No Practice Monday or Tuesday

We've had issues with the gym availability and as you know we can't get in the pool until Monday the 16th.
Next Practice will be Wednesday (First day of school) at 5pm.  Meet at the pool.  Be prepared for dryland workout (proper running shoes, shorts, etc.).

Clarification:  The one page waiver that most have already signed if your child has been doing summer conditioning with us is all that is needed until Aug. 16th.   On Aug. 16th your child will only be able to participate if you have completed the "athletic physical" packet that is required every year.  We must have in our hands, the signed "emergency" card that will be issued to you once you turn in your athletic physical paperwork.  It's very simple and the process has not changed since last season.

Here is an example of what our summer conditioning and Hell Weeks looked like...

Cool Carmel vs. RLS highlight reel

This 3 min. video was done by Senior Captain Zach Olpin. Thanks Zach! Great job. Enjoy everyone.

Coach

Season Re-Cap - FINALLY!!!

Hello everyone. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I had good intentions of posting the end of the year video soon after our banquet, but had trouble with it due to its length. (REMEMBER, VIDEOS AND PICTURE SLIDE SHOWS DO NOT SHOW UP ON THE BLOG EMAILS YOU RECEIVE. CLICK ON THE SITE ADDRESS TO VIEW VIDEO)
I got it figured out and should be easy to enjoy and forward the link on to friends and family. Sean Marden and Zach Olpin did an amazing job on the video this year. I was very impressed.

The banquet was a major success as far as I could tell. Too many heartfelt thank you's to even count. There is a palpable sense of excitement that can be felt with the program. The involvement so far this winter at Legacy has been impressive and the amount of players testifying that they will be swimming for Coach Conrad in the spring is impressive. We've routinely had 80% of the polo program swimming each year, but I think this season may set a record. We've had a few kids, traditionally baseball players make some impressive commitments to help their teams succeed by deciding to swim rather than play baseball. My philosophy on that decision is simple. If you truly enjoy the sport you play in the offseason, KEEP PLAYING IT!. If you love water polo and want to improve and help your team the best you can then SWIMMING is a MAJOR factor. Speed and stamina in the sport of water polo is crucial in reaching the UPPER LEVELS of success.

We were extremely proud of everyone involved in this program this year. Hardwork, class, sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, skill,commitment, were all displayed regularly. We were especially proud of our seniors. In what most called a "rebuilding year", they stepped up and played the game right and with heart. It was one of my most enjoyable seasons as a coach. I know many of our other coaches would echo that. Our seniors will be missed and remembered. They truly showed what true commitment to this program leads to. The fun and excitement they experienced will hopefully be something they will never forget.

I hope the holidays were full of joy and rest for each of you. I will be seeing most of you on the pool deck in the spring at every swim meet I am able to attend.

Coach Gaily's Keys to a successful offseason (in this order):

1)Swim for CHS swim team

2)Play Legacy every day possible (continue to fall in love with the sport and learn the game)(Not, once or maybe twice/week. Commit to it fully to receive it's full benefit)

3)Weight train (the first two should come before lifting weights and are far more important)

Hell Weeks - Day 5

35 strong today. Coach Justin did the "Touchie" run with the team and came in third behind the amazing Austin Robertson (freshman) and Sean Marden (senior). The punishment for Coach Justin is 2 laps of butterfly since he lost to only 2 guys. The team had the chance to make him swim a ton of butterfly if more people could have beat him. Great excitement and energy at practice! Keep up the hardwork. Arena Days are Wed. and Thurs. Get your stuff done and get to practice asap.

Here's a video clip to get you pumped up. (Remember if you are reading this post from the email the site sent you. It likely won't show the video clip. Follow the link on your email to the site to view the video)
Coach Gaily

Hell Weeks - Day 3

We saw some impressive improvements already since Day 1 of Hell Weeks. Most of those changes were attitude alterations. Not that anyone had really bad attitudes, but we talked on Friday about your attitude towards hard work and physical pain/discomfort. We encouraged you to relish in that pain and the difficult tasks and to meet it head on. The "weak of heart" will do anything they can to avoid difficult trials, whether it is in the pool or in life itself. We don't play this sport because it's easy. No, it's the opposite. In fact it is one of the most physically demanding sports on this planet. Be excited about that. Be proud of that. Rest well this weekend and see you bright and early on Monday.

Coach Gaily

P.S. The Olympics began this weekend. Go www.nbcolympics.com. Their water polo page has awesome videos and the schedule for the water polo tournament. Set your Tivos, VCR's, whatever to tape every match you can.

Here is a taste of was USA polo is all about. Some awesome footage of the National Team training with the Navy Seals. Click on video.

Very Cool Audio clip from Finals at TCAL League Championships!!

Click on this link to hear a cool audio snippet and slide show produced by the Monterey Herald from our championship game with Salinas. Salinas went on to receive the #1 seed in Division 1 of CCS. They upset the 9x defending CCS champion powerhouse Bellarmine!! They lost to Menlo Atherton in 4x overtime, but did something no one from our league has ever done. We lost to Salinas 3x this season, but were competitive in both. A true testament to how far our program has progressed. More work to go though!!

Here's the link: Just push the "play" button once the slideshow opens.

http://extras.montereyherald.com/slideshows/polo1104/index.html