Pittsburgh Water Polo - It’s New! It’s Hot! It’s Here!

What is Water Polo?
Water polo is a team sport that is a combination of swimming, soccer and basketball with a little wrestling thrown in! If you love the water and enjoy team sports, this is the game for you!

What is Pittsburgh Water Polo?
The Pittsburgh Water Polo Club is the area's only water polo club and a part of USA Water Polo. The goal of this club is to provide an opportunity to learn the game of water polo and have fun doing it! Girls and boys of all skill levels (beginner to advanced) from 8 years of age through adult are welcome to join. The only requirement is to be able to swim.

When and Where?
Instructional practices are scheduled year round at area high schools and summer pools. Please check our calendar for details.

How do I join?
Please review our registration information under "Handouts" and Contact us.

Questions?
If you have any questions, please email them to us. For more information about USA Water Polo please visit its website.

By Pat Mitsch, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 23, 2009

You don't typically hear sports fans around Western Pennsylvania talking about the Friday night water polo game.

But in California, where the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics are held each summer, the sport is a much bigger attraction.

"It's like football over there," said Zach Presto, a 15-year old water polo player in the North Allegheny School District.

Water polo, the oldest continuous Olympic team sport, resembles soccer, hockey or team handball but is played in a body of water. Six field players and one goalkeeper make up a starting lineup. There are a maximum of six substitutes on each team. Players swim, pass the ball while being defended and score by throwing the ball into a net.

Presto is one of 10 players from the Pittsburgh Water Polo Club heading to the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics from Saturday through Aug. 2 in Stanford, Calif.

Nine players across three age groups will compete in the boys tournament Saturday through Tuesday, and Meghan Mahoney, the Pittsburgh Water Polo Club's lone female representative, will compete in the 18-and under girls tournament from July 30 to Aug. 2.

The USA Water Polo Junior Olympics are a yearly event, matching teams from across the country in a bracketed tournament to determine a national champion in five age groups from 10-and-under to 18-and-under. The majority of the teams — and the winners — are typically from California, where the sport's popularity is high.

"Typically, you'll see California teams win due to the weather and facilities, a better level of coaching, and the talent level in California can really be superior," said Jim Staresinic, president of the Pittsburgh Water Polo Club. "In the east, usually it's the 'Big 3' — baseball, basketball and football. In California, it's not uncommon at all for a top athlete to be playing water polo."

Presto, who will be a sophomore at North Allegheny, realized as much, when he played on a 14-and-under team in last year's Junior Olympics and with a northeastern team in the Olympic Development Program this May.

"Competing against a team from California, they're a lot bigger, and they know what they're doing more," Presto said. "It's a lot bigger over there than on the East Coast because we don't really have the climate to do it in."

To reach the Junior Olympics, players competed in an individual tryout to make a qualifying team. In the Northeast Zone, teams in 14 states from Maine to Virginia then played for a championship and an automatic bid.

On the 12-and-under team are North Allegheny's Nico Lynn and Plum's Greg Kinzler. On the 14-and-under team are North Allegheny's Rob Klinger, Dominic Caputo, Gabe Gaspar, Kiean Ashtari and Max Staresinic, all of whom competed in last year's Junior Olympics. Presto and Evan Starsenic, also of North Allegheny, are on the 16-and-under team, while Mahoney is the only 18-and-under player.

"We're seeing the sport becoming more popular here," Staresinic said. "I think that has a lot to do with the grassroots effort of getting the sport out in front of more and more athletes, so maybe they choose water polo at a young age. We're starting to see a higher-quality athlete competing at higher levels. We have high hopes this year on how well they're going to do out there."

The sport of water polo continues to grow in the Pittsburgh area with eleven local players selected to participate in the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics.  The Junior Olympics will take place in Stanford, California with the boys competing July 25-28 and the girls from July 30- August 2.  Pittsburgh Water Polo has joined forces with other clubs across the northeast to send four teams to the competition.

The long road to the Junior Olympics includes try-outs for individual players to make a zone team and then once the team is formed, they must compete within their zone for selection.  Pittsburgh players compete in the Northeast Zone which is comprised of clubs from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Pittsburgh players on the 12 and under team include Greg Kinzler of the Plum Boro School District, and two players from the North Allegheny School District, Cameron Makin and Nico Lynn.

The 14 and under team includes the following Pittsburgh Water Polo players, Rob Clinger, Dominic Caputo, Gabe Gaspar, Kiean Ashtari and Max Staresinic.  These boys are Junior Olympic veterans as they competed in 2008 as well!  All of these players live in the North Allegheny School District.

Zach Presto and Evan Staresinic of the North Allegheny School District will compete as members of the Pennsylvania Premier Water Polo team. This 16 and under team is comprised of players from across Pennsylvania.  This will be Presto’s second trip to the Junior Olympics and his second trip to California this year.  Presto traveled to California in May to participate in the Olympic Development Program.

Pittsburgh Water Polo player, Meghan Mahoney, also of the North Allegheny School District, will compete on the 18 and under Pennsylvania Premier Team.  She was also part of the Olympic Development Program in May.

The Pittsburgh Water Polo club is proud to be a part of the Junior Olympics and is excited to see the growth of the sport in the area.  For more information about water polo in the Pittsburgh area, visit www.pittsburghwaterpolo.com.

Future Olympic hopefuls from across the east coast will be gathering in Pittsburgh on April 4 and 5 at Chatham University’s Athletic Fitness Center as part of USA Water Polo’s Olympic Development Program.  Local water polo club, Pittsburgh Water Polo, will be hosting the event which will include tournament play for 12-17 year old age group players.  The weekend will also include a try-out session for two NE regional Junior Olympic boys’ teams at the 14 year old and 12 year old age levels.

With the success of the USA water polo teams during the summer Olympics, the sport is rapidly growing across the country and is taking hold in the Pittsburgh area as well. 

As the only youth water polo club in the Pittsburgh area, the Pittsburgh Water Polo club has seen steady membership growth over the past several years from children aged 18 and under. Moreover there are now four high schools with water polo programs in the Pittsburgh Area – North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, West Allegheny, and South Park. In addition, Chatham University is currently in the middle of their first season as a varsity level collegiate program.

For the upcoming event at Chatham, athletes from the Pittsburgh Water Polo Club, aged 11 through 16, will be participating in the Olympic Development training as well as the Junior Olympic Team tryouts.

For more information about water polo in the Pittsburgh area, visit www.pittsburghwaterpolo.com.

The newspager article was written by Chris Adamski, Tri-State Sports & News Service, and published on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday, July 24, 2008.

Please click the title above to view the article.

Eight members of the Pittsburgh Water Polo Club are headed to the water polo S&R Junior Olympics in Irvine, California, from July 26-29, 2008.  This national event features four divisions, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under and 18 and under with over 200 teams competing. The Pittsburgh Water Polo members playing for the 14U Pittsburgh Renegades Water Polo team include:   Kiean Ashtari, Rob Clinger, Dominic Caputo, Gabe Gaspar, Zach Presto and Steven Siclari who are all students in the North Allegheny School District.  This team also has another local connection as it is being coached by Pittsburgh Water Polo’s head coach, Damir Matanovic.  Playing with a team of 12 and under athletes from the Naval Academy Aquatics Club are Pittsburgh Water Polo players Greg Kinzler and Max Staresinic.  Greg lives in the Plum Boro School District and Max in North Allegheny. To qualify for these teams, the local players competed in tryouts and then each team had to qualify through a zone tournament for allocated spots in the Junior Olympic tournament. 

Pittsburgh Water Polo is excited and proud to have members competing at this national level event and looks forward to the continued growth of the sport in the area.  To track the teams’ progress at the Junior Olympics, log on to www.usawaterpolo.com.  For more information about the club, visit their website at www.pittsburghwaterpolo.com.

(left to right) Gabe Gaspar, Steven Siclari, Rob Clinger, Zach Presto, Kiean Ashtari,Max Staresinic, Coach Matanovic  (missing from photo:  Dominic Caputo and Greg Kinzler) 

USA Water Polo profiles a club every month on its website and Pittsburgh Water Polo was profiled this month. Check it out at usawaterpolo.com by clicking on the red square “In the Club” or follow the link below. Hope you enjoy it.

Link: http://usawaterpolo.org/index.php?customernumber=278615502584899&pr=IntheClub

Rob Clinger (12U) and Ginny Thistle (18U) made a trip to California to particpate at the Junior Olympic tournament in late July and early August respectively. This was Rob's first major tournament and a great experience for him. Ginny even gave an interview about her polo experience this summer. Just click HERE to view it.