By - More from St. Charles East (IL) High School where the boys’ water polo coach resigned a week ago. Jaclyn Weber stepped down mid-season after suffering “inappropriate behavior” and a “general lack of respect” by her players according to the school’s athletic director. A new coach was quickly found for the team and competition resumed on Saturday. It was unclear whether there would be repercussions for the athletes. Today, school spokesman Jim Blaney addressed the issue in an email:
There will be disciplinary actions taken against individual members of the St. Charles East H.S. Water Polo team. However, the specifics of those disciplinary actions are student record information and are not public information.
- Days after girls’ head coach Spencer Dornin left Palo Alto (CA) High, one half of the boys’ coaching duo has now departed for nearby rival Gunn. Matthew Johnson will return to the Titans, a team he and his twin brother Brandon coached in the past, as head coach. Matthew and Brandon took on co-coaching responsibilities at Paly prior to the 2012 season and led the Vikings to a CIF-CCS semifinal appearance.
- The revamped West region of TISCA (TX) prep water polo will hold its regional championship this Saturday at the University of Texas in Austin. Six girls and eight boys/combined teams will compete for four slots at the state championships in Soutlake May 3-4. The region is without traditionally strong teams from San Antonio, except for Alamo Heights, for the first time in several years.
- Belmont Plaza, the legendary aquatics venue in Long Beach, CA, which was condemned in February will be replaced. The Long Beach City Council “approved a plan for a $62 million replacement including indoor and outdoor pools, with accommodations for full competitive swimming and diving,” according to gazettes.com. The facility will not be fully operational until at least 2016.
- US international and former Stanford great Tony Azevedo today announced via tweet the formation of the Water Polo Players’ Organization, an advocacy group for current and former players. Azevedo is one of several highly visible founding members who will be well known among fans of the global game. One clear area of concern for the players is getting paid as promised. As stated on waterpoloplayers.org, “[t]he Organization will develop an international standard for negotiating and fulfilling water polo contracts, increasing security for athletes,” a clear reference to the notorious unreliability of some professional teams to regularly pay their players.
