilton in on, that kid is hard to stop. He gets overshadowed a bit in that year of athletes by Channing Wigo, but he’s right there. I very much believe he could take apart Mission all by himself.
1 Like
Lots of parity between the 7 teams in 14U girls. Average margin of victory was 3 and max was 6.
Pretty sure that was Patriot B going 4-0 which is nuts. Between Cousineau and Champions Cup Quals the early southern CA favorites are Patriot, Newport, 805, and 908, and northern CA are Lamo and Diablo. Outside of those there are 10 teams that could beat each other on any given day.
Newport 14u girls look good and don’t underestimate Santa Cruz and Stanford . These teams are all rebuilding
Out of curiosity, why Santa Cruz?
In 2023, their 12U girls finished 6th in Gold. This summer, their 12U girls finished 11th in Gold. Yes, their 14U girls were strong during the 2023-2024 season, but something tells me that practically all of them are 16U now, right?
Just fyi…All-American status goes to the Top 15 teams not 12.
I know. It was discussed in another thread a month ago or so. However, I do not think that 13th- 15th placed 12u girls teams were contacted by USA Water Polo regarding nominations last summer.
Interestingly no Lamo girls at Champions cup, but Santa Cruz is there
Lamo Girls placed 3rd at Champion Cup Quals. Santa Cruz placed 2nd.
Heard there was good competition at the 14u girls and 12u girls level this weekend. Does anyone have any insight on that? I couldn’t find scores or games reported anywhere.
Also!
What are your predictions for the Holiday Cup? Team Listing and Schedules below.
https://1drv.ms/x/s!Asjhz6_zPiVvhIJdZ_b0aGEQTHwPww?e=9h6OW1
1 Like
I would love to hear thoughts from both North Cal and So Cal.
On the boys side, we can’t really know anything until most players at 16/18 return in January. Just looking at the squads participating at holiday cup, it’s clear many are missing.
That said, Newport and Del Mar should be really good. We will see if the seniors return to LA Premier and Mission.
At 18u Boys, I’ll be in full data gathering mode. Beyond perennial favorites being favored again, I don’t have any insight.
At 16u Boys, Del Mar has enough 16u talent to go undefeated on the season but I have heard they are going to play a significant number of their 16u boys up at 18u. This weekend should be the first opportunity to see if the rumors are true.
At 14u Boys, I’m most interested in seeing how CIU reacts following the tie-breaker drama that resulted in being removed from medal contention at Champion’s Cup.
At 12u Boys, top ranked Vanguard 12u Boys are playing up in 14u Gold. Mission should be the favorite to win the division at Holiday Cup. That said, there is a game on day #1 at 11:40am between LJU and Patriot that has my interest.
At 10u, Patriot Navy is playing up in 12u Coed while Del Mar is playing up in 12u Gold so I don’t think much will be learned.
2 Likes
Welcome to Week 18! There are 30 weeks to Junior Olympics. Not all clubs follow this exact schedule but the math gets easy when viewing the 10u-14u club season as 48 weeks that starts following a 4 week break after Junior Olympics. The Holiday Cup at the conclusion of week 17 kicks off the middle third of the 10u-14u season. Although early, it is enough time to have formed an idea of where teams rank.
Here are my rankings for the top-10 teams in 12u Boys at this point in the 2024-2025 club season:
-
Vanguard – Very well coached team. Kudos to Coach Brian Anderson. Everyone knows where they are supposed to be and they get there in a hurry. There are teams of bigger athletes, but at the speed Vanguard plays it doesn’t seem to matter. While not the only standout on the team, I believe Vanguard has the best right wing in 12u.
-
Newport Beach – Well rounded squad who can play any style and win. They don’t quite have Vanguard’s polish, but it is only a third the way through the season which means they have room to improve. This is a scary team.
-
Mission – Huge, physical, and running a game plan that plays to their literal strengths. Mission is punishing to play against.
-
La Jolla United – They have a superstar center forward. If you can stop him then you can stop LJU. Most can’t stop him. He is an exclusion factory who fills chairs next to opposing coaches with rolled players.
-
680 Drivers – In the limited amount I’ve seen, 680 appears to be the flag bearers for Northern California in 12u this season.
-
CCU – Solid Set, good shooters, and a goalie that is a weapon makes CCU formidable. If they get more exposure to Southern California teams and the way SOPAC referees call the game, this is a team to watch.
-
Del Mar – Has the talent to play with anyone but haven’t put it together yet.
-
North Irvine – The B2 Stealth Bomber of 12u Boys water polo. They are easy to overlook in brackets but capable of devastating opponents. I see you North Irvine.
-
CIU – They have the most engaged parents. The team itself is capable if a half step down from recent years at this point in the season.
-
Patriot –Nobody outworks Patriot, but beyond their center forward and center defender, the team is undersized.
2 Likes
@Marco (or anyone else) are you planning to do a 14u assessment/rankings after holiday cup? I understand Newport and patriot didn’t play and mission played up in 16u gold….
I’m working on one but it will probably be Friday before I have it up.
2 Likes
would love to hear about girls predictions, So Cal & No Cal
On both 12u and 14u Girls it seems like Patriot is the leading favorite. I don’t see who can beat them on 14u. The team that won the 14u platinum division this weekend was their B team. The A team didn’t play. On the 12u side SB and norcal teams might have a better shot but from what I’ve seen Patriot is looking strong there too. I was at a game of theirs this weekend and it turns out their goalie has been injured and hasn’t played in a couple weeks. They’ve been ‘goalie by committee’.
I know it is far too early but does anybody want to take a stab at the top 16/18s boys teams for this year? Looking forward to a fun year with plenty of great water polo at this level!
My too early stab at it would be:
16’s: Del Mar
18’s: Newport
I’ll add Vanguard and CCU to the 16s.
18’s is always tough to determine with some of the 18’s moving clubs and some already with the college teams by the time summer rolls around.
1 Like