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A group of nearly 40 Texas youth athletes concluded a week of training and competition led by legendary Olympians Tony Azevedo and Kami Craig on March 16. Five clubs – Pegasus, Trident, Thunder, Southside and Storm – from throughout Texas were represented at the “Texas Spring Break Training Program.”
Two and a half hours of training each morning was followed by evening competition against well-known SoCal clubs, including Vanguard, United, CMAC, Shore Aquatics, and S&S Bruins. The training group was divided in to four teams, two 14u boys, one 14u girls, and a 12u boys squad, for each day’s competition.
Costa Mesa Aquatics Club Head Coach Jose de la Jara was an impressed observer. “Texas is what Orange County was 20 years ago,” he wrote in an email to TXWaterpolo.com. “The potential is incredible. If I was a young coach today and want[ed] to build a program, Texas is IT.”
Craig and Azevedo were joined in training by Michael “Mize” Zellmer, a two-time German Olympian and highly regarded goalie coach. Former USC All-American Eike Daube, and Long Beach Wilson Head Coach Jeff Nesmith helped lead several of the competitive teams.
