Northern Elite Water Polo Club's Academic Initiative

Welcome back to Northern Elite Water Polo Club's Spring Session!

We are thrilled to be starting up another session and very much look forward to the challenges and adventure that awaits us this coming spring.  As is tradition during the Spring Session, we will be having lectures, homework and readings for each of you to take part in.  I have picked eight topics of discussion, for us to cover over the coming 10 weeks session.  While these topics will be in addition to mastering and fine tuning our water polo skills night in and night out, there is much more to this session than just being a good water polo player.

The goal of this program is to develop and own each topic in our daily lives that exist outside of the pool.  Each of us lives each day to the best of our ability but often times we are not cognitive of our actions or aware of our surroundings.  Much like we must be intent when we deliver a pass or defend against a drive, our approach to our family life, school work and social relationships should be thought of with the same care and delicacy that a cross court pass to a tip in must require.  How we pass, the placement of the ball when we throw and how we finish can all be translated to how we approach, speak to and relate to our family, friends and teachers.  We simply cannot throw an errant pass or be disrespectful to our parents and expect to score a goal or not to be grounded.  I look forward to our further discussions on these topics and having an open forum to discuss any breakthroughs or challenges we may be facing.

If you have questions regarding the topics or the homework, my email address is listed below and you may contact me at any time to discuss and I will be sure to respond readily.  If there is something in particular you would like to be discussed in our lectures, don't hesitate to ask as we are open to ideas and thoughts alike.

I look forward to our continued success and enthusiasm in the pool this session.

Take care and Go Lions!

Wesley

Northern Elite Lions Rally Before Game

Northern Elite preps for their opening match vs Commerce at Huntington Beach High School on Friday night.

Northern Elite Lions take 3rd at Winterfest, win Bronze Medal

The Northern Elite Lions finished 3rd in this year's Winterfest Tournament in Orange County, California. The Lions finished the tournament with a 4-1 record, their only loss coming to the eventual champion Anteaters on Saturday night.

After their loss to the Anteaters, the Lions came back with vengeance against a strong Costa Mesa team who tallied a number of goals early on.  However, the speed of Northern Elite proved to be too much for Costa Mesa to handle late in the game as the Lions ran away with the game in the middle of the 3rd quarter.  A similar swan song occurred in the consolation game against ORCA.

A talented, and well sized, ORCA team came to play in the first quarter as the only goal was scored by Jace Blazensky early on despite multiple opportunities for Northern Elite to take the lead.  However, just as soon as Northern Elite won the second quarter sprint, the game was quickly 3-0.  Jace Blazensky factoring in on all of the first three goals, scoring two and assisting Brandon Plihal with a poeticly justified  feather pass across the middle after setting the goalie and beating a middle defender with perfect placement.  But, Northern Elite wasnt finished.

Jed Rosen once again led the team on the defensive end earning Defensive MVP for the Lions and factoring in on numerous counter attacks by stealing the ball from ORCA a number of times.  The defense displayed was stingy and difficult to break as the only goal that would come for ORCA was an outside shot that managed to squeeze past Berquist, the eventual MVP of the team, and hit the side bar and trickle in.

At half, Northern Elite led 7-0 but the highlight was not the score, it was the passing.  Brandon Plihal found George Archbold, the eventual Offensive MVP for the Lions, on a cross pass to tap in.  The pass sailed perfectly to the stretched arm of Archbold who finished neatly and left the goalie helpless.  Another moment of sheer brilliance was displayed as Brandon Plihal was on the receiving end of a pass coming from Nick Reed who fired from the half tank mark across the entire pool to place the ball perfectly to the rising Plihal who just had to tap it in for the goal.  Northern Elite represented northern California water polo well with a 11-1 final.  The continued great passing and aggressive defense, coupled with the strength of their counter attack earned the Northern Elite Lions compliments from the head UCI coach and a number of the opposing team fans.  A truly remarkable performance from a team of individuals who have so much room to grow.

Northern Elite dropped by Anteaters, Fights for Third

Under the ominous southern California skies and a drizzling rain that only added to the atmosphere, Northern Elite started off the game strong with a quick steal by Jed Rosen. Almost no less than 2 seconds later a phantom turnover was called and Anteaters would not waste the opportunity as they quickly scored. This would set the tone for the remainder of the game. It was not more than five minutes in the game before Kading was awarded a yellow card for disputing a call after watching Brandon Plihal get submerged while guarding set and was then ejected. While Northern Elite fought back hard and were the faster of the two teams, mistakes with the ball cost them on the offensive end. Each player contributed, had on the mark passes and played terrific defense, overcoming 16 ejections calls proved to be too much for them to withstand. It was not until middle of the third that the first of 3 total ejections were awarded in favor of tittle Northern Elite Lions. The Lions will represent northern California against the host, Los Alamitos today at 1210pm to an effort to earn a place in the top 4. After the game the team headed to south Orange County for dinner at the coaches house to continue the tradition of Mrs Kading's famous pasta and some ice cream pie. A bonding experience that they will all remember as they all attempted to fit into the smallest room of the house, pictures to follow, and began singing. Words can't express the uniqueness of this group. Many thanks to Mr and Mrs Kading for opening up their home and providing us with a home cooked meal while on the road.

Northern Elite deflates Yucaipa before the game begins

Its said that those who come prepared often times show the best.  With the boys opting to show up in uniforms for a second straight game, their presence was felt immediately.  Guided by team captains Jace Blazensky and Jed Rosen, their stretching and warm up was focused and attentive to detail.  When finishing their swim set with our traditional kick on wall to sprint session, the Yucaipa players stopped what they were doing and watched.  Mentally, Northern Elite had already gained an advantage.  Then, the game started.

With 6 steals and 2 goals in the opening 7 minutes, Jed Rosen set the pace on both the defensive and offensive ends.  Contributions were made by all on the offensive end of the pool but it was the defense that fueled the unparalleled success that was made in transition.

Northern Elite quickly scored 4 goals in the opening minutes and went on to lead 9-0 at half and never looked back.  While this game appeared to be comfortable, the focus that was displayed on the Northern Elite side was palpable and difficult to mimic as Yucaipa began going through the motions early on.

Northern Elite will next represent northern California water polo against a difficult Anteaters team at 640pm at UCI.  The Anteaters will be playing in their home pool and recently polished off West Valley 20-2.

Please check back for further updates, photos and videos of our games.

Northern Elite Water Polo Club defeats Commerce, moves on to Yucaipa

With a difficult first draw of playing Commerce, the most recent Hawaii Invitational champion, Northern Elite water polo club found a way to stop numerous rally attempts and strategic counter attacks in a 14-10 victory on Friday night.

Northern California water polo is known to be quite a bit different in their style and approach.  However, the Northern Elite squad handled the change in referee style as well aggressive playing style of Commerce with poise and confidence.

Two moments of sheer brilliance occurred in the 14-10 to show what Northern Elite was capable of.  In the first quarter, Northern Elite took a 5-3 on Jed Rosen's perfectly timed rise out of the water to accept an under pressure pass from Luca Pagano and fire across the cage to hit the upper corner bar and bury the ball in the back of the net.  A picture perfect example of what good passing will do for a team.

Another display of critical passing came in the middle of the fourth quarter when Alex Laird and Matt Baszucki linked up with a give and go as Laird created separation and hit Baszucki on the overpass after a superb drive.  Baszucki did well to finish intelligently as he immediately noticed the goalie's position and opted for the cross cage lob which feathered nicely into the side of the net.  The play left Commerce nothing more to be desired as this deflated their hard perimeter press and Northern Elite when on to represent northern California water polo with an opening win.

The next match will be played at UC Irvine against Yucaipa at 11:20am PST.  Winner of this match will take home 1st place in their group and move on to the top bracket in the tournament as playoffs begin late Saturday night.

Northern California Water Polo represented at Winterfest

Winterfest begins tonight @ 720pm!  Be sure to follow us on twitter.com/northernelitewp and our website @ www.northernelitewpc.com

We have put in the work and are thrilled to have this experience in southern California.

Northern California water polo will be well represented

Please review this video and be ready to share what you see, think and understand on Tuesday:

Attention to detail

Great attention to detail last night. Our movement was well calculated and our approach was one that we will need to have and improve upon as tournament time draws near.

See you Tuesday!

Northern Elite Water Polo Club Spring Session

Spring Session information due out soon.
The dates, however, are set:
Week of March 5th until the week of May 7th with a tournament from the 11th to 13th in San Diego.
Also, we will be taking off 2 weeks in April for Spring Break.