The Southern Water Polo Club continues to make waves, in more ways than one.
The South County-based youth club recently returned from an international foray to Barcelona, Spain, where members had the opportunity to train with semi-pro teams and expand their cultural horizons.
The international exposure must have been to their liking after the club returned home to compete in last weekend’s sixth annual Coronado Summer Classic tournament, taking first place in the 18U boys division and third place in the 16U boys division.
“It was an opportunity for players who wanted to get better and travel at the same time,” club director Edgard Espinosa said. “When we go on these trips, we look for excursions to take in that city.”
Twenty athletes from the club, plus 11 adults, made the trans-Atlantic flight to Spain. While there, club members had the opportunity to train, practice and scrimmage teams from the Barcelona International Water Polo Academy June 27 to July 4.
During down time, the group had the opportunity to visit several historically significant sites around the city with an urban population of 4.8 million inhabitants.
It was a cultural eye-opener for many in the group.
Jamestown, Va., the first permanent English settlement in North America, dates to 1607. The first modern humans arrived in Spain 35,000 years ago.
“It was really modern, then there were parts that were super old,” explained Jeremy Redden, a member of the club’s 18U boys team and a 2019 Eastlake High School graduate. “Nobody in Spain it seemed owned a car. People walked or took the metro. The people who did own cars owned hatch-backs, cars that were really small.”
This marked the third international trip for the club after previous ventures to Guadalajara and Mexico’s Yucatan province. Espinosa said plans are to either visit Croatia or Brazil next year.
This was Redden’s second trip with the club after visiting the Yucatan last year.
“We went to Chichen Itza and to some of the beaches there,” Redden recalled as highlights from last year’s trip.
Chichen Itza, dominated by the temple of Kukuclan pyramid at its center, is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico. The ancient Mayan metropolis dates from 600 to 1200 AD.
Other points of interest during the Yucatan trip were the cenotes (sinkholes) with their underground rivers and waterfalls in the region.
Redden made this year’s trip with younger brother Jacob, an incoming junior at Eastlake, and his parents.
“It’s pretty cool,” Redden said. “We go there and play the host team and sightsee. We get to see different types of water polo. We practice twice each day, once in the morning and then a scrimmage in the evening. I feel we got better at water polo while we were there.”
The group visited the Sagrada Familia, an unfinished Roman Catholic church first started in 1883 that incorporates the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture (by chief designer Antoni Gaudi) since the Middle Ages. The church is still under construction after being interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and is expected to be completed by 2026, the centenary of Gaudi’s death.
The group also visited the Park Güell municipal gardens overlooking the city, conceived by Gaudi, and FC Barcelona’s soccer stadium.
Jake Rose, another 2019 EHS grad, was making his first international trip with the club. He gave the adventure a definite thumbs-up.
“My favorite part was the level of water polo we played there,” Rose said. “It was super high, competitive. We got to play at the Olympic pool they used for diving. It was cool.”
Espinosa said the Coronado tournament offered quality competition in a local setting.
“We still see a good level of water polo by staying here,” he said.
Haili Fellabaum and Melinda Espinosa, members of the club’s 18U girls team, put their experience in Barcelona to good use in last weekend’s tournament.
“It was fun, the water polo over there is very high,” said Espinosa, an incoming sophomore at Eastlake. “They play aggressively. We learned a lot.”
“Coach said everything we learned in Barcelona to bring it back and use it in the United States,” Fellabaum said. “I really think that helped us win our first game in the tournament.”
Game on
The 18U boys team finished 4-0 by defeating the Sons of Odin and Coronado teams in a double round-robin bracket.
Anson Rasmusson and Rose both scored three goals in a 13-6 win over Sons of Odin on the opening day of competition while Rasmusson finished the day with four goals in a 12-7 win over Coronado. Redden, Rose and Adam Monroe each scored twice in the latter game.
“It was a challenge but we remembered our defense,” Southern 18U boys coach Amr Soli said. “I think we’re starting to get the experience. We can handle it.
“It feels good. The kids are believing in themselves and are confident.”
The perfect tourney finish was not lost on team members.
“It feels very good that we have a team that can win a tournament like this but we don’t want to stop there,” Redden said. “This team is like no other that I have played on. It has a ton of chemistry. We hang out together at the beach after practice.”
Southern’s 16U boys team finished 2-2, defeating Carlsbad by a score of 7-6 in its final game to capture third place. Southern had trailed 5-2 at halftime before engineering a big second half comeback. Wyatt Eckholt scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on a penalty shot with 1:34 to play in regulation.
Ezekiel Craig and Jacob Redden both scored twice in the win.
Coronado defeated Sons of Odin, 7-3, to win the division title.
Upcoming tournaments for Southern include this weekend’s California State Games, scheduled Friday through Sunday at the Helix and Coronado high school pools, as well as the USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics later in the month in Irvine.
Fellabaum and Espinosa will both be competing in their second Junior Olympics with Southern.
“We finished with a 6-2 record and won our bracket last year,” Espinosa said. “We did really well for a new developing team. It was a great learning experience.”
The Coronado tournament featured a 16U girls round-robin, 18U girls double round-robin, 16U boys round-robin and placement games and 18U double round-robin.
“It’s a tune-up for teams that want to go to the Junior Olympics,” tournament director Randy Burgess noted. “It’s a chance for teams to get in four games in two days. It’s a fun tournament. It’s local. There’s always pretty good competition.”
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
Coronado Summer Classic
18U Division: 1st place Southern Water Polo Club
16U Division: 3rd place Southern Water Polo Club
Barcelona travelog
