Hello United Family,

It was an awesome first week back after our lighter November and Thanksgiving break.  There was a palpable buzz at practice each night and it was awesome to feel the energy as the athletes reconnected with their teammates, learned new water polo concepts, and worked hard to apply them each day.  Many of our returning athletes are off to tournaments this weekend - we wish them safe travels and a great experience on the road.  For our athletes and coaches who are holding down the fort in PA this week, keep up the great work!

Coach Bobby’s Blog - We are coming up on a busy few weeks of water polo.  In addition to our December training we have athletes getting ready for tournaments in California, participating in camps in Colorado, and gearing up for ODP Regional Competition.  It is amazing to see the commitment and love for water polo that our athletes have and I am so grateful to work with such a dedicated group.  We are so excited to see what the next few weeks have in store!

This week’s schedule presented by Lockton Companies - please note that there are a few tweaks to the weekend schedule due to coaches and athletes being away next weekend for travel events.

Congratulations to the United Athletes Selected to the NEZ ODP Regional Team - United was well represented at the ODP camps earlier this fall and we had numerous athletes selected to represent the Northeast Zone at the ODP Regional tournament in Dallas later this competition year.  Thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations to the following athletes!

Welcome back some familiar faces to the United Family - We are so excited to have three key members of the program return as part of the coaching staff August Blatney, Alex Hoy, and Kevin Van Such.  August was one of the OG’s - he was a member of several of our first JO teams and had a great career as a club player at UCLA.  Alex Hoy played with WCAC Maverick his senior year of high school before going on to play at Mount Saint Mary’s.  Last, but certainly not least, I am thrilled to welcome back Kevin Van Such.  Kevin is the Head Coach of The Haverford School, founded Maverick Water Polo in 2014, and was the Director of Aquatics at WCAC from 2020 - 2023.  We are excited to have him back with the club he built such an amazing foundation for!  All three of these gentlemen bring a wealth of water polo knowledge and we cannot be more thrilled to have them back on deck.

United Car Magnets - You’ve asked and we are delivering!  We have had numerous requests to create car magnets as a way to show off United pride everywhere we go.  A major shoutout to Ryan Kennedy (14U Boys’ Athlete Alex’s dad) for taking the lead on making this happen.  The magnets will be $10 each and we should have them by the end of the month.  Magnets are $10 each and all proceeds go to the JO Financial Support Fund.  Payment can be accepted via cash, check made out to WCAC, or Venmo to Coach Mike at @Michael-Koziol You can check out a mock up of the design to the right.

December Elite Clinic - We are excited to announce WCAC United's third annual Winter Break Elite Clinic.  The clinic is intended for experienced players (8th grade and up) who aspire to play collegiately to have the opportunity to work closely with elite collegiate coaches and athletes. The clinic will be held at Wissahickon High School from 12:00- 6:00 on Monday, December 29th, and Tuesday, December 30th.  The cost of the clinic will be $285.  Space will be limited to provide our athletes with a highly personalized experience.

We are thrilled to welcome the following guest coaches for the clinic:

Derek Ellingson - Head Women's Water Polo Coach Princeton University

Jason Grubb - Head Women's Water Polo Coach LaSalle University

Morgan Allison Prohkin - Head Men's and Women's Water Polo Coach LIU-Brooklyn University

Other current NCAA athletes to be announced soon!

To register click the link in the section heading.

WCAC United Alumni Game 2025 - We will be holding our second annual alumni game on Monday, 12/22.  The alumni game will take place at the pool at Wissahickon from 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm.  The game is open to all United and Wissahickon Alums and current athletes who are 18 or older.  There will be competitive and casual games.  Come out to the pool to catch up with your teammates and coaches and get back in for some fun water polo action!

Thank you to everyone who submitted suit designs - our winner will be announced when the new suits for 2025 go live in the coming weeks.

If your athlete (or any other family member) would like to receive the weekly update - please fill out the form here - WCAC United Weekly Update Forward Form.

Family Interest Meeting Slides - can be found at the link here.

Returning Travel Meeting Recording - can be found at the link in the section heading.  Unfortunately there was an error with the recording processing for the new family meeting.  New families are welcome to watch the returning family meeting or to reach out to Coach Mike with questions. 

Helpful Links - 

Busy week for Team USA Members abroad as Coach Jov’s Olympiacos Team Stays Unbeaten

Men’s NCAA Division I Championship Homepage and Highlights

That’s it for now, have a great day and looking forward to an awesome week of water polo!

United on 3,

Coach Mike and the WCAC Water Polo Coaching Staff